Hi Anna,

Last week the Federal Government announced their support of the Family Friendly Workplaces Initiative with a commitment of $1.4 million dollars in funding over a three year period ensuring 500 workplaces meet the National Work + Family Standards, create a family friendly workplace culture and become certified as a Family Inclusive Workplace™.

The funding will go a long way in helping to educate and support workplaces embrace being ‘family friendly’ and ease the tension employees feel trying to bridge the work and family divide. Importantly, it acknowledges that all employees have family and caregiving responsibilities in some form or another, therefore, everyone benefits from having a family friendly workplace culture.

After years of advocating, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to our founding and supporting organisations that have backed the initiative from the beginning.

If you'd like to know more about becoming a certified Family Inclusive Workplace™, we are hosting two education sessions on April 27th and May 19th. You can register for one of these sessions here.

In the News – Parental Leave Update
 
The government has announced a New Shared Parental Leave Scheme as part of the Budget announcement. But what does it mean and who benefits? 

Two of the biggest changes has been the removal of the distinction between primary and secondary carers and the ability for parents to use the leave with greater flexibility over 2 years (rather than 1 year with limited flex). What does this mean for employer funded parental leave?

Is your organisation considering updating your parental leave policy or removing primary and secondary carer labels ? If so, we invite you to get in touch with our team to access best practice parental leave policy guidance.

UPCOMING EVENT

On 27th April, we’re hosting a Preparing for Parental Leave Webinar for expecting parents as part of our NEW Work Life Wellbeing Learning Series for working parents, carers and managers. If you’d like access for your employees, read more here or contact our team.

Thanks again to all those who have got behind our work over the past few years. There is more to be done to advocate for working families in Australia and we will continue to be a front runner in this advocacy.
 

Emma Walsh,

CEO, Parents At Work and Founder, Family Friendly Workplaces