✍️ 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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Felicity jones signed 2026-10-29 15:21:14 +1100
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Emma Coughlan signed 2026-10-29 12:35:32 +1100
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Eliane Coller signed 2026-10-29 11:01:41 +1100
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Kylie Jones signed 2026-10-28 21:47:15 +1100
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Kasey Attard signed 2026-10-28 19:23:24 +1100
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Jessica McMillan signed 2026-10-28 13:53:22 +1100
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Mckenzie Unahi signed 2026-10-28 13:18:15 +1100
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Kylie Myers signed 2026-10-27 23:07:36 +1100
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Zena Lecky-Thomson signed 2026-10-27 22:26:50 +1100
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Anna Berry signed 2026-10-27 22:04:51 +1100
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Kieren French signed 2026-10-27 21:45:03 +1100
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Che Kelly signed 2026-10-27 21:41:04 +1100
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Martha Kernohan signed 2026-10-27 21:33:48 +1100
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Karly Donnan signed 2026-10-27 21:12:22 +1100
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Sophia Thomas signed 2026-10-27 20:15:14 +1100
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Bianca Bayard signed 2026-10-27 15:27:51 +1100
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Maree Kirkwood signed 2026-10-27 14:05:46 +1100
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Natasha T signed 2026-10-27 13:33:07 +1100
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Stephen Pennells signed 2026-10-27 11:45:24 +1100Agree
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Lauren Muralt signed 2026-10-27 08:26:36 +1100
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Gabriella Shumilin signed 2026-10-27 06:52:39 +1100
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Alice Whitfeld signed 2026-10-27 00:05:24 +1100
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Samara el Achkar signed 2026-10-26 23:32:14 +1100
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Cathryn Bennett signed 2026-10-26 23:02:02 +1100To give children the best possible foundation and start to life, paid parental leave that allows parents to be present for their children in their first years is so incredibly important.
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Georgia Wall signed 2026-10-26 21:16:45 +1100
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Melanie Davie signed 2026-10-26 20:46:39 +1100
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Salli Trump signed 2026-10-26 20:16:46 +1100
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Lauren Byrne signed 2026-10-26 17:57:37 +1100
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Edwina Price signed 2026-10-26 16:19:36 +1100
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Amelia Close signed 2026-10-26 12:33:44 +1100