Trends in employer-paid maternity leave usage in Australia: 2005-2010

Abstract

While the Australian government’s implementation of a Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme in January 2011 is expected to increase access to paid parental leave significantly, the program commenced in the context of a steady rise in employer-paid parental leave provisions. In this paper we focus on mothers’ use of employer-paid maternity leave between 2005 and 2010 and seek to identify the factors underlying changes prior to the introduction of PPL. Our data come from the 2005 Parental Leave in Australia Survey and a baseline survey of mothers conducted in 2010 as part of the government-funded evaluation of the PPL scheme. They show an increasing uptake and duration of employer-paid parental leave over the period examined, but ongoing inequalities in distribution of usage across the labour market. We argue that these patterns are unsurprising when leave entitlements are provided by employers, and we reflect on likely changes under the PPL scheme.