Most private sector employees in Australian Capital Territory: national rules
Most private sector employees use the national unpaid parental leave rules. Services Australia runs the separate government payment scheme. Your employer's policy can provide additional paid leave.
- Unpaid leave. Up to 12 months, extendable to 24 with your employer's agreement, after 12 months continuous service. Up to 130 days of it can be taken one day at a time.
- Parental Leave Pay. $200.94 a day before tax in 2026-27. 130 days for the family for babies born on or after 1 July 2026, 20 reserved for the partner.
- Notice. Tell your employer in writing at least 10 weeks before your leave starts.
- Reserved for the partner, 20
- Reserved for the birth parent, 20
- To share, 90
Where ACT does matter: if the ACT government employs you
ACT Public Service employees in administrative and related classifications. The other ACTPS agreements carry the same parental leave terms. Casuals are excluded from paid leave.
Partner, paid
5 weeks
Primary carer, paid
24 weeks
Plus up to
13 weeks
Instrument. ACT Public Sector Administrative and Related Classifications Enterprise Agreement 2023 to 2026, Section E.
Qualifying period. None for paid bonding leave. 12 months continuous service for birth leave and primary care giver leave.
The extra weeks. A partner who becomes the baby's primary care giver before the baby is 26 weeks old can get primary care giver leave, capped at 18 paid weeks in total including bonding leave already taken. Needs 12 months of service.
The catch. Your 5 paid bonding weeks must be used within 14 weeks of the birth, so you cannot save them for later. The 18 weeks for all parents you may have read about was in the 2026 proposal, which employees voted down in September 2026.
- One more week can be taken from your own personal leave for bonding.
- Bonding leave can be taken at half pay, up to 10 weeks.
- Employer superannuation continues for up to 104 weeks of parental leave.
This is paid by your employer and sits on top of Parental Leave Pay. You can usually take both, the paid weeks from the department and the government days, back to back or overlapping, within the rules of each.
What people in ACT get wrong
- Treating government Parental Leave Pay, unpaid leave from work and an employer's paid policy as a single entitlement.
- Assuming the birth parent can take all 130 paid days. 20 are reserved for the partner and are lost if unused.
- Missing the 10 week written notice, then finding the employer can push back on the dates.
Read more about unpaid parental leave and government pay rates.
Public sector detail source checked 26 September 2026. The government pay rate is reviewed each 1 July; the day allowance depends on the birth or adoption date.