Don't agree Dave. I had to supply my wage information for this... It is taxed too of course.

Being serious. (lol)

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/interne...051_1107en.pdf

18 weeks of taxed minimum wage.

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]

The mother gets means tested not the father. Maximum mother could earn was $150K the previous financial year.

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Funny looking German Subaru

Pretty much 10k plus baby bonus. Not bad... Bet it doesn't go very far though.

All the things to look forward to.

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Bush chook enthusiast

note: Not everyone gets the baby bonus...couples income is means tested

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Funny looking German Subaru

This is from the website...

Baby Bonus is payable if your family's estimated combined adjusted taxable income is $75 000 or less in the six months after your child is born or enters your care.

So once the mother stops work the father needs to be on an income less than 150K PA to receive the payment? We are eligible which is nice.

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Bush chook enthusiast

As a non-breeder and expresser of free speech - paid parental leave is full of shit!

Where's my government handout/allowance/benefit for wearing a franga and reducing the burden on the social security system, etc?

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MY09 Evo X - 1.6bar@3500rpm - got lag?
Barbagallo - 56.03 (S); 1:08.09 (L)
Collie - 50.77
Possibly the most under-driven Evo X in the world??

As far as paid parental leave goes I think Australia, NZ, Britain the U.S and the like should take a leaf from the Scandinavian book. In Denmark parents are entitled to share one years paid parental leave at 80% of their full salaries. In Iceland both parents are entitled to a combined nine month parental leave (3 months for dad 3 months for mum and 6 months split as the parents see fit).
[i]https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4629631.stm[i]

The positive social effects of extended parental leave flow on to many different sectors including and have been linked to reduced problems with teen drug and alcohol abuse, suicide and violence. Better performance at school and lower divorce rates due to a stronger family bond formed in the early stages of a child's development.

Working with teenagers everyday I get to see the effects that a broken family have on these students all too often.

So if we decide to have a kid we should be financially penalised by not getting any assistance? Not denying the centrelink mums getting bulk handouts is crap & mostly wasted on new TV's, but I've worked & paid tax since I was 14 & having the missus off work for 6 months or however long it takes will pretty much send us bankrupt.

Btw, no maternity leave, no other pensions or anything so income is pretty much halved.

My wife worked for a company that did not pay maternity leave..... The gov program was invaluable for us and having paid 35 years work of taxes I think we've earned the right to a little help back.

You can't claim BB and PM for the same child though as I understand it. It's one or the other.

"Parental Leave Pay and the Baby Bonus cannot be paid for the same child. Most eligible families will be better off receiving Parental Leave Pay rather than the Baby Bonus. If you meet the eligibility criteria for both payments, you can choose which payment is the best financial decision for your family"

If others are of the mindset if you cant afford them don't have them.... we sold our house, sold our "newish" car and have had zero debt and moved regional to make ends meet.

Pretty much these days a little help is needed with rising cost of living to raise kids. Wifes now back at work doing night shifts so we can get ahead finally without paying exhorb child care fee's, of which the workers seem to see bugger all. But that's for a different thread.

That said little bloke started walking this week so worth all the stress.

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My interests are my own, as are my opinions.