✍️ Add your name to give every baby the first year they deserve.
A baby's first year lays the foundation for the rest of their life.
On 1 July, Australia expanded paid parental leave to 26 weeks, with four of those weeks reserved for fathers and partners. That was a genuine win, and it was hard fought.
Four weeks is a start. It isn't a finish.
The scheme is paid at minimum wage — around half what an average full-time worker earns. For most families it doesn't stretch to a year, and it doesn't stretch to two parents.
So instead of choosing how they want to share their baby's first year, parents are forced to make financial decisions. One parent stays home. The other goes back to work. Patterns that last for years are set before families ever had a real choice.
To be clear about something: this is not leave taken from mums. It's leave added for dads. Every week a father is home in that first year is a week a mother isn't doing it alone.
Dads are main characters in family life, not cameos. It's time our policy settings said so.
It doesn't have to be this way.
The Parenthood is campaigning for 12 months of paid parental leave at a replacement wage, with dedicated leave for both parents, so every family can afford to share their baby's first year.
On Monday 7 September, dads, kids and supporters took that case to Parliament House.
Here For It. From Day One.
Read the new ‘More Time’ With Dad report
People who have signed the petition
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Michael Calder signed 2026-09-30 06:35:05 +1000
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Emily Lyons signed 2026-09-29 20:04:13 +1000
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Lucy Coleman signed 2026-09-29 17:42:44 +1000
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Elyse Strecker signed 2026-09-29 17:37:38 +1000Australia is falling behind with parental leave. Places in Europe offer 86weeks then Sweden & Norway offer 400+ days of leave. Which can be shared between parents.
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Alexandra Sampson signed 2026-09-29 16:10:20 +1000
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Jacinta Quartermaine signed 2026-09-29 14:38:24 +1000
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Rachel Randall signed 2026-09-29 14:28:46 +1000
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Sandra Rom Gustafsson signed 2026-09-29 13:56:18 +1000
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Bethany Macroyannis signed 2026-09-29 12:01:28 +1000
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Kath Keyworth signed 2026-09-29 10:37:52 +1000
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Jessie Sheather signed 2026-09-29 09:34:16 +1000
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Sarah Cocks signed 2026-09-29 09:25:38 +1000This movement is critical – Australian society has not kept up with the realities of modern day parenting, in which both parents will need to return to work (especially in major cities), given the economic pressures all families are facing and that both parents deserve a robust career. Reform is a must, in order to support a robust economy in which both parents and family units can thrive, not just survive.
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Amy Hay signed 2026-09-29 09:10:02 +1000
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Louise Weine signed 2026-09-29 08:20:15 +1000This change is not a nice to do it is a MUST do. This is integral to the future of families, workplaces and society as a whole. Times have changed and policy should be staying ahead of change not lagging behind. Well done to the Parenthood for this advocacy.
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Kiarna Harvey signed 2026-09-29 08:07:31 +1000
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Lisa Dhaliwal signed 2026-09-28 21:50:19 +1000
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Kara Robinson signed 2026-09-28 20:16:50 +1000
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Nicola Mason signed 2026-09-28 15:02:32 +1000
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Tatum Wilson signed 2026-09-28 14:13:01 +1000
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Sarah Pringle signed 2026-09-28 13:43:25 +1000
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Lori Goode signed 2026-09-28 13:38:07 +1000
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Meghala Nair signed 2026-09-28 13:15:26 +1000Thank you – I’m glad to hear that there is a focus on male/dad mental health associated with this ask.
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Daryl Walter signed 2026-09-28 13:05:32 +1000
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kas leo signed 2026-09-28 13:05:23 +1000
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Soula Houndalas signed 2026-09-28 13:04:59 +1000
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Scott Batchelor signed 2026-09-28 13:04:01 +1000
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Elizabeth Sharpe signed 2026-09-28 12:59:29 +1000Please ensure second parents are covered, not just dads. My wife deserves the same benefits as dads when I carry our babies.
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Emma Schiffler signed 2026-09-28 10:50:05 +1000
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Tamara Sandars signed 2026-09-28 09:37:55 +1000
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Alexandra Shepherd signed 2026-09-28 09:10:14 +1000I believe that if we are truely going to be looking at equality and fairness then we need no be mandating 50/50 care non transferable. Frankly 12 months doesn’t cut it. It’s the minimum. Babies are breast feeding up to 2 years. That means they need one on one support for 2 years min. Let’s be better than Russia, Sweden, and Finland.
We should be aiming to be the best, to make it a benefit to have a child. Not a hinderence.