Most private sector employees in Tasmania: 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 TAS does matter: if the TAS government employs you
Tasmanian State Service employees classified under the Tasmanian State Service Award. Health, teaching and nursing staff are on their own awards.
Partner, paid
4 weeks
Primary carer, paid
18 weeks
Plus up to
12 weeks
Instrument. Tasmanian State Service Award, Part VIII clause 2.
Qualifying period. 40 weeks continuous service. This dropped from 12 months on 11 May 2026.
The extra weeks. Up to 12 more paid weeks within 78 weeks of the birth while you take over as the main carer, as long as your partner is not on paid primary carer leave from their own employer at the same time.
The catch. The 4 paid weeks have to be taken at the birth. The extra 12 weeks only pay while you are genuinely the main carer, so they cannot run alongside your partner's paid leave. Older guides still quote a 12 month qualifying period; it is now 40 weeks.
- A further 2 weeks at the birth from your own annual or long service leave, or unpaid.
- Both parents can be on leave together for up to 8 weeks around the birth.
- Extra employer superannuation on 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 TAS 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.