✍️ 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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Anneliese Collier signed 2026-09-14 22:57:20 +1000Two doting dads listener
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Bonnie Copeland signed 2026-09-14 21:54:35 +1000I’m a doter!
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E G signed 2026-09-14 21:40:15 +1000DOTER
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Eleanor Kingma signed 2026-09-14 20:56:55 +1000
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Chris Morris signed 2026-09-14 20:48:04 +1000
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Jayden White signed 2026-09-14 20:47:02 +1000
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Jade Williams signed 2026-09-14 20:46:05 +1000
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Isabela Barbosa de Almeida Barros signed 2026-09-14 20:35:49 +1000
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Rachel Hunter signed 2026-09-14 20:15:49 +1000
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Lisa Stelling signed 2026-09-14 20:04:45 +1000
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Jess Bennett signed 2026-09-14 19:57:11 +1000
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Emma-lee Hayward signed 2026-09-14 19:51:39 +1000
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Sally Hepworth signed 2026-09-14 19:51:21 +1000
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James Shanley signed 2026-09-14 19:48:17 +1000
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Keith Read signed 2026-09-14 19:39:23 +1000
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Sophie Preston signed 2026-09-14 19:27:34 +1000
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Codi Brickhill signed 2026-09-14 19:19:29 +1000
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Michael Arapovic signed via Rebecca Mulligan 2026-09-14 19:10:42 +1000Two doting dads represent
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Chloe McInnes signed 2026-09-14 18:59:49 +1000
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Liv Bosotas signed 2026-09-14 18:26:49 +1000Important work well done to all and doting dads podcast
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Melissa Streater signed 2026-09-14 18:17:41 +1000
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Joshua Lewis signed 2026-09-14 18:02:00 +1000
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Alexandra Donovan signed 2026-09-14 17:51:11 +1000Gone are the days where men don’t play a role in child rearing, and rightly so. Having a newborn is an overwhelming experience, and both parents should be given enough time to bond with their new child while building a supportive and welcoming environment for their family.
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Britt Moat signed 2026-09-14 17:50:28 +1000
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Sophie Woodward signed 2026-09-14 17:44:53 +1000
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Brieana Young signed 2026-09-14 17:36:55 +1000
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Amber Sansom-Sherwill signed 2026-09-14 17:30:36 +1000
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Laura Woodward signed 2026-09-14 17:30:03 +1000
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Ben Vasiliou signed 2026-09-14 17:26:55 +1000
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Hanna Aili signed 2026-09-14 17:22:08 +1000