An Aussie stay-at-home mum has accused the Albanese government of ‘discrimination’ after she discovered her husband is no longer eligible for paid parental leave – because she doesn’t work.
In the past, Queensland mother-of-four Hope Gardner and her family have taken advantage of Centrelink’s Dad and Partner Pay program, which gave dads and partners who were not working or taking leave up to two weeks’ pay to care for a new child.
But Dad and Partner Pay was replaced by the new Paid Parental Leave scheme in July 2023 – which rendered her husband ineligible for any payments because Ms Gardner doesn’t work.
The Gardners only discovered when the problem when they went to apply for it last month – three weeks out from the birth of their fourth child.
Ms Gardner took to TikTok on Tuesday to vent her frustration: ‘Please help me make this make sense.
‘We, as in me and my husband, are no longer eligible to receive any parental leave payments, Dad and Partner Pay payments – any kind of payments for time off when bub comes, because I do not work.
‘I haven’t worked for six years, I’ve been a stay at home mum, literally not earning an income or anything like that. My husband works full-time.
‘Rules have now changed that because I don’t work, he is also no longer eligible to take time off and receive any government assistance at all.
‘Is this not discrimination? I honestly do not understand.’
Some comments on the post were unsympathetic, with critics saying Ms Gardner’s family should not feel entitled to the payments if she is a full-time mum.
‘Well yeah, paid parental leave is for working mums who are leaving work,’ one said.
‘Paid parental leave is to cover the expenses of one parent having to take time off work. If one parent doesn’t work, they don’t have to have the lost wages covered,’ a second wrote.
But Ms Gardner told Daily Mail people had ‘missed the point on what I was saying’ and maintained it was ‘unfair’ that Dad and Partner Pay had been quietly scrapped.
‘I’ve known for six years that I’m not eligible for payments and I’m not expecting any payment for myself,’ she said.
‘It was just to share that it’s unfair that my husband is now not eligible only because I don’t work.
‘It’s a shame people didn’t understand what I was trying to say or if I didn’t communicate it well enough.’
Dad and Partner Pay was a payment that was available to eligible fathers and partners for up to two weeks to care for a new child born or adopted before July 1, 2023.
On June 30, 2024 claims for Dad and Partner Pay closed.
Dad and Partner Pay and Parental Leave Pay were combined into one payment for children born or adopted from July 1, 2023.
Parental Leave Pay is a payment to help families taking time off work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child.
From July 1, 2023, a child’s date of birth or adoption affects Parental Leave Pay. This includes who can get it, how much they get and when they get paid.
To get Parental Leave Pay, all of the following must apply. You must: