✍️ 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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Kristy Manners signed 2026-09-24 00:41:06 +1000
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Cherie Goh signed 2026-09-24 00:24:25 +1000
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Christine Kirkwood signed 2026-09-24 00:01:57 +1000
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Tiffany Clarke signed 2026-09-23 23:28:38 +1000
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Meera Liesle Bickley signed 2026-09-23 23:27:09 +1000
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Berny B signed 2026-09-23 23:26:55 +1000
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Sahiba Rehal signed 2026-09-23 23:14:20 +1000SUPPORT!!!
Honestly, I wish I could’ve stayed home with my baby until she was 12 months old, but financially, I had no choice but to return to work. 🥺 -
Diana Bibay signed 2026-09-23 22:50:15 +1000
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Breanan Harris signed 2026-09-23 22:46:27 +1000We really need this.
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Natalie King signed 2026-09-23 22:45:00 +1000
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Andrea Pitsilos signed 2026-09-23 22:32:58 +1000
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Chelsea Freeman signed 2026-09-23 22:31:01 +1000
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Melissa Connolly signed 2026-09-23 22:28:42 +1000
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Courtney Preo signed 2026-09-23 22:24:46 +1000
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Adam Doyle signed 2026-09-23 22:19:49 +1000
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Lochie Lancaster signed 2026-09-23 22:14:44 +1000
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Megan Topping signed 2026-09-23 22:05:37 +1000
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Samantha Atkinson signed 2026-09-23 22:04:46 +1000
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Al Robinson signed 2026-09-23 21:54:10 +1000
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Luke Chitty signed 2026-09-23 21:48:43 +1000
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Katelyn Sandric signed 2026-09-23 21:45:07 +1000
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Ashleigh Beddoes signed 2026-09-23 21:40:16 +1000
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Meaghan Coote signed 2026-09-23 21:40:06 +1000I’m not even a parent yet but I have no idea how people do it. The math doesn’t math!!
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Patrick Davis signed 2026-09-23 21:38:17 +1000
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Stephanie Lawson signed 2026-09-23 21:37:26 +1000
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Lucy H signed 2026-09-23 21:33:49 +1000The more support the better for all mums and dads out there!!
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Dani Spanos signed 2026-09-23 21:32:55 +1000
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Erica Crosato signed 2026-09-23 21:30:24 +1000
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Caterina Hambling signed 2026-09-23 21:27:07 +1000
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Felicity Robb signed 2026-09-23 21:09:45 +1000