Payability and delivery of Dad and Partner Pay (DAP) 007-05020040

Customers can claim DAP for a child born or adopted on or after 1 January 2013 and before 1 July 2023. For a child born or adopted on or after 1 July 2023, the 2 weeks (10 payable days) will be rolled into PPL. Fathers and partners will need to claim Paid Parental Leave (PPL).

It is a taxable payment paid at the national minimum wage for a maximum of 2 weeks (paid as a lump sum).

DAP is paid to the customer by Services Australia. DAP can be paid before, after or at the same time as other family assistance payments, for example Family Tax Benefit (FTB) including Newborn Supplement (NBS) and Newborn Upfront Payment (NBU).

An individual customer can be paid both PPL and DAP for the same child. However:

• PPL and DAP must be taken at different times
• a maximum of 18 weeks (90 payable days) can be paid to the one person

Note: usually only the secondary claimant can claim PPL and DAP as the PPL primary claimant is generally not eligible for DAP.

A customer can receive PPL for one child and DAP for another child at the same time.

It is available in addition to any existing employer funded paid leave or unpaid leave. However, to be eligible for payment, the customer must be on unpaid leave or not working during the DAP period (except in cases where the DAP child has died or was stillborn).

Note: employer 'top up' payments are not considered to be paid leave for DAP.

The DAP period nominated start date is nominated by the customer and can be the date of the child's birth or entry into care, or another date they have nominated. The nominated start date:

• cannot be before the birth of the child, the date the child became entrusted to care, or the entry to care date
• must be within 12 months (52 weeks) of the child's date of birth, the date the child became entrusted to care or the entry into care date, and
• can be a date in the past

The DAP period end date is the earlier of:

• the day before the first day the customer is not eligible
• 13 days after the DAP period nominated start date

The maximum DAP period is 14 days, including Saturdays and Sundays.

Note: if the customer is receiving PPL for the same child, their DAP period will be shortened if their PPL and DAP are paid at the same time.

The customer can change their DAP period nominated start date before the nominated start date that was advised in their claim.

If the child’s actual date of birth or adoption is on or after 1 July 2023, the DAP claim will be rejected once proof of birth/entry to care is provided. The rejection letter will invite the customer to claim PPL.

There may be circumstances after the customer's nominated start date and after payment has been made where the customer may request a change in their nominated start date.

Confirmation from the customer of the following for the new DAP period will also be required:

• they have care of the child for each day during the DAP period
• they are on unpaid leave or not working during the DAP period

This may require a reassessment of the income where a different financial year applies for the income assessment period.

If a customer changes their nominated start date by more than 3 months, a reassessment of the work test also needs to be completed to determine the customer's continued eligibility.

The payment rate applicable on each day of the DAP period is the daily rate of the National Minimum Wage. The daily rate is calculated Monday to Friday. If an increase in the National Minimum Wage rate occurs during the customer's DAP period, the customer will receive the new rate for the applicable days.

DAP will be paid after the payability determination has been made (customer’s claim is finalised) and the start date of the DAP period has been reached.

Payment will be made into the customer's nominated bank account.

PAYG withholdings will be deducted from the payment at a rate of 15% unless another amount is advised by the customer (0% - 50%). No other deductions are taken from DAP, for example Centrepay, debt withholdings.

A Payment Summary will be generated for all DAP customers after the beginning of each financial year for which they received DAP. Payment Summaries are available to customers through a range of self service options.

DAP is not income managed.

Employers may choose to pay a top up payment to supplement an employee's DAP. For example, an employer may pay the customer the difference between the rate of DAP and their normal wage. This top up is not considered paid leave for the purposes of DAP eligibility.

In the case of a multiple birth, only one child may be payable for DAP. However in the event there is a significant delay between the births of the children from the same pregnancy, for example 5 days apart, the births may be considered separate birth events and not part of a multiple birth. In these cases DAP may be payable for each child.

In addition only one child may be payable for DAP where multiple children are adopted as part of the same adoption process.

This applies even if children from an adoption process are being cared for in separate family units.