Family benefit and parental leave changes

PROPOSED FEDERAL CHANGES TO FAMILY TAX BENEFITS AND PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

Family tax benefits:

* End-of-year supplements for Family Tax Benefits A and B scrapped.

* Maximum fortnightly payments of Family Tax Benefit A to be increased by $20 for each child aged up to 19.

* Single-parent families cut off from Family Tax Benefit B when their eldest child turns 16. They will continue to receive Family Tax Benefit A for each eligible child.

* The government will not proceed with plans to reduce Family Tax Benefit B payments for single-parent families whose youngest child is aged between 13 and 16.

* The energy supplement provided to new welfare recipients will be abandoned.

Paid Parental Leave:

* The maximum number of weeks of government-provided paid parental leave increased from 18 to 20 weeks.

* Parents will have their government-provided paid parental leave limited to 20 weeks in combination with any employer-funded scheme.

* Eligibility tests will be changed to allow workers such as casual teachers and women in building, racing and mining to join the system for the first time.

* Employers will no longer act as paymasters for the government's paid parental leave scheme.