ACT senator David Pocock is seeking to exempt small businesses from the administrative burden of paid parental leave.
A supporter of PPL, the independent senator said "so much" more needs to be done to accelerate and modernise the current tax-payer funded entitlement to "help close the participation gap and by extension, the pay gap". He also wants to increase the participation of fathers.
The Albanese government's Paid Parental Leave Amendment Bill, if passed, would combine Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay from July 1 into one payment. It would also increase paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 20 weeks.
Debating the legislation on Monday, Senator Pocock described the proposed amendments as a "first step", noting it is not a replacement wage, but a minimum wage payment.
He said the administrative burden on small, overworked businesses is too much.
"These small businesses are increasingly being run by women who are having to shoulder this burden," Senator Pocock told the Senate.
"With this bill we have the opportunity to change that by giving small business the option to either pay Commonwealth PPL direct or to have Services Australia pay this as they already do 40 per cent payments."
He said medium and large businesses should continue to administer the leave to ensure a connection between employer and employee, however he said the red tape burden for small business is too much.
"Even small changes to payroll can have a big impact on small business," Senator Pocock said. "It is a clear pain point."
"I have been frustrated to hear that we shouldn't take action because it has always been a pain point. Clearly, just because something has always been broken doesn't mean that it shouldn't be fixed."
Under, his amendment small businesses would retain the ability to opt in to the scheme.
He said more needs to be done to increase the participation of fathers, citing 80 per cent of all paid parental leave being claimed by women. Senator Pocock also said it was a shame that the "use it or lose it" two weeks is not being expanded.
The independent senator also backed moves to add the superannuation guarantee to paid parental leave, to reduce the super gap between men and women.
The government is expected to introduce legislation in the second half of the year to expand the scheme to 26 weeks by 2026.
