What we found
- 18% say taking parental leave damaged their career.
- Nearly a third rate their company's policy as inadequate.
- The median primary carer gets 16 weeks. The median secondary carer gets 4.
- Culture scores jump from 4.2 out of 10 under 6 weeks of leave to 8.2 at 13 to 16 weeks.
Nearly a third rate their company's policy as inadequate.
The median primary carer gets 16 weeks. The median secondary carer gets 4 weeks.
Roughly half of Australia's most generous parental leave policies require some minimum tenure: from 3 months at BHP, to 6 months at Lendlease and HSF Kramer, to a full year at Ashurst and Goldman Sachs.
Anything below 12 weeks is not enough.
Culture scores jump from 4.2 out of 10 for companies offering under 6 weeks to 8.2 for those at 13 to 16 weeks.
The minimum credible policy starts at 13, and anything under 12 is seen as fundamentally broken by the people trying to make it work.
The top 5 most generous parental leave policies in Australia
| # | Employer | Weeks (primary + secondary) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | VivCourt Trading | 104 weeks (52 + 52), minimum 12 months in role |
| 2 | Gadens | 60 weeks (30 + 30) |
| 3 | PwC, Allens, MinterEllison, EY, KPMG, BHP, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Xero, Ashurst, Bain & Company and 36 other companies | 52 weeks (26 + 26) |
| 4 | Ausgrid | 48 weeks (24 + 24) |
| 5 | Atlassian | 46 weeks (26 + 20) |
Employer-paid weeks, on top of (or paid concurrently with) Australia's government paid parental leave scheme.
Generous leave on paper doesn't protect you if the culture punishes you for taking it.
There's a positive correlation between parental leave generosity and culture scores. Generous leave goes with better culture.
The composite top 5 for overall parental leave experience are Lendlease, HSF Kramer, PwC, QIC and IFM Investors: 26 + 26 weeks with employees feeling safe going on leave.
The least generous parental leave policies we found
Hungry Jack's, Brambles, AusNet and Chemist Warehouse report no employer-paid parental leave at all.
Flight Centre offers 6 weeks, primary only. Scope offers 8 weeks (6 + 2). Menzies Aviation offers 8 weeks (8 + 0). Accent Group offers 10 weeks (8 + 2).
Primary carer leave by industry
Mining leads on primary leave and lags badly on secondary (5.1 weeks). Government leads on equality with a secondary median of 14 weeks.
The most unique parental leave benefits in Australia
HubSpot offers up to $9,000 for egg freezing (women 32+) and $15,000 of adoption and surrogacy support. At Tennis Australia, a secondary carer can flip to primary up to 24 months after birth, plus 10 extra personal leave days on return.
Westpac gives 130 days of leave usable flexibly across the first 24 months, plus 13 weeks for pregnancy-related illness. Mineral Resources gives a secondary carer an extra 14 weeks if the primary carer returns at 0.8 FTE. Google pays a $500 baby bonus plus $6,000 a year in emergency childcare.
Source: 2026 Parental Leave Survey, data as at September 2026. Spotted an error? Correct something.
