✍️ 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 are taking that case to Parliament House. We want your name on the list we hand over.
Here For It. From Day One.
Read the new ‘More Time’ With Dad report
People who have signed the petition
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Judy Ogrady signed 2026-09-01 13:55:56 +1000
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george mercier signed 2026-09-01 13:52:45 +1000
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Madeleine Steel signed 2026-09-01 13:48:42 +1000
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Ron Woods signed 2026-09-01 12:33:53 +1000
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Susan Meyer signed 2026-09-01 12:33:05 +1000
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Daniel Francis signed 2026-09-01 12:29:41 +1000
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Tricia Ryan signed 2026-09-01 12:21:05 +1000
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Robyn Burns signed 2026-09-01 12:00:33 +1000
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Rebecca Carmichael signed 2026-09-01 11:44:53 +1000
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Claire Hardy signed 2026-09-01 11:32:45 +1000
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Christy Markiewicz signed 2026-09-01 11:23:40 +1000So important for all families!
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Tessa Ferguson signed 2026-09-01 11:21:53 +1000
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Madelin Tomelty signed 2026-09-01 11:20:19 +1000
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Brian Towart signed 2026-09-01 11:17:53 +1000
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Rebecca Lond signed 2026-08-31 20:14:44 +1000
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Amanda Dietiker signed 2026-08-31 16:10:46 +1000Supporting dads to have time and energy to care for their partners, babies and kids is so important!!
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Ganapathi Pillai signed 2026-08-30 10:37:31 +1000
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Steven Kennedy signed 2026-08-30 09:58:35 +1000
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Cody Barton. signed 2026-08-30 01:51:21 +1000
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Caitlyn Jones signed 2026-08-29 09:54:52 +1000
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Belinda Burke signed 2026-08-28 21:43:24 +1000Catch up Australia!
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Jade Warne signed 2026-08-28 08:52:03 +1000
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Marielle Lancaster signed 2026-08-27 21:51:08 +1000
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Sue Davies signed 2026-08-27 14:41:39 +1000Should be no less than 12 months. The children are the ones missing out.
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Amy Davies signed 2026-08-27 14:04:08 +1000
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Tameryn Burchell signed 2026-08-27 09:48:29 +1000
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Terry McAleenan signed via Sebastian Costello 2026-08-27 09:35:34 +1000Great initiative that I wholeheartedly agree with. All parents across Australia must have equal access to paid parental leave at a minimum working wage.
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Holly Vickers signed 2026-08-27 09:15:30 +1000
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Jacqueline Kaing signed via Sebastian Costello 2026-08-27 08:55:11 +1000
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Madeleine Turner signed 2026-08-26 20:23:25 +1000I chose to take 12 months unpaid after my 1st, and lost the temp contract I was on because of it, chose the same again with my next 3 babies because they really weren’t ready for daycare. We are seriously struggling as a family financially long term because I put my children’s emotional well-being 1st