[Sassy Dingo]

Has anyone's partner applied for the dad and partner pay yet? I've got the form here and it seems...odd. DH is applying now as apparently they need 10 weeks of processing time or something ridiculous. Question is, you have to be on unpaid leave to receive the payment and you have to nominate a start date for the payment. How is this possible without a planned C section? He can tick the box for expected date of birth, but then there was the disclaimer that you have to be on unpaid leave to get it. DH was going to work right up to the time I give him a call to tell him to come home (he rides his bike to work which is 2km away). Do centerlink expect you to be freaking psychic?

[Halcyon~]

Maybe your being too literal in your reading

[FiveAus]

If he's planning to take unpaid leave from the date of birth, just tick that. If his leave is going to start at a later ate, nominate another date.

You won't get the payment on the date of birth as you'll need to provide proof of birth, but it will cover those first two weeks after the baby is born. If he nominates a different date for it o dart, it will cover the two weeks from the date he nominates.

[elizabethany]

It will also take them a while to process it AFTER the birth, so don't expect to rely on it directly afterwards. If you want it to start from the birth, you will get it as "back pay" about a month later.

I had the same issue with the PPL, it was very new (DS born Feb), and the Centrelink lady got grumpy because he was not born on his due date (he was born the day before). It meant she had to redo the entire form, so hopefully they have streamlined it a bit since then.

[Sassy Dingo]

I don't think the scheme is very well thought out.

It is aimed generally at lower income earners who otherwise wouldn't be able to take any time off, so to expect them to take unpaid leave and then get paid a month or so later is a bit rough. Some people will be really effected by no pay for a fortnight. Since they still pay you if you have a stillborn child they should just pay it on the EDD.

DH is just taking it as unpaid in order to save his Annual leave for an overseas holiday later in the year.

[JBaby]

I don't think the scheme is very well thought out.

It is aimed generally at lower income earners who otherwise wouldn't be able to take any time off, so to expect them to take unpaid leave and then get paid a month or so later is a bit rough. Some people will be really effected by no pay for a fortnight. Since they still pay you if you have a stillborn child they should just pay it on the EDD.

Agree with this.

Tbh I don't expect many men earning average to high incomes will take this payment because the difference in pay is too great to take unpaid leave at the same time. Which is fine, I don't mind a payment that is mostly geared towards helping lower income families. However as you point out, lower income families are the least able to afford the 2-4wk wait in receiving the payment. Doesnt really make sense.

And thanks OP, for pointing out how far in advance we need to apply. I would have expected it to be later than that and probably wouldnt have had ours done by then!

[gigihumanservice...]

Has anyone's partner applied for the dad and partner pay yet? I've got the form here and it seems...odd. DH is applying now as apparently they need 10 weeks of processing time or something ridiculous. Question is, you have to be on unpaid leave to receive the payment and you have to nominate a start date for the payment. How is this possible without a planned C section? He can tick the box for expected date of birth, but then there was the disclaimer that you have to be on unpaid leave to get it. DH was going to work right up to the time I give him a call to tell him to come home (he rides his bike to work which is 2km away). Do centerlink expect you to be freaking psychic?

[i]Hi there, I work with the Australian Government Department of Human Services in a team that responds to questions about Centrelink payments and services on social media sites like this
[/i]
If eligible, your partner can get Dad and Partner Pay any time in the first year after your child’s birth or adoption. He needs to be on unpaid leave or not working during the Dad and Partner Pay period (up to two weeks). He can choose when his Dad and Partner Pay period will start. It can start from the day your child is born or adopted, or it can start later. If he’d like to receive the full two weeks pay, his start date needs to be within 50 weeks of your child’s birth or adoption.

The Department of Human Services will pay him after your child is born and his claim is finalised. To finalise your claim you need to provide us with the proof of birth form that you will be given either at the hospital or by your midwife after your baby is born. If his claim is finalised before his Dad and Partner Pay period starts, we’ll pay him on the first day of the period and he should be able to access the money in two business days. If his claim isn’t finalised by this time, we expect to pay him within 28 days of when it is. We pay the money into his bank account in one instalment. Read more about finalising your claim.

All the best :-)