Data & Insights

2026 Parental Leave Survey results

Name: The Aussie Corporate 2026 Parental Leave Survey
Creator: The Aussie Corporate

How much paid parental leave employers give, whether people feel safe taking it, and who attaches strings to it.

All survey results

The Aussie Corporate kangaroo in a lab coat and round glasses, on a gold circle sticker

Which employers offer the best parental leave?

The 2026 Parental Leave Survey asked how much paid leave employers give, and whether people feel safe taking it. VivCourt Trading tops the ranking with 104 weeks.

Cover of the 2026 Parental Leave Survey results: 18% of Aussie corporates say taking parental leave damaged their career

Nearly a third rate their company's parental leave policy as inadequate. The median primary carer gets 16 weeks and the median secondary carer 4 weeks

Anything below 12 weeks is not enough. Culture scores rise from 4.2 out of 10 at companies offering under 6 weeks to 8.2 at those offering 13 to 16 weeks

Top 5 most generous parental leave policies in Australia, primary plus secondary carer: 1 VivCourt Trading 104 weeks, 2 Gadens 60 weeks, 3 PwC, Allens, MinterEllison, EY, KPMG, BHP, HSF Kramer, Ashurst, Bain, Xero and 36 other companies 52 weeks, 4 Ausgrid 48 weeks, 5 Atlassian 46 weeks

Generous leave on paper does not protect you if the culture punishes you for taking it. Parental leave generosity and culture scores rise together

The least generous parental leave policies found: Flight Centre 6 weeks, Scope 8 weeks, Menzies Aviation 8 weeks, Accent Group 10 weeks. Hungry Jack's, Brambles, AusNet and Chemist Warehouse report no employer-paid parental leave

The best leave policies are the ones people feel safe using. The composite top 5 for overall parental leave experience: Lendlease, HSF Kramer, PwC, QIC and IFM Investors

Employers where people feel confident taking leave, primary plus secondary carer: Microsoft 20 plus 6 weeks, Bain 26 plus 26, QBE 18 plus 18, Goldman Sachs 26 plus 26

Primary carer leave by industry: Mining 19.6 weeks, Professional Services 19.5, Energy 17.3, Financial Services 16.9, Technology 16.0, Government 15.7, Media and Marketing 12.4, FMCG and Retail 11.8, Health Care 11.3. Government has the highest secondary carer median at 14 weeks

The most unique parental leave benefits in Australia: HubSpot up to $9,000 for egg freezing and $15,000 adoption or surrogacy support, Tennis Australia, Westpac 130 days usable across 24 months, Mineral Resources an extra 14 weeks for secondary carers, Google a $500 baby bonus plus $6,000 a year in emergency childcare

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What we found

18% of Aussie corporates 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 rise from 4.2 out of 10 under 6 weeks of leave to 8.2 at 13 to 16 weeks.
Mining leads on primary carer leave at 19.6 weeks. Government has the highest secondary carer median at 14 weeks.

The top 5 most generous parental leave policies in Australia (employer-paid weeks, primary plus secondary carer)

Rank	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)

Read the slides as text

Cover. 18% of Aussie corporates say taking parental leave damaged their career.

Slide 2. Nearly a third rate their company's parental leave policy as inadequate. The median primary carer gets 16 weeks and the median secondary carer 4 weeks.

Slide 3. Anything below 12 weeks is not enough. Culture scores rise from 4.2 out of 10 at companies offering under 6 weeks to 8.2 at those offering 13 to 16 weeks.

Slide 4. The top 5 most generous policies: VivCourt Trading 104 weeks, Gadens 60, PwC and 45 others 52, Ausgrid 48, Atlassian 46.

Slide 5. Generous leave on paper does not protect you if the culture punishes you for taking it.

Slide 6. The least generous policies found: Flight Centre 6 weeks, Scope 8, Menzies Aviation 8, Accent Group 10. Hungry Jack's, Brambles, AusNet and Chemist Warehouse report no employer-paid parental leave.

Slide 7. The composite top 5 for overall parental leave experience: Lendlease, HSF Kramer, PwC, QIC and IFM Investors.

Slide 8. Employers where people feel confident taking leave: Microsoft 20 plus 6 weeks, Bain 26 plus 26, QBE 18 plus 18, Goldman Sachs 26 plus 26.

Slide 9. Primary carer leave by industry: Mining 19.6 weeks, Professional Services 19.5, Energy 17.3, Financial Services 16.9, Technology 16.0, Government 15.7, Media and Marketing 12.4, FMCG and Retail 11.8, Health Care 11.3.

Slide 10. The most unique benefits: HubSpot, Tennis Australia, Westpac, Mineral Resources and Google.

Source: The Aussie Corporate 2026 Parental Leave Survey, data as at September 2026

Read the full write-up

What are parental leave clawbacks?

A clawback makes you return to work for a set period after parental leave, or repay your leave pay if you leave. The 2026 Parental Leave Survey asked who has one.

Cover of the parental leave clawback results: EY made headlines for clawing back parental leave, and our data shows they are not close to the worst

1 in 8 corporate employees have strings attached to their parental leave. 13% of firms have a clawback or minimum return obligation, 29% in professional services, law and consulting. Government reported zero

The strictest firms require you to return for a set period and repay if you do not: Wotton Kearney, Thomson Geer (the final 6 of 20 paid weeks released only if you return within 12 months) and Onside Law (38 weeks repayable)

Several firms hold back your leave pay until you come back. It is framed as an incentive. Employees describe it as a ransom

24% of employees are not sure whether a clawback obligation applied to them at all

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What we found

1 in 8 corporate employees have strings attached to their parental leave.
13% of firms have a clawback or minimum return obligation. In professional services, law and consulting it is 29%. Government reported zero.
Several firms hold back your leave pay until you come back.
24% of employees are not sure whether an obligation applied to them at all.

The strictest clawback policies reported

Employer	What the policy requires
Wotton Kearney	A minimum return period, and you repay paid leave otherwise
Thomson Geer	20 weeks paid, the final 6 released only if you return within 12 months
Onside Law	38 weeks repayable (100% of parental leave paid)

Read the slides as text

Cover. EY made headlines for clawing back parental leave. Our data shows they are not close to the worst.

Slide 2. 1 in 8 corporate employees have strings attached to their parental leave. 13% of firms, and 29% in professional services, law and consulting. Government reported zero.

Slide 3. The strictest firms require you to return for a set period and repay if you do not: Wotton Kearney, Thomson Geer and Onside Law.

Slide 4. Several firms hold back your leave pay until you come back. It is framed as an incentive. Employees describe it as a ransom.

Slide 5. 24% of employees are not sure whether a clawback obligation applied to them at all.

Source: The Aussie Corporate 2026 Parental Leave Survey, data as at September 2026

Read the full write-up