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Paid Parental Leave changes will be here 1 July

When the Senate passed the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022 earlier this month, it was the first meaningful change to PPL legislation since it was introduced in 2011. 

For parents whose children are born or adopted from 1 July 2023, the requirement that 18 of the 20-week paid parental leave entitlement be taken by the ‘primary carer’ will be removed. The new legislation will allow single parents to use the full 20-week entitlement of paid leave, up from 18 weeks currently.

Under the new scheme, PPL will be extended from 20 to 26 weeks by 2026, with an extra fortnight of paid leave added each year from July 2024 until 2026.

Eligibility for parental leave in Australia

To be eligible for parental leave in Australia, an employee must have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months before the birth or adoption of their child. They must also have worked at least 1,200 hours during the 12 months before the expected date of birth or adoption.

Types of parental leave in Australia

There are two types of parental leave in Australia: unpaid parental leave and government-funded parental leave.

Unpaid parental leave: This type of leave allows eligible employees to take up to 12 months off work to care for their newborn or newly adopted child. During this time, their job is protected, and they are entitled to return to the same or a similar position when they return to work.

Government-funded parental leave: This type of leave provides eligible employees with financial assistance during their time off work. The scheme is called the Paid Parental Leave scheme and is administered by the Australian Government. Under this scheme, eligible employees can receive pay at the national minimum wage.


Australia was already behind most other OECD nations as the second-last to introduce a government PPL scheme, and while it procrastinated on making such leave more equitable, there were extensive consequences for our gender pay gap.

The numbers speak for themselves:

• In 2021-22, women used 88 per cent of primary carer’s leave, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

• Women account for the majority of part-time workers in Australia. In the month ending 31 December, men had worked approx. 97,000 part-time hours compared to 210,000 for women.

• Australia has the third-highest part-time employment rate in the OECD. 

• Women retire with 23.4 per cent less super than men, according to the Australian Association of Superannuation Funds.

A Treasury analysis found that a woman’s earnings fall by an average of 55 per cent in the first five years of parenthood. 

The Australian HR Institute industry magazine states a major contributor to Australia’s slow progress is the fact that our current PPL scheme actively encourages women to have career breaks and discourages men from doing the same. Also, terminology such as ‘primary carer’ and ‘secondary carer’ sends the message that men should take a back seat.

“The leave imbalance entrenches traditional gender roles. It sends the message that there’s only a minimum role for fathers,” says Dr Leonora Risse, Senior Lecturer in Economics at RMIT University, who specialises in gender equality. “We know there are many fathers who aspire to spend more time with their children to bond with their family, but our current policy settings and cultural norms prevent them from doing that.


Building a well-rounded parental leave policy

When considering the benefits of offering PPL, many organisations go to cost first. They weigh up the short-term price tag, but rarely consider the long-term benefits associated with PPL – in particular, attraction, retention and productivity. 

“For a long time, the support offered by organisations has been seen as a nice-to-have, rather than a talent retention strategy,” says Gilbert. “But it’s more than that. It’s a critical path to closing the gender pay gap, the leadership gap and the super gap, and increasing female participation in the workforce.”

An equitable parental leave policy shouldn’t stop at offering PPL. HR will play a significant role in normalising both parents taking leave and introducing policies to support them before, during and after leave. 

There’s a clear business case for offering PPL and instituting a family friendly workplace culture but there’s more to parental leave than a simple cost-out. Equitable parental leave is a human rights issue. And this is HR’s opportunity to step up, help companies live their values and make a tangible difference to Australia’s gender pay gap. 

“Of course, parental leave is a strategic investment for businesses. But more than that, it’s about people and principles,” says Risse. “Your bottom line will fluctuate, but your principles should stand firm.”

Source HRM Online

If you would like a strategic approach tailored to your specific business needs contact us to arrange an obligation free chat about how we can help.

Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION. 

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The Profit Over People Mentality & It’s Impact On Business Sustainability

Businesses exist to make profit, nobody is denying this. We need to make a profit so we can grow, so we can keep people employed, and so we can meet a need for whatever it is we are supplying our consumers.

But when leadership drives a profit over people mentality things start to go wrong. When it’s the focus during a skills shortage – well it impacts business sustainability.

People over profit is becoming the new norm, are you paying attention to the mindset shift?

In June 2020 I attended the Australian HR Institute WA State Conference where Associate Professor Ben Farr-Wharton, from the School of Business and Law Edith Cowan University, was a keynote speaker.

Ben spoke at length about how a focus on performance as a motivator, shareholder value at all cost breeds toxic workplace cultures, narcissistic leaders and a lack of integrity driven by a win at all cost management ethos.

But more than the culture it creates, we need to take a deep dive into how it affects your ability to attract & retain staff. In particular, the age demographic that by 2025 will represent 80% of the workforce.

PWC Australia have led the way with their Future of Work project, and their report “What Workers Want”

When we view the future of work through the lens of age demographic and what those workers want (catch up on past blog posts here, here, here & here) you can see that in the midst of a skills shortage, and particularly in regional areas or niche industries, there will be employers who will, quite simply, run out of people to employ.

Data is where the answers lie

Now’s the time to really start examining your people metrics.

▸ How high is your employee turnover?

▸ What is your employee tenure?

▸ Is there a particular age group that leaves at a higher rate than all others?

▸ Who are you attracting through your recruitment efforts?

Are you an employer who has stripped back employee benefits and conditions, rewards leaders based on financial outcomes instead of how they engage with their people and is quick to pull the trigger instead of developing people? I’m predicting you will see the following in your metrics.

▸ 0 – 3 years of service represents the highest percentage of employees

▸ Longer serving employees are generally aged in their late 40’s or older

▸ Over the past 4 years you’ve found it increasingly harder to attract and retain employees in their 20’s and early 30’s

▸ Employees aged in their late 20’s to late 30’s represent the age demographic most likely to leave in their 1st year of employment

▸ Apprentices & trainees leave almost immediately after being signed off

In 2 years time Millennials and Gen Z will make up 80% of the workforce, how sustainable will your business model be?


If you would like a strategic approach tailored to your specific business needs contact us to arrange an obligation free chat about how we can help.

Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION. 
Who we are

Your employees are keeping track, why aren’t you?

I have 2 sons who work in the mining industry as HD Fitters, their closest friends are also Fitters, and I can tell you this; nobody knows the market movements of pay rates better than my boys and their peers. 😂 They are up to speed and making strategic moves to increase their earnings a good 6 – 8 months before their employers seem to cotton on there’s been some market shifts in pay that they need to address.

I’ve collated salary data over the past 4 years from leading salary guides to demonstrate the impact of skills shortages, closed borders & new perspectives on living on HD Fitter (mining industry) market pays

There’s been a 21% increase at the bottom end of the range just in this financial year alone, the upper range has increased by more than 50% in the past 3 years. If you are in this cohort, and aren’t taking a strategic approach to setting salaries, then there is a very good chance your rates of pay are longer competitive.

While other occupations within the mining industry haven’t seen the jumps like HD Fitters, there have been some significant movements. Dump Truck Operators have only seen a 1% increase over 3 years at the lower end of the pay range, however, there has been a notable 23% increase at the upper end of the range.

Outside of the mining industry, Financial Accountants in general have seen a 15% increase in salaries since 2019/20, yet administration based positions have seen very little movement.

The Approach

How an organisation pays and rewards its people has a big impact on its ability to attract the best talent, ensure that they are challenged and motivated and whether or not they will stay with your organisation. When we partner with our clients we are looking to support the overall organisation strategy, the HR strategy and the desired organisational culture.  To be effective, the strategy needs to consider the internal relativities between roles; the organisational needs & values and the external market.

In taking a strategic approach to looking at remuneration and benchmarking total packages we can determine if you should take a temporary or permanent approach to address pay issues. We can consider your employee demographic, industry trends, employee engagement and the future of work in making recommendations to suit your organisation. We can look at non-financial drivers of attraction & retention.

Catch up on our Future of Work blogs HERE

The Leadership Factor

Organisations are only as successful as their approach to hiring the right people, setting clear expectations, engaging employees, managing performance and recognising and rewarding employees for a job well done. If you would like a strategic approach tailored to your specific business needs contact us to arrange an obligation free chat about how we can help.

Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION. 

Who we are

Culture isn’t a HR function, it comes from the top

MYTH – Workplace culture is a HR function ⁠
FACT – Culture is built from the top, from your leaders⁠

Let’s bust that myth right here.

Think about the worst behaviour your leaders are willing to let slide – thats the benchmark for your workplace culture⁠.

HR can advise, coach and monitor, but ultimately the leadership at all levels builds the culture of teams and the organisation overall⁠.

Right before Christmas I viewed a Reel from a HR consultant based in the UK. The basic premise was a client had an employee attend work intoxicated after attending the work Christmas party the night before, what the ensuing discussion failed to consider was the impact of letting that behaviour slide on the organisations culture.

Check out our thoughts below.

There are 2 core areas we need to unpack – the manager who ignores and the manager who perpetuates.

The manager who ignores poor behaviour

We see this a lot and it happens for a variety of reasons. Avoidance of tough conversations, the employee means a lot to the organisation (ie: $$), lack of leadership development, apathy, skills shortages and not wanting to risk losing people.

The reality?

Well the reality is the longer you avoid the conversation the harder it’s going to be when it finally takes place.

The more you make concessions for higher revenue earners & specialised skill sets the more turnover you will have in positions around them.

And the longer you leave your leaders languishing without adequate coaching the longer it takes to rewind cultural issues.

The manager who perpetuates

Where to start – I’m going to put some scenarios out there and you tell me how many you’ve come across.

❌ The manager who blatantly flouts workplace policies ie: the organisation has a strict zero tolerance to alcohol and drugs but they frequently hop in the work vehicle after a few bevvies

❌ The manager who picks and chooses which policies they will follow ie: inconsistent application of policies based on which employees are involved.

❌ The manager who condones and / or participates in unacceptable behaviours ie: conversations about people personal lives, pranking or hazing of employees. Excluding members of the team.

❌ The manager who takes little accountability for issues within their team

The impact to the workplace

Back in 2020 when we wrote THIS post on leadership, Kylie McLerie of Collective Culture Consultancy told us:

“Leadership is, or should be, a people based exercise. Effective leaders are always remembered for how they made people feel valued and part of the big picture, not simply a cog in the wheel.”

Kylie McLerie states the ability to be a great leader comes from the ability to “be the standard that you expect. If it isn’t modelled from the top then it won’t be part of the culture”

An organisations culture is the standard it accepts, not the standard it expects. If a leader can’t emulate the right behaviours then why should your employees?

If a leader in your organisation thinks is kosher to not follow policies and procedures; lead by intimidation and fear; not communicate; speak poorly of clients, employees and / or people from minority groups; withhold relevant information from employees, then guess what?

Your employees will think that it’s ok to act that way as well


Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION. 

Who we are

Fuel Hardcore Business Results

What if I told you by asking your employees 12 simple questions, and developing action plans around their responses, we could fuel some hardcore business results for your organisation?

Crazy huh? But do-able

Before you continue, catch up on our first Employee Engagement themed blog here!

Did you know The People & Culture Office are Gallup Engagement Champions? Gallup is a global analytics and advice firm that helps leaders and organisations solve their most pressing problems. Using data from 160 countries and 35 million respondents Gallup have created a way to measure and impact employee engagement, and use that knowledge to create transformation.

Gallup researchers spent decades writing and testing hundreds of questions because their wording and order are fundamental to accurately measuring engagement. Their research yielded the 12 items that measure the most important elements of employee engagement.

Using the Gallup methodology we can partner with you to build a stronger, more engaged organisation.

When employees are engaged they have a stronger psychological commitment to the organisation; they know the scope of their work and they actively seek out new ways to achieve results; they are productive; they are safer; they are more efficient.

But more than that, they stick around.

So I ask you this……..

Are you ready to embed a new way of leading into your organisations DNA?

Hell yes!

Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION. 

Who we are

Our 4 day work week

Before the Australian trials, before the UK trials – we implemented a 4 day work week. Driven by a desire to put wellbeing front & centre we made the shift early in 2022.

But more than that, rewarding output not hours is something that needs to be normalised, and I wanted to show how it can work.

I implemented a number of wellbeing focussed initiatives, the key being a 4 day week generally resulting in both of us working around 30 odd hours per week.

Because we work from home with minimal interruptions our output is high. For this reason it was very important that compensation was based on a comparable full time salary – not pro rata

And I need to be clear, the intent wasn’t to take a full time workload and put the pressure on to get the work done in 4 days. Our workflows are scheduled based on what is reasonably achievable in 30 hours, factoring in our individual pace and skill.

Realistically though, we are achieving the same output as if we were in an office working 5 days per week, it’s the lack of water cooler chatter because we work from home, coupled with the the focus on output. There is something very freeing about flipping the narrative from “you’re employed to sit here from 8am – 5pm” to “this is what we need to get done this week, once you’re finished focus on something you’re passionate about”

Current “4 Day Week” trials work off a 100-80-100 model where companies allow employees to work 80% of their regularly scheduled hours in return for 100% of their pay and a pledge to deliver 100% of their standard output.


After 6 months we each wrote a social media post to discuss our experiences, this is what Tiahanna had to say:

“I have a mining background where corporations number 1 priority is output and production rather than the physical and mental well-being of their employees. I used to work an 8/6 roster, although the 6 days off were blissful, the 8 days on were regularly so hectic, it got to the point where I was wasting half of my days off just trying to recuperate rather than doing things for myself⁠

The 4 day work week has given me a larger perspective on life and has given me the freedom to make choices and create a better work/life balance – we work to live, we don’t live to work⁠”

And me?

“I certainly feel more balanced in body & mind and that has assisted with clearer thought processes related to the business. I’m finding it easier to integrate all aspects of my life and getting to spend more time off the hamster wheel of life”

Which brings us to the present, approaching the 12 month mark. The verdict?

Focussing on 4 key area’s important to her, Tiahanna provided the following feedback.

  • My personal life – This did not take any hits, I didn’t have to miss out on anything due to fatigue, stress, overtime, or anything else.
  • My health – I don’t think I’ve moved my body this much during my whole life, the balance of a 4-day work week has given me so much energy and focus, I really feel like I can look at most things so much more holistically now – that may sound wishy washy but I don’t think many people understand what having a good balance can actually feel like. 
  • My work life  – flourished, I’m working less but I definitely feel like I’m getting more done and to a better standard. 
  • Development – I even had enough energy to add on studying, that’s right, I’ve gone back to school so I can better serve all of our wonderful clients.

And from my perspective as a business owner and participant?

The short version – The work gets done, absenteeism isn’t an issue and engagement is high. (I mean, what more can you ask for)

As a HR community we know that when people are put first the organisation performs better. When flexibility exists to allow greater integration of a person’s work & personal life, wellbeing increases, burnout and stress decrease. Health outcomes are higher, work output is higher, employees are happier and more engaged.

And my experiences as a participant? As any small business owner will tell you, there’s “work hours” then there is all the other stuff that gets done after hours and on weekends. Although I recognised early on that unless I wanted to burnout and grow to resent my business I needed to put boundaries in place, it’s not realistic to be militant with maintaining them.

First & foremost, we are a service based business, and when things go wrong it doesn’t always fit neatly into my hours of work. So 100% consistency of maintaining a 4 day week, for me, was never going to be achievable. But predominantly it has been.

The clarity that comes with not always “being on” has produced better business outcomes which is reflective in the bottom line.

I have more time to focus on the non work related things that are important to me, we aren’t our jobs so *this* is a super important factor to be cognisant of.

But don’t just take our word for it, 96.9% of employees who have trialled a 4 day week throughout 2022 want to continue. Trials scored a 9/10 with companies.

A wide range of well-being metrics showed significant improvement from the beginning to the end of the trial. Stress, burnout, fatigue, work-family conflict all declined, while physical and mental health, positive affect, work- family and work-life balance, and satisfaction across multiple domains of life increased.

Of the companies that provided metrics related to revenue there was an 8.14% increase during the trial period. When compared to the same 6 month period in 2021 the increase was much larger at 37.55%.

You can download the full report here

Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

THE PEOPLE & CULTURE OFFICE SUPPORTS HR TEAMS AND ORGANISATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE TO TAKE A FRESH APPROACH TOWARDS THEIR PEOPLE AND CULTURE FUNCTION. 

Who we are

Is it the skills shortage or something else?

Let’s put our thinking caps on for a hot minute. When was the last time you undertook some leadership development at work? Never?

Did you know the direct Manager is responsible for up to 70% of turnover and lack of engagement in the workplace?

Organisations that focus on employee engagement have 43% less turnover, absenteeism reduces by 83% and 64% fewer safety incidents.

But let’s back it up a sec, Employee Engagement? That’s just people being happy & satisfied at work isn’t it?

There is a considerable difference between being satisfied and being engaged at work. It is often the difference between being content and going the extra mile. 

For organisations to grow, advance and maximise performance, they need engaged people who work together using their strengths to complement one another. The most effective managers take responsibility for creating an engaged workplace. It sounds straightforward, but it is not always that easy.   

To succeed, managers have to bring employees together in collaboration, provide clear direction, put effective measures in place and accept responsibility for maximising each employee’s full potential

And as with every new skill, this needs to be developed.

So thinking about this, and the stats relating to employee engagement;

  • 83% less absenteeism
  • 43% less turnover
  • 64% fewer safety incidents
  • 10% higher customer metrics
  • 18% higher productivity

I ask you this.

Do we continue to blame the skills shortage for our inability to attract & keep employees 

Or do we make changes to the way we lead our organisations

Imagine just for a moment if we created workplaces where employees looked forward to coming to work, stayed longer and missed fewer workdays. Where they acted with more confidence and direction and could quickly handle distractions and times of uncertainty.

What would your organisation look like if we transformed the work environment? Would the skills shortage be as big as a factor to your future growth and sustainability?

The People & Culture Office are Gallup Engagement Champions, if it’s time you moved your people function beyond employment contracts and HR policies you can reach out to us here.

Through impactful HR we create a positive employee experience every time.

We aim to create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy.

The People & Culture Office supports HR teams and organisations Australia-wide to take a fresh approach towards their people and culture function. 

Who we are

Annual Performance Reviews are so passé

bored men wearing beige outfits

Organisations have come to realise that traditional approaches to performance management do not effectively motivate employees. In fact, they often have the opposite effect. ⁠

Performance management has buckled because organisations have prioritised measurement over development. ⁠

The Shift From Performance Management to Performance Development

Successful performance development is not just about changing the way annual reviews are conducted. Rather, performance development is about creating a cultural shift in how people work and how they work together. ⁠

Moving from performance management to performance development requires managers to think of themselves in a new way: as a coach, not a boss.⁠

multiracial businesswomen with laptop talking about work

⭐️Establish expectations ⁠
⭐️Continually coach⁠
⭐️Create accountability⁠

When performance becomes focused on these core principles, manager-employee interactions and discussions feel encouraging, purposeful and rewarding in ways that annual reviews do not. ⁠

Creating a culture of performance development around these core principles also helps employees better own their performance, development and career.⁠

Too often, managers set the same expectations for all employees, forcing people into the same neat little box. ⁠

A good manager not only establishes expectations and gives employees a voice in the process, but also helps employees understand why their role exists and how their role expectations align with team and organisational objectives⁠


We will work with you to create a system that allows managers to work with employees to identify their capabilities, leverage their strengths and provide development opportunities to close any gaps between their capabilities and what is expected of them⁠

The People & Culture Office supports HR teams and organisations Australia-wide to take a fresh approach towards their people and culture function. 

With 20-plus years in the HR game behind them, Tiahanna & Simone create future-focused, people centred HR solutions to accelerate organisational and employee wellbeing, engagement and performance by making HR easy

Who we are

The People & Culture Office is a HR consultancy based in Kalgoorlie Western Australia, servicing organisations Australia wide.

No contracts | No ongoing fee’s | Just bespoke HR solutions to say goodbye to feeling lost & out of your depth when dealing with employee issues⁠.