Minister for Women and Finance Katy Gallagher,who will announce the changes as she unveils Labor’s national gender equality strategy on Thursday,said the policy would help close the superannuation gap between men and women.
“The data is clear – that when women take time out of the workforce to raise children,it impacts their retirement incomes with women retiring,on average,with about 25 per cent less super than men,” she said.
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The federal government said it would release the cost of the policy and further details in the budget on May 14.
Modelling from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia in 2023 estimated that paying superannuation on paid parental leave would cost the government about $200 million a year.
The Commonwealth paid parental leave scheme currently provides about 180,000 families a year with 20 weeks of leave paid at the minimum wage,which is about $883 a week.
Two of those weeks are reserved for the secondary parent,and the scheme will be expanded to a full six months of leave by 2026.