MOP(S) Act employees can access parental leave as set out in the Enterprise Agreement and leave and public holidays guideline (see related resources).
Discuss your parental leave plans with your employing parliamentarian before applying. Apply for parental leave by submitting a completed parental leave application form (see related resources) to MOPSPayConditions@finance.gov.au. To apply for parental leave, contact MaPS for a copy of the form.
Parental leave
Parental leave entitlements are provided for under the Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2024-27 (MOPS EA). For employees who are pregnant or have given birth, maternity leave entitlements are also subject to the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973 (ML Act). Parental leave can be taken as a combination of paid and unpaid leave up to a maximum of 24 months following the birth of a child.
Primary caregivers are entitled to 18 weeks of paid leave, and secondary caregivers are presently entitled to 11 weeks of paid leave. On 1 March 2026, the entitlement for secondary caregivers will increase to 14 weeks of paid leave, and on 1 March 2027 the entitlement for secondary caregivers will increase to 18 weeks of paid leave, bringing it in line with the entitlement provided for primary caregivers.
Casual employees are not eligible to access paid parental leave under the MOPS EA. Additional information on parental leave can be found in clause 55 of the MOPS EA and in the Leave and Public Holidays guideline.
Primary caregivers
Primary caregiver, for the purposes of paid parental leave, means:
- a pregnant employee with an entitlement under the ML Act, or
- an employee who has primary care responsibility for a child who is born to them, or
- an employee who has primary care responsibility for a child who is adopted or in long-term foster care as per the clauses on adoption and long-term foster care in the MOPS EA.
Secondary caregivers
Secondary caregiver, for the purposes of paid parental leave, means an employee, other than a pregnant employee, who:
- has a secondary care responsibility for a child who is born to them, or
- has a secondary care responsibility for a child who is adopted or in long-term foster care as per the clauses on adoption and long-term foster care in this Agreement.
Adoption leave and long-term foster care
Primary caregivers and secondary caregivers can access the full entitlement of parental leave under the MOPS EA in circumstances of adoption and long-term foster care, provided that the child:
- is under 16 as at the day (or expected day) of placement
- has not lived continuously with the employee for a period of six months or more as at the day (or expected day) of placement, and
- is not (otherwise than because of the adoption) a child of the employee or the employee’s spouse or de facto partner.
Parental leave provided for adoption and long-term foster care is not a separate leave type to parental leave.
Premature birth leave
In the circumstances where a child is born before 37 weeks’ gestation, an employee who has given birth, or whose partner has given birth prematurely, is entitled to additional paid parental leave in the form of premature birth leave.
Premature birth leave is available from the date of the child’s birth up to what would have been 37 weeks’ gestation. Employees are not required to take premature birth leave immediately from the birth of the child, and may postpone the paid premature birth leave until after they have used their legislated leave under the ML Act or the parental leave provided under the MOPS EA.
Stillbirth leave and pregnancy loss leave
Parents of a stillborn child remain eligible for the full parental leave entitlement as provided under the MOPS EA, with the exception that paid parental leave for a secondary caregiver is two weeks.
A pregnant employee who experiences, or an employee whose partner experiences, pregnancy loss is entitled to one week of paid leave. Pregnancy loss is a miscarriage or other loss of pregnancy that occurs between 12 and 20 weeks’ gestation that is not a stillbirth.
Stillbirth leave and pregnancy loss leave are entitlements in addition to compassionate and bereavement leave provided under the Fair Work Act 2009 and the MOPS EA.