From 1 January 2011, Australian families in which a mother was in the paid workforce before the birth or adoption of a baby may be eligible for a new Australian Government-funded Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme. The scheme provides eligible parents with up to 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay, paid at the National Minimum Wage, following the birth of a child. 

The Australian Government seeks to achieve three main objectives in introducing the scheme:

• to enhance the health of babies and mothers, and the development of children, by enabling working mothers to spend longer at home with their newborn children
• to facilitate women’s labour force participation
• to encourage gender equity and improve the balance of family and work life in Australian families.

An independent evaluation of the PPL scheme was completed over four phases between 2010 and 2014. The evaluation of the PPL scheme will be undertaken against three types of outcomes: 

• Immediate outcomes consist of those related to families making use of the scheme (they are aware of it, make choices to suit their circumstances, apply for and receive payments).
• Intermediate outcomes consist of the direct experiences of families receiving the PPL payment (they have financial support after the birth or adoption of their child or children, and working mothers are able to spend more time with their child or children).
• Ultimate outcomes consist of the main policy objectives of the scheme (as outlined above).

This Phase 1 (2010–11) focuses on establishing robust baseline data in all areas related to the intermediate and ultimate outcomes of the evaluation.

It aims to establish an accurate picture of key aspects of work and family life before the introduction of PPL. This report focuses on answering five key questions. 

1. What is the current state of arrangements or supports (nationally) that enable working parents to take leave to care for children?
2. What is the current pattern of parental leave (paid and unpaid) access and uptake? What are the attitudes and factors affecting current decisions in relation to taking parental leave?
3. What are the current patterns of women’s workforce participation, including pre-birth and returning to work after taking parental leave? What are the current patterns for those who do not have access to leave? What factors affect return-to-work patterns?
4. What do current measures of the health and welfare of mothers and infants indicate?
5. What is the current state of ‘gender equity’ and ‘work–life’ balance? How are these affected by parenthood and parental leave taking?

This evaluation showed most Australian working mothers were already taking time away from work after the birth of a child, with only 13 per cent returning to work within three months of the birth and 95 per cent of mothers being covered by statutory unpaid leave entitlements. However, less than half (46 per cent) of working mothers who would have been eligible for PPL had it existed were entitled to employer paid maternity or parental leave. Moreover, access to employer paid parental leave was highly unequal, with very low levels of access amongst large groups of women, such as those in casual jobs and those working for small and medium businesses.