✍️ 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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Judy Schneider signed 2026-09-09 20:09:17 +1000
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Natalie Flores signed 2026-09-09 19:58:22 +1000
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Kate Ravenscroft signed 2026-09-09 19:40:23 +1000
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george mercier signed 2026-09-09 19:12:56 +1000
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Lyndal Breen signed 2026-09-09 19:11:32 +1000
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Maryann Doolette signed 2026-09-09 19:07:32 +1000
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Simon Evans signed 2026-09-09 19:00:25 +1000
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Amanda Van de Saram signed 2026-09-09 18:34:04 +1000
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Therese O'Dwyer signed 2026-09-09 18:32:08 +1000
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Ron Woods signed 2026-09-09 18:07:24 +1000
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Kiri Stejko signed 2026-09-09 18:06:46 +1000
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Cass Thies signed 2026-09-09 18:06:33 +1000
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Bernadette Warbrick Warbrick signed 2026-09-09 18:05:20 +1000None
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Claire Wootton signed 2026-09-09 18:04:39 +1000
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Daniela Torsh signed via Hanna Torsh 2026-09-09 17:51:15 +1000
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Phylicia Burne signed 2026-09-09 16:09:54 +1000
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Terri Scanlon signed 2026-09-09 15:52:57 +1000
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Sarah Sannen signed 2026-09-09 15:03:37 +1000
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Bianca Camilleri signed 2026-09-09 14:59:55 +1000
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Gabe Bonney signed 2026-09-09 14:59:04 +1000
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Emmalea Gottani signed 2026-09-09 14:51:52 +1000
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Jan Dent signed 2026-09-09 14:27:54 +1000
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Mitch Gillies signed 2026-09-09 14:12:35 +1000
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Lindsay Bennett signed 2026-09-09 13:40:59 +1000
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Dayenny Quintanilha De Souza signed 2026-09-09 13:18:25 +1000
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Craig Wale signed 2026-09-09 12:52:22 +1000
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Simon signed 2026-09-09 12:34:01 +1000They deserve it
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Emily Moore signed 2026-09-09 12:21:40 +1000
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Jason Kirkaldy signed 2026-09-09 12:08:08 +1000
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Drew Murray signed 2026-09-09 11:07:51 +1000