New South Wales
Paternity leave in NSW
If you searched this, you probably assumed the rules are set by the state. For most people in New South Wales they are not. Here is what actually decides your leave, and the one case where NSW does matter.
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Private sector in New South Wales: the state changes nothing
Parental leave for private sector employees is federal. The Fair Work Act sets the unpaid leave and Services Australia pays the money. A dad in New South Wales gets exactly what a dad in any other state gets.
- 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 the due date.
- Reserved for the partner, 20 days
- Reserved for the birth parent, 20 days
- To share, 90 days
Where NSW does matter: if the NSW government employs you
Eligible NSW Government sector employees, for babies born on or after 1 October 2022. Gender neutral: the same entitlement for either parent.
Partner, paid
14 weeks
Plus up to
2 weeks
Instrument. NSW Government sector paid parental leave scheme (Premier's Memorandum M2022-08).
Qualifying period. 40 weeks continuous service at the expected date of birth, adoption, surrogacy or placement.
The extra weeks. Two weeks bonus leave where paid parental leave is shared more equally between partners. Automatic for single parents and where your partner has no employer-paid entitlement.
The catch. It is 14 weeks for each parent who works for the NSW Government, not 14 weeks per family. If you both do, you both get it.
- Take it within the first 24 months from the date of birth.
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 NSW get wrong
- Searching for state rules when their employer is a private business. The state changes nothing.
- 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.
Verified 11 September 2026. Rates and day counts change every 1 July.