Paid Parental Leave scheme: changes could hit mothers' purses hard

New parents stand to lose between $4000 and more than $11,000 if cuts to the Paid Parental Leave scheme go ahead.

The Women and Work Group at University of Sydney analysis, commissioned by Fair Agenda and Young Women's Christian Association [YWCA] Australia, found the Commonwealth's proposed changes would leave parents working in retail, health and education, key industries for women workers, worse off.

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"The federal government's proposed scheme is regressive and the analysis shows it will have a negative impact on lower paid women," the report's authors Professor Marian Baird and Dr Andreea Constantin concluded.

"Women who are in normal, but low paid jobs, or part-time work with slight benefits from employers will be financially penalised.

How cuts could affect ambulance workers.Credit: Fairfax

"These scenarios show that the loss to women in these critical jobs ranges from $4329.72 to $11,826. This represents a significant loss of income to the primary carer and their family during this key time when they will already be financially under pressure."

Under the modelling, a full-time ambulance service worker living with her partner, five-year-old and a new baby in Rocklea in Brisbane's south would lose $11,826 under the proposed changes to the PPL scheme, with her employer offering just over $12,600 or 14 weeks' paid leave.

The loss of the government scheme equates to a loss of just over six weeks of average living expenses for a family living in Brisbane, the authors found.

A part-time nurse living in Sale in regional Victoria would lose $7200 in financial support, or four weeks of average living expenses, while a part-time teacher in South Australia's capital Adelaide stands to lose $11,520 or seven weeks of average living costs.

How cuts could affect retail workers.Credit: Fairfax

A retail worker in Tasmania would lose 4.5 weeks in living costs, or $4330.

The government plans to cut its parental leave contribution to parents from July next year, if the negotiated employer-paid leave is equal to or greater than the Commonwealth scheme.

How cuts could affect nurses.Credit: Fairfax

That change, which the federal government said would bring an end to "double dipping", is predicted to impact about 80,000 parents, most of which by far are women, saving the Commonwealth nearly $1 billion over four years.

The present government scheme, originally designed to top up employer schemes to ensure mothers could spend at least six months at home with their infant, provides 18 weeks' paid leave at minimum wage, about $650 a week, to a maximum of just over $11,500.

How cuts could affect teachers.Credit: Fairfax

But Professor Baird said there was more to the change than financial impacts.

"We have studied the social impacts of the current scheme and know that it has had a positive impact on new mothers' ability to stay at home for longer, on their and their baby's health and on the return-to-work prospects of mothers," she said.

"We can only predict what might happen with the changes, but a loss of income at this critical time may well drive women back to work earlier and seek more childcare."

The government will need crossbench support to see the changes through.