The Parental Leave in Australia Survey was designed to address a statistical gap in the information on use of maternal leave and to provide information on the use paternity leave. It was conducted in 2005 as nested survey within the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). This report provides background information on the survey design and rationale, covers sample selection and response rates, and gives a preliminary overview of statistics drawn from the survey. Based on over 3,500 responses from families with young children, the survey provides information on parents' experiences in the lead up to, and following, the birth of a child. The survey covered five main themes: mothers' employment status prior to the birth of a child; mothers' use and experiences of maternity leave and related policies, including reasons for using or not using leave provisions; mothers' employment status and experiences on return to work after the birth of a child; fathers' or partners' employment status before and after the birth of a child, use of paternity leave and related policies, and reasons for using or not using leave provisions; parents' policy needs and preferences. This report provides preliminary statistics and discussion on four main areas: employment and eligibility for parental unpaid leave; patterns of leave-taking by mothers and fathers or partners; mothers' return to paid employment; parents' policy preferences.