Changes to parental and workplace sexual harassment laws
Share this article:
New workplace changes to paid parental leave, and workplace sexual harassment laws.
.
Paid Parental Leave (PPL): What's changed?
CURRENT PROVISIONS Under the current PLP scheme, eligible individuals who are the primary carer for a child who is born or adopted get up to 18 weeks’ pay at the National Minimum Wage (‘NMW’). This is fully funded by the Australian Government, though employers must process the payments through their payroll.
The first 12 weeks of PLP instalments must be received in one continuous period within 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. The remaining 30 payable days can be taken flexibly within 24 months of the birth or adoption of a child. This coincides with an employee’s rights under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FW Act’) to return to work after parental leave and the ability to take a maximum of 30 days’ parental leave flexibly within 24 months of the child’s birth or adoption date.
Eligible fathers and other partners can get up to two weeks’ payment (one-off) at the NMW under the Dad and Partner Pay (DAPP) scheme.
Individuals must claim PLP or DAPP through Centrelink and eligibility for the schemes is assessed by Services Australia (formerly the Department of Human Services) in which relevant work, income and other eligibility tests under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cth) (‘PPL Act’) must be met.
New changes
From 1 July 2023, PLP and DAPP will be combined into one scheme which will provide eligible parent couples or single parents up to 20 weeks of PLP at the NMW. DAPP will no longer exist as a separate scheme. Eligible parents must not be working during this time or must be on leave (paid or unpaid).
Additionally,
the whole 20 weeks of PLP instalments can be received flexibly in multiple blocks within 24 months of the child’s birth or adoption date (removing the requirement of the 12 weeks of PLP instalments being received in one continuous period and the 30 days’ cap previously mentioned);
parents will be able to access PLP even when on paid leave (e.g. employer-funded parental leave, annual leave or long service leave), and in between periods of paid work;
birth mothers or first adoptive parents will have to give approval to share any PLP days, and if shared with a partner, parents will be able to access PLP at the same time;
for PLP that is shared between a couple, at least two weeks will be reserved for each partner to use with any unused amount of PLP days lost if not used within 24 months of the child’s birth or adoption date;
if a person does not meet the individual income limit of $156,647 (i.e earns more than this amount), there will be a combined family income limit of $350,000 which will be applied instead (this limit will be used whether a person is single or partnered); and
there will be special circumstance exceptions to the work test for individuals whose ability to work during the ‘work test period’ are impacted by family and domestic violence, a serious medical condition (for either you or an immediate family member you care for), or a natural disaster declared by the Commonwealth or a state or territory.
Prohibiting workplace sexual harassment The Fair Work Act has been amended to prohibit (or ban) sexual harassment in connection with work, including in the workplace. These changes apply from 6 March 2023 and expand the previous protections around sexual harassment in the workplace.
The protection applies to:
workers including employees, contractors, work experience students and volunteers
future workers
people conducting a business or undertaking.
The protection won’t apply to sexual harassment that starts before 6 March 2023.
New Fair Work Commission powers The Commission now has greater powers to deal with workplace sexual harassment.
In addition to its existing ‘stop sexual harassment order’ powers, the Commission can deal with disputes about sexual harassment by:
The setting up of a SMSF and all administration tasks such as preparation of your trust deed and the completion and lodgement of relevant ATO statements.
Ensuring your SMSF is compliant with current superannuation laws and regulations
Secure File Transfer is a facility that allows the safe and secure exchange of confidential files or documents between you and us.
Email is very convenient in our business world, there is no doubting that. However email messages and attachments can be intercepted by third parties, putting your privacy and identity at risk if used to send confidential files or documents. Secure File Transfer eliminates this risk.
Login to Secure File Transfer, or contact us if you require a username and password.
Disclaimer
Information provided on this web site is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice.
Peter Price & Associates has taken reasonable care in providing this information, unless expressly stated, it should not be construed as being specific to your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs.
Peter Price & Associates will endeavour to update the web site as needed. However, information can change without notice and Peter Price & Associates does not guarantee the accuracy of information on the web site, including information provided by third parties, at any particular time.
This information is prepared for residents of Australia only. Any currency references are references to Australian dollars unless otherwise specified.
Unless otherwise specified, copyright of information provided on this web site is owned by Peter Price & Associates. You may not alter or modify this information in any way, including the removal of this copyright notice.
This web site does not offer securities or other financial products, nor does it invite subscriptions for securities or other financial products to any person outside Australia. Peter Price & Associates does not guarantee the repayment of capital or any particular return from, or any increase in, the value of any Peter Price & Associates products unless otherwise expressly agreed.
Further, Peter Price & Associates disclaims any liability for loss, damage, cost or other expense which you may incur as a result of any information provided on this web site, to the extent that such liability is not excluded by law.
Legal Statement & Privacy Policy
This publication provides general advice only. No direct or implicit recommendations are given in this publication. This means the general advice provided has not been prepared taking into account an individuals particular financial circumstances (ie investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs). You should assess whether the advice is appropriate to individual financial circumstances before making an investment decision.
Save for statutory liability which cannot be excluded Peter Price & Associates disclaim all responsibility for any loss or damage which any person may suffer from reliance on this information or any opinion, conclusion or recommendation in this publication whether the loss or damage is caused by any fault or negligence on the part of Peter Price & Associates or otherwise.
Peter Price & Associates Pty Ltd adopts a strict 14 day payment term for all accounts rendered. Full payment of fees must be made 14 days from date of each invoice, unless otherwise agreed upon by Peter Price & Associates Pty Ltd.
You have the options of paying by credit card (Master Card or Visa Card), cash, cheque, money order, direct credit, or we can deduct our fees from your ATO refund. Please contact us for account details if your choose to direct credit to our account, we can also accept credit card payments via phone.
In the event that your payment is late, to the extent permitted by law, interest and charges for late payment will begin to accrue after 30 days from the due date. Payment plans can be arranged to avoid disruption to services. Any costs incurred by debt collectors will be added to outstanding fees payable.
