✍️ 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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Liz Temple signed 2026-10-01 17:13:36 +1000
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Caroline Troup signed 2026-10-01 15:00:43 +1000
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Rachael Chorazy signed 2026-10-01 13:12:36 +1000YES!!!!!!!
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Emma Page signed 2026-10-01 10:05:50 +1000
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Jen Stokes signed 2026-10-01 08:26:10 +1000
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Kaylla Taylor signed 2026-09-30 21:19:16 +1000
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Megan Olsen signed 2026-09-30 20:31:23 +1000
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Grace Robinson signed 2026-09-30 19:48:22 +1000
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Chloe Trewick signed 2026-09-30 12:47:47 +1000
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Alice Manderson signed 2026-09-30 12:15:07 +1000The system is antiquated
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Clio Ellis signed 2026-09-30 11:51:04 +1000
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Kirsty Evans signed 2026-09-30 11:50:30 +1000
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Jamie Freeman signed 2026-09-30 09:51:38 +1000
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Zoe Bradford signed 2026-09-30 09:42:18 +1000
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Georgia Hatton signed 2026-09-30 08:31:52 +1000
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Amy Halliday signed 2026-09-30 08:01:51 +1000
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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.