✍️ 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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Anh Tran signed 2026-09-27 18:16:05 +1000
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Nicole Nash signed 2026-09-27 17:42:29 +1000
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Megan McIntosh signed 2026-09-27 05:52:38 +1000
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Jasmine Blakenburg signed 2026-09-26 22:24:04 +1000
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Bradley McHugh signed 2026-09-26 21:40:17 +1000
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Brent Moloney signed 2026-09-26 21:37:14 +1000
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Charlotte Hand signed 2026-09-26 20:14:10 +1000
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Stephen Henderson signed 2026-09-26 19:46:31 +1000
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Summer Henderson signed 2026-09-26 19:24:29 +1000
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Jessica Tame signed 2026-09-26 18:22:58 +1000
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Selina Pitt signed 2026-09-26 17:14:37 +1000
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Olivia Hall signed 2026-09-26 17:09:18 +1000
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Dylan Wootton signed via Amber Wilson 2026-09-26 16:32:30 +1000
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Gabrielle Jones signed 2026-09-26 14:53:27 +1000
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Jess Quirk signed 2026-09-26 09:57:07 +1000
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Elise Binnington signed 2026-09-26 09:11:51 +1000
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Kareena Johnson signed 2026-09-26 08:43:29 +1000
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Emily Gemmill signed 2026-09-26 08:32:09 +1000
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Tiffany Watson signed 2026-09-26 08:25:56 +1000Supporting Mum’s and parents in the first year of a child’s life won’t just be good for the economy, it will be an incredible benefit to the health and wellbeing, for parents and for the next generation. The growth, bonds and developmental changes a child makes in the first 12 months are huge. To be able to create stronger bonds with the major care givers in a child’s life during this time isn’t just a nice thing to have. It’s a basic human right, for all babies mothers and families across Australia.
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Stephanie Vanlandeghem signed 2026-09-26 08:12:09 +1000As an early childhood educator I have seen mums juggling it all. It is a huge struggle! Give them that year, they need it!!!!
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Allanah Sweeney signed 2026-09-26 08:01:01 +1000
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Sarah Davies signed 2026-09-26 07:37:41 +1000
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Kelly Blackman signed 2026-09-26 07:36:32 +1000
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Kimberley lake signed 2026-09-26 07:21:37 +1000
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Kat Pummell signed 2026-09-26 07:07:30 +1000
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Lara Levy signed 2026-09-26 06:38:38 +1000Parents are raising the Australians of tomorrow and we need more help
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Catherine Tran signed 2026-09-26 06:36:52 +1000
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Ingrid Yssel signed 2026-09-26 06:35:01 +1000
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Monique Thompson signed 2026-09-26 06:33:51 +1000
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Elaine Leek signed 2026-09-26 04:32:22 +1000