Australia urged to consider 'user-pays' extended parental leave
Updated
An independent think-tank has urged the Australian government to consider using a loans scheme to fund an extended period of paid parental leave.
The "user-pays" approach would supplement any government funded maternity leave scheme.
A report commissioned by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia suggests a way in which new parents could access much more paid leave than they're likely to receive under any government-funded maternity leave plan.
Economics Professor Bruce Chapman, from the Australian National University, says it involves offering people a loan, similiar to that made available to university students.
"And when their incomes exceed a certain level, but only if they exceed a certain level, they would start to repay that at a fairly low rate," he said.
He says it could involve people borrowing around $US13,500 per child over six months, which is paid to them fortnightly.
The loan would attract a 20 per cent surcharge.
But Professor Chapman says it's unclear exactly what the scheme would cost taxpayers.
