From July this year, families in Australia will be able to take an additional two weeks of paid parental leave each year until 26 weeks by 2026. What do these changes mean for Chinese families?
Chinese mom considering a two-child plan
Cheung Yiran, a 32-year-old registered community health nurse, lives in Melbourne. At the end of August last year, she and her husband welcomed their first baby. Today, she is taking a total of 34 weeks of paid parental leave, including 20 weeks from the government and 14 weeks from her employer.
For her, paid parental leave is a great support in terms of time and finance, but at the same time, it is both joyful, comforting and sorrowful.
At the same time, Zhang Yiran is looking forward to the implementation of the new policy. With the passage of a new law in March this year, new parents will be able to enjoy more flexible and generous paid parental leave. From July 2024, it will increase by two weeks each year, reaching 26 weeks from July 2026.
"As a first-time mother, I need time to adapt to the changes, to be able to take responsible care of my newborn, to recover from childbirth, and to recover from constant interruptions in sleep," Zhang said. ”
She considers herself lucky that the baby is easier to carry. "Think about mums and babies who have complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and the extra few weeks will definitely help us make the transition. ”
"Also, with the cost of living and inflation rocketing up. With additional time and support, our financial pressure will also be eased to some extent. This means that new parents can take the family loan out of the equation and have more time to build a better parent-child relationship with their baby. ”
When it comes to future plans, Zhang Yiran said that it is likely to have a second child, especially considering the increase in the number of weeks of paid parental leave.
She mentioned that two-child families will invest more time, energy and money in raising children than one-child families.
"Then the extension of maternity leave by six weeks can solve some of his worries, and there will be a buffer for the first child in the family, so that he can better accept the new members of the family. ”
Li Yijia, who also lives in Melbourne and works as an accountant, is currently taking 36 weeks of paid parental leave, including 18 weeks of paid parental leave provided by the government and 18 weeks of paid parental leave provided by her company.
She is 29 years old and gave birth to her daughter by caesarean section in January. "About 9 months. It can help me very well, have enough time to take care of my baby, accompany her to grow up, and slowly adapt to life as a mother. ”
Li Yijia welcomed the increase in parental leave by 2 weeks every year, and also mentioned that this may encourage her to have a second child. "I believe it will be of great help to future mothers-to-be and have more time and energy to take care of their babies. ”
What challenges do they face?
For the two mothers, while welcoming a new member of the family, with hope and relief, they also have to consider aspects such as family finances, partner pressures, caregiving responsibilities and physical recovery.
Zhang Yiran mentioned that she can currently take about eight months of paid parental leave, but according to her plan, she hopes to take 12 months, which she plans to send to a childcare facility when her son is 9 months old. But if the child is not adapting, she wants to apply to the employer to extend the leave for another one to two months.
This means that she has no income for at least about 4 months. This, she said, will have an impact on her family's life.
"Because the mortgage accounts for a large percentage of our income, the lack of income and the need to pay the mortgage puts the pressure on the other person who still has to work. Zhang Yiran said.
Fortunately, both parents were willing to provide some financial support to help relieve the stress.
Zhang Yiran also mentioned that part of the reason why she plans to enroll her child in nursery when she is 9 months old is that her family is overseas and cannot help take care of her. This is also the situation faced by some first-generation immigrant families, who are raising children by themselves and their partners.
Li Yijia mentioned the support she needs in taking care of her baby and recovering her body.
She said: "For me personally, the most important thing is to have a family member to help take care of the baby, otherwise I don't think it will work." ”
"Because I had a caesarean section, I needed to recover from my body and wounds for a long time after giving birth. The family not only needs to take care of the baby, but also needs to take care of my diet and daily life, and I also need enough time to recover and rest. ”
Tough choices: Some immigrant women 'can't afford to wait'
Paid parental leave is a great plus for many families. The Government has introduced the Paid Parental Leave Scheme to provide financial support to eligible parents while taking time off from work to care for their children, and to promote gender equality and work-family balance.
该计划为在职父母提供两种福利金：带薪育儿假津贴（Parental Leave Pay）以及父亲和伴侣津贴（Dad and Partner Pay）。
But not all immigrant women have access to paid parental leave.
To be eligible for Paid Parental Leave Allowance, applicants must meet the following criteria: primary carer of a newborn or newly adopted child, and meet the income assessment requirements, job assessment requirements and residency requirements.
We understand that some immigrant women "can't afford to wait" and they don't meet the relevant eligibility criteria.
According to the website of the Department of Home Affairs (Services Australia), newly arrived residents may have to wait up to 2 years to receive paid parental leave benefits, but there are exceptions. These 2 years must be the waiting time before the birth or adoption of the applicant's child.
An immigrant woman in her mid-35s said she still had to wait two years to get her permanent residency, and that she would have to wait an additional two years to receive benefits. Considering her age, she can only consider having children if she is unable to receive benefits.
To receive a paid parental leave allowance, applicants are also required to pass a job assessment. This means that the applicant must have worked at least 330 hours in 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption of the child.
"I think [working hours] are still too rigid in this aspect, and many mothers will not be able to apply for benefits because of the lack of time conditions. Li Yijia said.
"I hope that the government's requirements in this regard can be more humane, so that more mothers can enjoy this benefit. ”
Is 26 weeks of paid parental leave enough?
Australia introduced a paid parental leave scheme in 2011 and has undergone several reforms over the past 10 years. In March this year, the government announced that the benefits of the parental leave allowance would receive an additional 12% of the superannuation fund payment, which would be implemented from July 2025.
These are "welcome progresses", but some experts say there is still "a long way to go".
Australia still lags behind most OECD members in terms of the number of weeks of paid parental leave, with an average of 61 weeks of paid leave – 53 weeks for mothers and 8 weeks for fathers, according to the OECD Family Database.
Eliza A. Brown, Senior Economist, Australia Institute. Eliza Littleton previously told SBS News that the implementation of 26 weeks of paid parental leave was good news for parents, but that Australia "has more work to do" to meet international standards.
"Parents receive very few leave benefits, which puts pressure on women in particular to quit the workforce or work part-time in the first few years of a child's life. ”
Claire Wang, a registered midwife in Melbourne with nearly eight years of work experience, told SBS Chinese that paid parental leave is the government's support for families, and its benefits are to improve the mother's postpartum situation.
"If there is more time and maternity leave conditions are more abundant, the mother will be more relaxed and the process of giving birth may be relatively better. ”
She believes that the new policy on paid parental leave may help Australia's fertility rate.
According to new data from the Bureau of Statistics, Australia's fertility rate is currently 1.63, with an average of 1.63 children per woman, which is lower than the global average of 2.27.
Claire said: "The experience is better, you are less resistant to the idea of having a second child, this policy is in the right direction." ”
But Claire said that from a professional perspective, she recommends that new mothers take at least one year of parental leave, so as to avoid forced weaning, separation anxiety and other problems.
"If it can be extended to one year, it would be better for the mother to go back to work when she sees that the child is slowly getting rid of dependence and independence, and begins to want to have a desire to socialize...... Because children are more dependent before the age of 1, it will be more difficult for mothers to get rid of them, and there will be some burdens on their hearts. Claire, a registered Chinese midwife in Melbourne, said.
She pointed out that the most immediate consequence of sending a child to a childcare facility too early is that the child will remain sick and does not solve the root problem.
"When [the child] is sick, the mother will be very tormented. Mom can be tired of juggling between kids and work...... If the maternity leave is longer, the mother is relatively less embarrassed. ”
Claire said that after a year, a significant number of moms will be ready and want to go back to work, "and they miss themselves at work."
Li Yijia is currently planning to take only 36 weeks off, and plans to return to the workplace at the end of July this year, when the baby is almost 6 months old, and consider starting from part-time or contract work, hoping to balance taking care of the baby and work.
"Women do have a lot of trade-offs to choose when it comes to balancing family and career," Claire said. ”
Fathers should be given more parental leave to be actively involved in family matters
Both Zhang Yiran and Li Yijia's husband chose to take four weeks of parental leave. Mr. Cheung's husband was a contract pharmacist and therefore took four weeks of unpaid leave, while Mr. Li Yijia's husband took two weeks of paid leave and two weeks of annual leave from the government, and his employer reportedly did not provide additional parental leave.
Claire believes that when talking about extending paid parental leave, it is important to take into account the increase in paternity leave.
"Dads have a lot of obligations to raise their children. Perhaps, as in the case of the Nordics, this would solve the problem of equality between men and women in the workplace. ”
"If both parents can take half a year off each, that's a good match. ”