✍️ 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 are taking that case to Parliament House. We want your name on the list we hand over.
Here For It. From Day One.
Read the new ‘More Time’ With Dad report
People who have signed the petition
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Rebecca Squire signed 2026-09-06 11:34:17 +1000
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Emily Chambers signed 2026-09-06 11:33:40 +1000
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Hilary Harper signed 2026-09-06 11:30:21 +1000
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Lauren Ravida signed 2026-09-06 11:25:29 +1000
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Mikaela Mitchell signed 2026-09-06 11:22:25 +1000
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Zoe Moore signed 2026-09-06 10:46:28 +1000
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Mija Keane signed 2026-09-06 08:15:05 +1000
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Jessica Seeland signed 2026-09-06 00:57:52 +1000
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Lavinia Kanagandran signed 2026-09-06 00:17:56 +1000
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Darryl Johnson signed via Sebastian Costello 2026-09-05 21:09:14 +1000
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Jenna Young signed 2026-09-05 18:02:43 +1000
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Ragne Rasin signed 2026-09-05 17:45:05 +1000
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Penny Flicker signed 2026-09-05 17:07:24 +1000
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Alice Andrewartha signed 2026-09-05 17:04:06 +1000
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Charmaine Farrell signed 2026-09-05 16:30:30 +1000Families with newborns need two parents at home. New mums need support to recover from the birth, get enough sleep and establish breastfeeding.
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Ruby M signed 2026-09-05 16:23:30 +1000
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Cristina Dervenis signed 2026-09-05 13:28:05 +1000
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Tan Nguyen signed 2026-09-05 12:41:20 +1000
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Paula La Rocca signed 2026-09-05 12:38:05 +1000
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Cally Castell signed 2026-09-05 12:11:08 +1000
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Meg Kelleher signed 2026-09-05 11:34:10 +1000
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Emil Lourens signed 2026-09-05 10:24:26 +1000
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Melissa Rutherford signed 2026-09-05 10:05:35 +1000
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Tiffany Walsh signed 2026-09-05 09:51:53 +1000
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Rani Nandan signed 2026-09-05 09:37:32 +1000
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Genevieve Bone signed 2026-09-05 08:49:10 +1000
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F Bree signed 2026-09-05 08:27:57 +1000
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Sonia Harris signed 2026-09-05 08:15:31 +1000
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Careen Redman signed 2026-09-05 08:08:48 +1000
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Emily Hindle signed 2026-09-05 07:41:32 +1000