The Law Handbook 2024

332 Section 5: Managing your money a person must meet the eligibility, work, income and residency tests, and be on unpaid leave or not working during the pay period. They must care for the child on each day of the pay period. However, the percentage of care they must undertake is not specified, nor is there a requirement that they be legally responsible for the child. It is a taxable payment. (See also A Guide to Australian Government Payments for more information about Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay.) Children born or adopted after 1 July 2023 For children born or adopted after 1 July 2023, the paid parental leave scheme allows parents and carers to share a maximum of 100 days of paid parental leave. Single parents are entitled to 100 days. For couples, 90 days will be available to the primary claimant (PPL claimant) and 10 days reserved for the other parent or carer (special PPL claimant). In exceptional circumstances, the PPL claimant may be permitted to use 100 days even if partnered and a special PPL claimant may be permitted to use more than the 10 reserved days with permission from the PPL claimant. A PPL claimant will be eligible if they are caring for the child and satisfy the work test which requires that in the 13 weeks prior to the expected birth or adoption, they engaged in qualifying work for 10 months and for at least one day per week (330 hours) with no more than a 12-month gap between two working days. A claimant may be exempt from the work test if there are pregnancy complications, the child’s birth was premature, their job is dangerous or hazardous, they are victims of family violence, affected by serious illness or by a natural disaster. The claimant’s individual adjusted taxable income must be below $168 865 for the 2022-23 financial year. If partnered, the family’s income must be below $350,000. The PPL claimant must also satisfy the Australian Residency test and have served the newly arrived residents’ waiting period of 104 weeks prior to the birth or adoption unless exempt. Certain visa holders, refugees or family members of refugees and holders of special category visas are exempt from the waiting period. A special PPL claimant seeking a flexible PPL day must satisfy the work and income tests, as well as the Australian Residency Test on the date of the birth of the child and on the flexible PPL day. Claimants serving a newly arrived residents waiting period will not be eligible for PPL unless exempt from the waiting period because of the category of visa they hold, because they are a refugee or former refugee or the family member of a refugee, because they are a SCV holder, or because prior to the flexible PPL day they were receiving a social security pension or allowance or a farm household allowance. The special PPL claimant must be caring for the child on the flexible PPL day and not performing more than one hour of work on the day unless an exemption applies. PPL is payable if the child was stillborn, care of the child was relinquished or lost without consent, the claimant has been compulsorily recalled to duty, the claimant is complying with a summons or other compulsory process, or the claimant is an essential worker responding to an emergency. Claims for PPL should be made in the approved form, no earlier than 97 days (approximately three months) before the expected birth or placement of the adopted child and no later than the day before the child’s second birthday or anniversary of the adopted child’s placement. PPL is taxable and paid in instalments by the employer or Services Australia. The current weekly rate before tax is $882.75 and the daily rate is $176.55. A PPL claimant and an employer have the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a first review and decisions must be provided within 14 days. PPL claimants have a right to a second review by the Tribunal. (See also A Guide to Australian Government Payments and the Guide to Paid Parental Leave for more information about PPL) NOTE: COVID-19 DISASTER PAYMENTS Periods of COVID-19 Disaster Payments may be included in the work test for Parental Leave Pay, and Dad and Partner Pay. Income management and enhanced income management What is the income management regime? Since 1 July 2012, some welfare recipients living in ‘declared areas’ have been subject to compulsory