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You may be able to transfer some or all of your entitlement to your spouse or partner, but entitlements can only be transferred once.

This also means, once you transfer your entitlement to your spouse or partner, you cannot transfer it back.

A transfer could allow both of you to spend time getting to know your new baby or child under 6.

To qualify for paid parental leave, your spouse or partner must stop working, have primary responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child, and meet the ‘work requirements’.

Work requirements for paid parental leave

Only 1 person can receive paid parental leave payments at a time.

Apply for a transfer

You can request to transfer your entitlement to your spouse or partner when you register for paid parental leave. Or, if you’re already registered, you can complete the online form in myIR.

Your spouse or partner will get an alert in myIR asking them to apply for paid parental leave. If they’re not registered for myIR, we’ll send them a letter.

Transfer your paid parental leave

Rules for transfers

Your spouse or partner’s paid parental leave entitlement depends on the amount of income they earn. That means their payments may be different from yours.

Entitlements can only be transferred once, so you need to decide which of you will be taking the payments first.

Paid parental leave payments are paid to a family for a maximum of 26 weeks.

In other words, if you get payments for 10 weeks and you transfer your entitlement to your spouse or partner, they’ll get payments for the remaining 16 weeks. Their paid parental leave period starts the day after your paid parental leave period ends.

Payment period must be continuous

Parental leave payments are payable for one continuous period of up to 26 weeks. You can transfer some or all your parental leave payments to your spouse or partner.

If you transfer your payments once you start receiving them, you cannot transfer them back again. If your spouse or partner needs to return to work early, the parental leave payments will end.

If you transfer your payments before you start receiving them, you will be able to transfer them back again. That means if your spouse or partner needs to return to work early, they can transfer payments back to you before they return.

The rules for transferring parental leave payments are not the same as the more flexible rules for sharing parental leave.

Example: Annabelle transfers her entitlement to partner Jake

Annabelle and Jake are parents of baby Lily, who was born on 17 January. On 5 January, Annabelle goes on paid parental leave to prepare for Lily’s arrival.

Both parents want to spend time with Lily, so after 12 weeks of paid parental leave, Annabelle transfers her entitlement to Jake, who meets the work requirements.

Jake takes paid parental leave for 10 weeks.

If Jake takes parental leave payments, Annabelle would not be entitled to receive payments, once Jake’s payments end.

Example: Only 1 transfer within the family

Harry and Reuben adopt 6-month baby Emily when Harry’s sister is no longer able to look after her.

As the primary carer, Harry goes on paid parental leave to look after Emily. In the evenings, Reuben gives Harry a break from parenting and it’s clear Emily and Reuben have a special bond.

After 10 weeks, Harry transfers his entitlement to Reuben, who goes on paid parental leave, expecting to see out the remaining 16 weeks as Emily’s stay-at-home dad.

However, after 5 weeks, Reuben is offered a significant promotion at work ─ simply too good to turn down.

Reuben returns to work with some regret, but knowing that he and Harry need the extra income now they have a surprise new family member.

Ideally, Reuben would transfer his entitlement back to Harry, but that’s not possible.

Entitlements can only be transferred once.


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Last updated: 15 Jan 2024
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