France and Australia Expand Paid Parental Leave Benefits

From 1 July 2026 France will introduce a supplementary birth leave of up to two months. Employers must report the leave within five days of its start via a DSN "arrest de travail" and submit a simplified form on net‑entreprises, with separate declarations required for each leave fragment.

From 1 July (2024) Australian families will be eligible for up to six months (26 weeks) of government‑paid parental leave, subject to income, work‑test and visa criteria. The payment can be shared between carers and is added to any existing employer schemes. The reform follows earlier extensions of paid leave and aims to improve labour‑force participation, especially for women.

Both measures represent the latest government efforts to strengthen support for new parents and to address the broader economic impact of unpaid caring work.