🔥 2,737 people have signed
12 months of paid parental leave - sign the petition
2,737 signatures
2,737 of 3,000 goal

✍️ 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
Bertram Jenkins
Michael Voss
Ruth Phillips
Tijana Seiffert
Kasia Marciszewski
Wick Collins
Cara Nightingale
Ella Bailey
Tenille Ford
Horace Fairweather
Josh Rozairo
Melody Chew
Charlotte Veldhoen
Steve James
Jaclyn Costello
Fleur Chew
Sarah Cameron
Peter Hunt
Michael Gliksman
Todd Dawson
Madeleine d'Avigdor
Tim Davidson
Jackie East
Diane Davies
Danika Sanderson
Emma Jarrett
Sheya Atherton
Rachel Roberts
Aaron Chong
Matt Kleinschafer

Will you sign?

Recent responses

  • Bertram Jenkins
    signed 2026-09-10 13:23:36 +1000
    Dads need time to connect and spend time with their babies
  • Michael Voss
    signed 2026-09-10 13:22:25 +1000
  • Ruth Phillips
    signed 2026-09-10 13:16:56 +1000
  • Tijana Seiffert
    signed 2026-09-10 12:55:00 +1000
  • Kasia Marciszewski
    signed 2026-09-10 12:39:16 +1000
  • Wick Collins
    signed 2026-09-10 11:38:38 +1000
  • Cara Nightingale
    signed 2026-09-10 11:10:57 +1000
  • Ella Bailey
    signed 2026-09-10 10:42:26 +1000
  • Tenille Ford
    signed 2026-09-10 09:52:14 +1000
  • Horace Fairweather
    signed 2026-09-10 09:29:12 +1000
  • Josh Rozairo
    signed 2026-09-10 08:08:01 +1000
    Great to see this progress. As a dad of three, time with the kids in the early stages is crucial, but it needs to make financial sense.
  • Melody Chew
    signed 2026-09-10 07:55:59 +1000
  • Charlotte Veldhoen
    signed 2026-09-10 07:31:25 +1000
  • Steve James
    signed 2026-09-10 07:12:36 +1000
  • Jaclyn Costello
    signed 2026-09-10 06:49:13 +1000
  • Fleur Chew
    signed 2026-09-10 05:44:10 +1000
  • Sarah Cameron
    signed 2026-09-10 01:27:02 +1000
  • Peter Hunt
    signed 2026-09-10 01:03:16 +1000
  • Michael Gliksman
    signed 2026-09-09 22:21:28 +1000
    Gender equality for fathers has been neglected for far too long.
  • Todd Dawson
    signed 2026-09-09 21:55:07 +1000
  • Madeleine d'Avigdor
    signed 2026-09-09 21:53:35 +1000
  • Tim Davidson
    signed 2026-09-09 21:50:47 +1000
  • Jackie East
    signed 2026-09-09 21:47:02 +1000
  • Diane Davies
    signed 2026-09-09 21:07:35 +1000
  • Danika Sanderson
    signed 2026-09-09 21:05:56 +1000
  • Emma Jarrett
    signed 2026-09-09 21:05:12 +1000
  • Sheya Atherton
    signed 2026-09-09 21:03:31 +1000
  • Rachel Roberts
    signed 2026-09-09 20:38:54 +1000
  • Aaron Chong
    signed 2026-09-09 20:26:36 +1000
  • Matt Kleinschafer
    signed 2026-09-09 20:19:10 +1000