Industrial Relations Act 1996

Maternity leave The notices and documents to be given to the employer for the purposes of taking maternity leave are as follows—

The employee should give at least 10 weeks’ written notice of the intention to take the leave.

The employee must, at least 4 weeks’ before proceeding on leave, give written notice of the dates on which she proposes to start and end the period of leave.

The employee must, before the start of leave, provide a certificate from a medical practitioner confirming that she is pregnant and the expected date of birth.

The employee must, before the start of leave, provide a statutory declaration by the employee stating, if applicable, the period of any paternity or partner leave sought or taken by her spouse.

Paternity or partner leave The notices and documents to be given to the employer for the purposes of taking paternity or partner leave are as follows—

In the case of extended paternity or partner leave, the employee should give at least 10 weeks’ written notice of the intention to take the leave.

The employee must, at least 4 weeks before proceeding on leave, give written notice of the dates on which the employee proposes to start and end the period of leave.

The employee must, before the start of leave, provide a certificate from a medical practitioner confirming that the employee’s spouse is pregnant and the expected date of birth.

In the case of extended paternity or partner leave, the employee must, before the start of leave, provide a statutory declaration by the employee stating—

if applicable, the period of any maternity leave sought or taken by the employee’s spouse, and

that the employee is seeking that period of extended paternity or partner leave to become the primary care-giver of a child.

Adoption leave The notices and documents to be given to the employer for the purposes of taking adoption leave are as follows—

In the case of extended adoption leave, the employee should give written notice of any approval or other decision to adopt a child at least 10 weeks’ before the expected date of placement.

The employee must give written notice of the dates on which the employee proposes to start and end the period of leave, as soon as practicable after the employee is notified of the expected date of placement of the child but at least 14 days before proceeding on leave.

The employee must, before the start of leave, provide a statement from an adoption agency or another appropriate body of the expected date of placement of the child with the employee for adoption purposes.

In the case of extended adoption leave, the employee must, before the start of leave, provide a statutory declaration by the employee stating—

if applicable, the period of any adoption leave sought or taken by his or her spouse, and

that the employee is seeking that period of extended adoption leave to become the primary care-giver of a child.

An employee does not fail to comply with this section if the failure was caused by—

the child being born (or the pregnancy otherwise terminating) before the expected date of birth, or

the child being placed for adoption before the expected date of placement,

An employee must notify the employer of any change in the information provided under this section within 2 weeks after the change.

If required by the employer, an employee who applies for parental leave is to give the employer a statutory declaration, or enter into an agreement with the employer, that for the period of the leave the employee will not engage in any conduct inconsistent with the employee’s contract of employment.