Dads take their call for more time to care to Canberra

Dads take their call for more time to care to Canberra

Canberra, Monday 7 September 2026

Australian dads and their children will gather at Parliament House today to send a clear message to political leaders: fathers want to care, but families need paid parental leave and workplaces that make it possible.

The Parenthood, co-hosting the day with Movember, will be joined by high-profile dads including Lachy and Simon Wiggle, Kevin Mitchell, Dr Billy Garvey, Sean Szeps, Zach Perez, Joel Phillips, Ben Tate, and Matty Johnson and Ash Wicks from the Two Doting Dads podcast, alongside MPs, babies and families on the Federation Mall lawn as part of a push for the next stage of paid parental leave reform.

The federal Paid Parental Leave scheme expanded to 26 weeks in July, with four weeks reserved for each parent, which is a significant and welcome step forward. But The Parenthood says 26 weeks shared between two parents, paid at the national minimum wage, should be the foundation rather than the finish line.

The organisation is calling for Australia to progressively build towards 52 weeks of paid parental leave at a replacement wage, with meaningful time reserved for each parent.

Australia currently ranks 34th of 38 OECD countries for dedicated, well-paid leave reserved for fathers. Japan and Korea top the table.

The Parenthood CEO Georgie Dent said the question was never whether fathers wanted to be there, but whether families could afford for them to be.

"Wanting to take leave and being able to afford it are two very different things. When the payment is the minimum wage and Dad is the higher earner, a family can desperately want him at home and still not be able to make the rent or mortgage that month.

"Only 18 per cent of the dads who took no leave at all said it was because they didn't need it," Ms Dent said.

"Every other one of them couldn't afford it, couldn't get it through their work, or was frightened of what taking it would cost their career. Dads are not turning this down. They are being priced out and shut out.

"And there are whole categories of dads locked out by design, not by choice. The rules assume a job that someone else can pick up while you're away. That doesn't describe a farmer. It doesn't describe a sole trader whose costs don't stop just because he does.

"Paid parental leave is offered by 88 per cent of large employers in education, but fewer than half in transport, manufacturing, construction and agriculture — the very industries where dads told this research they felt least supported.

"Nobody becomes a confident parent by instinct. You become one by doing it, over and over, at three in the morning, with nobody else in the room. If we want dads to be equal parents, they need the time to learn how."

Ms Dent said more time for dads was a win for babies, mums and whole families.

"When dads have genuine time to care, babies benefit, mums have more opportunity to recover from birth, the enormous physical and mental load of raising a family gets shared, and mums can return to paid work on a more equal footing when they're ready.

"Fathers in this research were emphatic about it — 78 per cent said taking leave was good for their relationship with their partner.

"This has never been dads versus mums. Nobody is proposing we take a single week away from mothers.

"Dads are main characters in family life, not cameos. Twenty-six weeks is genuine progress and the Government deserves credit for it. Now we want to look at how the scheme is actually working for dads, and keep building towards a full year."

The Parenthood and Movember are calling for a review of Paid Parental Leave through the lens of fatherhood — the first of its kind — supported by a cross-departmental government working group spanning Social Services, Health, Employment, Finance and Treasury.

Today also marks the launch of the inaugural cross-party Parliamentary Dad's Caucus, hosted by Dan Repacholi MP, Australia's Special Envoy for Men's Health, giving MPs a standing forum to carry the experiences of fathers in their electorates into the reform process.

The Parliament House activation will bring together dads, children, MPs and supporters on Federation Mall from 8.30am, followed by a media conference in Mural Hall at 10am and the inaugural Dad's Caucus at 10.30am.

The activation is being held alongside the release of Movember's new research report 'More Time' With Dad: Australian Men's Use and Experiences of Parental Leave, examining the barriers fathers face in taking parental leave.

Australians can add their name to The Parenthood's call for 12 months of paid parental leave at theparenthood.org.au/first_year_foundations

About The Parenthood

The Parenthood is Australia's leading parent advocacy organisation, representing families nationwide and campaigning for 12 months of paid parental leave, early childhood education and care that is safer, more affordable and accessible for every child, and family-friendly workplaces.