On 7 April 2008, the Productivity Commission released an Issues Paper on its inquiry into paid parental leave.   

The Commission has been asked by the Federal Government to inquire into the costs and benefits of a national scheme for paid parental leave. The Commission has been asked to:

• Examine the extent of paid parental leave provided by Australian employers;
• Identify models of paid parental leave that could be used in Australia.

The inquiry is taking public submissions and will hold public hearings before reporting back to the Government by 28 February 2009.

The paper outlines a range of questions it would like submissions to address.  It also sets out the parental leave arrangements in Belgium, Norway, Sweden, NZ, Japan and the UK, and refers to particular examples of employer-funded paid parental leave schemes in Australia. 

The Commission is seeking feedback on the Issues Paper by 2 June 2008. The Issues Paper can be accessed online.

Many businesses across a range of industries are already providing or introducing paid maternity leave into their workplaces. Some examples which have attracted recent media attention include:

• Myer's announcement last month of its introduction of a 6 week paid parental leave benefit to employees with 18 months service;
• Aldi Stores announcing that it will be providing 14 weeks maternity leave on half pay for employees with 12 months service;
• The announcement by Domino's pizza last week that it will be offering 8 weeks paid maternity leave for employees with 18 months service, and 2 weeks paid leave for partners on the birth of their child.

In the meantime, employers should be mindful of:

• their legislative responsibilities in relation to family leave (including under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and any other applicable industrial laws or instruments that set out their obligations in respect of family leave);
• the operation of the anti-discrimination laws when making any decision in relation to a person's employment because of their pregnancy, marital status and/or family responsibilities.