Most private sector employees in South Australia: 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 SA does matter: if the SA government employs you
Salaried SA public sector employees under the SA Public Sector Enterprise Agreement: Salaried 2026, across most departments plus TAFE SA, CFS, SES and others. Not executives, police officers or MFS firefighters.
Partner, paid
0 weeks
Primary carer, paid
16 weeks
Plus up to
4 weeks
Instrument. SA Public Sector Enterprise Agreement: Salaried 2026, clauses 12.5 to 12.33.
Qualifying period. 12 months continuous service immediately before the birth for paid primary carer leave. Casuals are excluded.
The extra weeks. If both parents work for the SA public sector, up to 4 weeks of the primary carer's paid leave can be taken by the partner at the same time, within 2 months of the birth. The primary carer's weeks drop by the same amount.
The catch. SA's paid partner leave is not extra leave. It lets you use up to 2 weeks of your own sick leave within 3 months of the birth. The primary carer gets 16 paid weeks, or 20 with 5 years in the SA public sector.
- Up to 2 weeks of your own accrued sick leave can be used as partner leave within 3 months of the birth.
- Paid primary carer leave can be taken at half pay.
- Right to return part time until the child's second birthday after paid or unpaid 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 SA 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.