The Business Council of Australia says bringing paid parental leave up to 26 weeks by 2026 will better support female participation in the workforce and grow the economy.

BCA Chief Executive Bran Black said the changes would create more equity and flexibility to caregiving roles.

“These changes are critical to boosting participation, growing the economy and most importantly, achieving long-term economic outcomes for women.

“The BCA has been calling for Paid Parental Leave requirements to fall in line with the arrangements already in place in many companies that already offer up to 26 weeks of leave to their employees.

“It’s a long-standing policy of the BCA that historical gender roles should be left in the past. We support an equitable system that incentivises shared responsibility between parents and breaks down the norm that a woman’s career has to be penalised or put on hold in order to care for a child — today’s outcome is an important step towards achieving these objectives.

“The BCA also supports an increase to the amount of flexible days within the scheme and changes that allow a parent to take leave early if a child is born prematurely."