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Australia Commission recommends 18 weeks paid maternity leave
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said that Australia would introduce paid maternity leave, noting it was time to adopt a better healthcare and wellbeing system to reward women for caring for their infants. The announcement came after the nation's Productivity Commission recommended a taxpayer-funded scheme under which the primary carer of a child would receive 18 weeks' paid maternity leave at the minimum wage, now A$544.
Meanwhile, the commission proposal, estimated to cost about A$1.3 billion a year, would see working mothers paid more than their stay-at-home counterparts. It would also allow partners to receive up to an extra two weeks' paid leave. Employers currently have to give women only 12 months of unpaid leave when they have a baby. The entitlements for paid maternity leave differ under Australian work awards and contracts. Under the current model, Australian parliament research shows 39% of female employees take an average of seven weeks paid maternity leave before returning to the same job.
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