Efforts from employers, government, and frank conversations between partners about super being a shared expense are still needed. But it’s a start.
The government’s announcement that it will provide superannuation as part of the Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave scheme has rightly put a spotlight on the persistent super gap between men and women in Australia.
In real-dollar terms, the change equates to a weekly contribution of around $106 and just over $2100 over the course of the leave. When the government’s leave scheme extends to 26 weeks in 2026, this will take the contribution up to over $2700. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates that to have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, a single person needs a lump sum super balance of $545,000, while a couple needs $640,000. That means people should have a super balance of $76,600 when they’re aged between 30-34, or $122,000 by the time they reach the 35–39 age bracket, the most common age bracket for Australians to have children.
We also know that 20 or 26 weeks leave is less time off than most new parents take, with the average Australian taking six to 12 months out of the workforce after a baby arrives. But if the alternative to $106 a week is nothing, I’ll always advocate for something, if only as a starting position on which to build.
If all of this still doesn’t sound all that impressive or have you buying into the change, there’s also a significant cultural shift in attitude attached to this policy. We might not feel it overnight, or even over a single decade for that matter, but we will feel it in our lifetimes.
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