The Federal Government says it wants to give parents six months of paid leave by 2026.  

Parents are currently eligible for 18 weeks of paid parental leave and two weeks of secondary carer leave, paid at the same rate as the minimum wage. 

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that duration will be gradually increased in coming years.

“This was one of the strongest points of consensus and one of the clearest calls for action from our Jobs and Skills Summit,” Mr Albanese said over the weekend. 

“Businesses, unions, experts and economists all understand that providing more choice, more support and more flexibility for families and more opportunity for women boosts participation and productivity across the economy.”

Single parents will have up to six months of paid leave, while two-parent households can decide how they split the leave. 

The government says it wants to incentivise fathers and secondary carers to use their entitlements and divide the responsibility of childcare more evenly.

The women's economic and equality task force has been tasked with outlining the optimal model for sharing leave between two parents.

“Our plan will mean more families take up this leave, share in that precious time — and share the caring responsibilities more equally,” Mr Albanese said. 

“This plan will support dads who want to take time off work to be more involved in those early months. It's a modern policy, for modern families.”

The government says it will introduce reforms to modernise the system from July next year, but additional weeks of leave will not start to become available for almost two years. 

An extra two weeks of additional leave should be on offer from July 2024, with entitlements increasing by two weeks each year until July 2026.