Conclusions

Summary

This study critically examined the current legal landscape of paid parental leave in Australia and compared it with equivalent provisions in other OECD member countries with a nominal GDP similar to Australia’s, namely, Canada, Germany and Sweden. In comparing the legal entitlements of women against the OECD member countries, major discrepancies concerning leave duration and operation were established. This research has analysed the international treaties that have informed parental leave policies, the CEDAW, ICESCR, CRC and the ILO's Conventions and Recommendations. It has explored three variants of feminism, which were applied to analyse current Australian paid parental leave provisions. This analysis led to an observation that paid parental leave provisions are categorical to cultural feminism, whereas unpaid parental leave provisions fall under liberal feminism. These observations appear inconsistent with the parental leave policies of the identified OECD member countries, whose provisions fall under the cultural and reconstructive feminist paragons, championing women's rights as mothers and, equally, as breadwinners for the family.

Further, this monograph has relied on a breadth of social and political research into how Australian paid parental leave laws have developed from their inception to the current period. These social and political findings have effectively demonstrated that not only is Australia lagging in terms of duration and generosity of parental leave, as compared with OECD equivalents, but it has also been stagnant in terms of domestic development, with Australian paid parental leave not introduced until 2010. Employerpaid parental leave was also examined, revealing that, in practice, parental leave payments are viewed as welfare payments instead of a human right, as stipulated by international treaties.

While Australia's statutory paid parental leave aims to address gender inequality, promote women's workforce participation and promote child and maternal health, the 18-week duration falls considerably short compared with other OECD member countries and fails to meet the WHO's 26-week minimum leave duration for optimal child and maternal health. On average, mothers in Canada, Germany and Sweden have up to 74 weeks of statutory paid parental leave, paid at approximately AUD700 per week following childbirth or adoption. Meanwhile, Australian mothers are only entitled to up to 18 weeks of statutory paid leave weeks (less than 25% of the average entitlements of Canada, Germany and Sweden) at AUD754 per week.