This research report explores how the Australian Government's Parental Leave Pay (PLP) and Dad and Partner Pay (DAPP) were used by families up to December 2022. As well as providing an overview of recipient numbers, it provides insights on which families were using PLP and DAPP and how they were using it, highlighting which families are most likely to be using these payments straight after the birth. For example, young mothers and mothers with lower levels of educational attainment are most likely to be using PLP early, suggesting a lack of access to employer-funded leave, and affirming the value of PLP in supporting these mothers' connection to employment.

This research report is the first output from the project Statistical profile of use of Paid Parental Leave and Dad and Partner Pay using the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA), previously named MADIP (Multi Agency Data Integration Project). The project explores the use of PLP and DAPP making use of linked data in PLIDA. The primary data source is administrative data from the Department of Social Services (DSS) resource 'Data Over Multiple Individual Occurrences' (DOMINO), with DOMINO tables stored in PLIDA. These data have been linked to data from the ABS Census of Population and Housing (Census) and other administrative data.

The analysis of linked Census data shows that at a point in time (on Census night) about one in five mothers of a child under one year of age were using PLP, with there being distinct patterns in use in the months following the birth. For DAPP recipients, this number as a percentage of new fathers is much lower, at about one per cent. The report also includes analysis of how PLP and DAPP are used, about timing of use, and how PLP and DAPP are sequenced in couples where both are taken. Finally, some analysis shows the extent of other kinds of financial support received by families in this period after the birth of a child, focusing on DSS-administered government income support payments, benefits and allowances.