A high school teacher in Australia has lost a Fair Work Commission case for 16 weeks of paid parental leave, with the ruling clarifying that the entitlement was not universally available to any parent who becomes the main caregiver. Andrew Read, employed at Mordialloc College since January 2024, sought to access the leave to care for his newborn child after his wife returned to work.
Read's application was based on the argument that he would become the primary caregiver. However, Fair Work Commissioner Oanh Thi Tran upheld a decision by the Victoria Department of Education, stating the 16-week leave provision was not a general allowance. Instead, it applied to specific circumstances such as adoption, surrogacy, or permanent care orders.
Because Read was the child's biological father, he already possessed parental responsibility from birth and did not meet the criteria for a new grant of responsibility. The department and the commissioner determined that he had not been granted parental responsibility through any of the stipulated processes. He had already utilized four weeks of paid partner leave between January and March 2026 while his wife initially took parental leave as the primary caregiver.
Commissioner Tran acknowledged the benefits of fathers taking parental leave and the desire for fathers to be primary caregivers but found the workplace agreement did not permit Read to access the additional entitlement. She noted that interpreting an agreement does not involve rewriting it to achieve a perceived fair outcome.
The case highlights ongoing discussions about parental leave entitlements for fathers and non-birthing parents who become primary caregivers. Current Australian government provisions offer eligible parents up to 26 weeks of Paid Parental Leave at the national minimum wage, and the National Employment Standards guarantee unpaid parental leave. Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency indicates that two-thirds of employers with 100 or more staff offer paid parental leave, with average durations varying based on primary or secondary carer status. A growing trend among Australian employers is the adoption of gender-neutral parental leave policies, with 20 percent offering equal leave to all parents, aiming to encourage a more equitable sharing of caregiving responsibilities.