Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth confirmed that around 180,000 families will benefit from these significant changes each year.

New reforms in Australia will allow eligible parents to receive 12% superannuation on government-funded paid parental leave for up to six months, applicable for children born or adopted after July 1, 2024.

Women who give birth or adopt after this date will see a weekly increase of $113 to their superannuation as part of Labor's Paid Parental Leave Bill.

This reform stems from recommendations by the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, aiming to enhance women's economic security in retirement.

While the Business Council supports these changes, they advocate for a broader strategy to enhance female workforce participation and increase real wages.

Closing the gender pay gap is crucial for reducing biases in superannuation and improving women's retirement savings.

The initiative seeks to address the gender superannuation gap, where women typically retire with 25% less superannuation than men, largely due to caregiving responsibilities.

The initiative is projected to cost the budget approximately $1.1 billion over the forward estimates, benefiting around 180,000 families annually.

Women's Minister Katy Gallagher highlighted the importance of recognizing the value of parental care while ensuring future financial security.

The $1.1 billion initiative aims to tackle the 'motherhood tax' and is expected to provide significant support to families.

Parents will receive paid parental leave payments set at the national minimum wage of $915.80 per week for up to 20 weeks, with plans to extend this to 26 weeks by July 1, 2026.

Greens senator Larissa Waters noted that while these superannuation changes are important, broader reforms to the paid parental leave scheme are still needed.