✍️ 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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Hailee Weekes signed 2026-07-29 08:23:41 +1000
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Jess Podlesny signed 2026-07-29 08:21:24 +1000
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Kaylee Chapple-Stroud signed 2026-07-29 08:10:33 +1000
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Emma Jones signed 2026-07-29 07:57:14 +1000
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Amber Gray signed 2026-07-29 07:55:48 +1000
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Tim Duggan signed 2026-07-29 07:47:29 +1000
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Monique S signed 2026-07-29 07:45:05 +1000
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Ebony Craigie signed 2026-07-29 07:30:15 +1000
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Bianca J signed 2026-07-29 06:59:55 +1000
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Tilly Mazzei signed 2026-07-29 06:00:31 +1000
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Alana De ville signed 2026-07-29 04:46:12 +1000
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Sheila Melancio signed 2026-07-29 02:08:36 +1000
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Joyce L signed 2026-07-29 02:00:27 +1000
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Alexandra Trass signed 2026-07-28 22:09:54 +1000
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Sowmya Konduru signed 2026-07-28 21:44:57 +1000
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Kym Doyle signed 2026-07-28 21:24:38 +1000
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Paris Cunningham signed 2026-07-28 21:15:06 +1000
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Jamile Long signed 2026-07-28 21:10:24 +1000
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Maria Catalan signed 2026-07-28 20:10:32 +1000
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Emily Thompson signed 2026-07-28 19:31:30 +1000
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Emma Bartlett signed 2026-07-28 19:05:37 +1000This helps give families CHOICE which is lacking right now but critical. The first year of a child’s life lays the foundation for their development and education and should not be compromised due to parents not having the ability to make the right choices for them and their families.
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Gloria Tung signed 2026-07-28 18:04:08 +1000
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Monique Hancock signed 2026-07-28 17:10:15 +1000
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Elizabeth Cunningham signed 2026-07-28 16:25:48 +1000For future parents to be able to bond with their children
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Emily Bayliss signed 2026-07-28 15:01:30 +1000
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Malena Napolitano signed 2026-07-28 14:56:36 +1000
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Fionnuala Glass signed 2026-07-28 12:54:21 +1000
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Sez Niederer signed 2026-07-28 12:12:51 +1000
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Ashley Hunt signed 2026-07-28 12:00:10 +1000
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Bernadette Warbrick signed 2026-07-28 11:32:26 +1000We need 12 months of paid parental leave so families can spend time together with their babies. The first year of life is important for family bonding.