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Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Government Bill Explanatory note General policy statement This Bill is the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill and will increase paid parental leave to 26 weeks in 2 stages.

Entitlements to parental leave payments and primary carer leave will increase to 22 weeks from 1 July 2018, with a further increase to 26 weeks from 1 July 2020.

These measures are part of the new Government’s 100-day plan after the 2017 gener- al election.
Funding for the costs associated with these proposals will be provided in Budget 2018.

The measures are intended to provide increased support for working pa- rents with newborns and young children.

It is important for child development that a child receive full-time personal care in the first year of their life, particularly in the first 6 months.

Most working parents require monetary support to enable them to take time off work to provide this full time per- sonal care.
Providing parental leave and monetary support— • • • greatly assists a mother, father, or other primary carer to develop close bonds with the child; and supports exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months (which is the World Health Organization’s recommendation); and reduces parental and family stress,— all of which improve short- and long-term child and society outcomes.
This Bill amends the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 to provide additional parental leave and monetary support to help parents achieve these im- proved outcomes.

1—1 2 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Explanatory note Departmental disclosure statement The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment is required to prepare a dis- closure statement to assist with the scrutiny of this Bill.
The disclosure statement pro- vides access to information about the policy development of the Bill and identifies any significant or unusual legislative features of the Bill.

A copy of the statement can be found at http://legislation.govt.nz/disclosure.aspx?

type=bill&subtype=government&year=2017&no=1.


Regulatory impact assessment The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment produced a regulatory impact assessment on 2 November 2017 to help inform the main policy decisions taken by the Government relating to the contents of this Bill.
A copy of this regulatory impact assessment can be found at— • • http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/employment-skills/legislation-reviews http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/informationreleases/ris Clause 1 is the Title clause.
Clause by clause analysis Clause 2 provides that Part 1 and Part 1 of Schedule 2 come into force on 1 July 2018, Part 2 and Part 2 of Schedule 2 come into force on 1 July 2020, and the rest of the Bill comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Clause 3 states that the Bill amends the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 (the principal Act).

Clause 4 inserts new Parts 4 and 5 into Schedule 1AA.
These parts contain transition- al provisions relating to the provisions in Parts 1 and 2, respectively, of the Bill.

Part 1 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2018 Clauses 5 to 13 amend various provisions of the principal Act to replace references to “18 weeks” with references to “22 weeks”.

The amendments increase certain entitle- ments to parental leave and parental leave payments from 18 weeks to 22 weeks.
Clause 7 also makes a corresponding change to the duration of primary carer leave that may be taken after the expected date of delivery (from 12 weeks to 16 weeks).

These changes come into force on 1 July 2018.

Clause 14 and Part 1 of Schedule 2 amend the Parental Leave and Employment Pro- tection Regulations 2016 to replace references to “18 weeks” with references to “22 weeks”.

The amendments correspond to those made by clauses 5 to 13 and come into force together with those clauses.
Explanatory note Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill 3 Part 2 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2020 Clauses 15 to 23 amend various provisions of the principal Act to replace references to “22 weeks” with references to “26 weeks”.

The amendments increase certain en- titlements to parental leave and parental leave payments from 22 weeks to 26 weeks.
Clause 17 also makes a corresponding change to the duration of primary carer leave that may be taken after the expected date of delivery (from 16 weeks to 20 weeks).

These changes come into force on 1 July 2020.

Clause 24 and Part 2 of Schedule 2 amend the Parental Leave and Employment Pro- tection Regulations 2016 to replace references to “22 weeks” with references to “26 weeks”.

The amendments correspond to those made by clauses 15 to 23 and come in- to force together with those clauses.
Hon Iain Lees-Galloway Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Government Bill Contents Page Title Commencement Principal Act Schedule 1AA amended Part 1 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2018 Section 1A amended (Purpose) Section 1B amended (Outline) Section 9 amended (Duration of primary carer leave) Section 26 amended (Duration of extended leave) Section 32 amended (Requirements where extended leave sought) Section 45 amended (Early ending and extension of parental leave) Section 71A amended (Purpose) Section 71J amended (Duration of parental leave payment) Section 71L amended (End of parental leave payment) Consequential amendments Amendments to Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 Part 2 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2020 Section 1A amended (Purpose) Section 1B amended (Outline) Section 9 amended (Duration of primary carer leave) 1—1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 1 cl 1 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Section 26 amended (Duration of extended leave) Section 32 amended (Requirements where extended leave sought) Section 45 amended (Early ending and extension of parental leave) Section 71A amended (Purpose) Section 71J amended (Duration of parental leave payment) Section 71L amended (End of parental leave payment) Consequential amendments Amendments to Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 Schedule 1 New Parts 4 and 5 inserted into Schedule 1AA
 Schedule 2 Amendments to Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 The Parliament of New Zealand enacts as follows: 1 Title 2 (1) (2) (3) 3 4 This Act is the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017.
Commencement Part 1 and Part 1 of Schedule 2 come into force on 1 July 2018.

Part 2 and Part 2 of Schedule 2 come into force on 1 July 2020.

The rest of this Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it re- ceives the Royal assent.

Principal Act 5 10 This Act amends the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987 (the principal Act).

Schedule 1AA amended In Schedule 1AA, after Part 3, insert the Parts 4 and 5 set out in Schedule 1 of this Act.
15 Part 1 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2018 5 Section 1A amended (Purpose) In section 1A(c), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

2 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Part 2 cl 16 6 Section 1B amended (Outline) In section 1B(3)(a)(i) and (iii), (b)(i) and (iii), (c)(ii), and (d)(ii), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

7 (1) (2) 8 9 Section 9 amended (Duration of primary carer leave) In section 9(1) and (3), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.
In section 9(2), replace “12 weeks” with “16 weeks”.

Section 26 amended (Duration of extended leave) In section 26(3), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

Section 32 amended (Requirements where extended leave sought) In section 32(2)(a), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

10 Section 45 amended (Early ending and extension of parental leave) In section 45(4)(a), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

11 Section 71A amended (Purpose) In section 71A(a), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.
5 10 12 Section 71J amended (Duration of parental leave payment) 15 In section 71J(1)(a) and (b), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

13 Section 71L amended (End of parental leave payment) In section 71L(1)(a), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

Consequential amendments 14 Amendments to Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 20 Amend the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 as set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2.
Part 2 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2020 25 15 Section 1A amended (Purpose) In section 1A(c), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

16 Section 1B amended (Outline) In section 1B(3)(a)(i) and (iii), (b)(i) and (iii), (c)(ii), and (d)(ii), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

30 3 Part 2 cl 17 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill 17 (1) (2) 18 Section 9 amended (Duration of primary carer leave) In section 9(1) and (3), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.
In section 9(2), replace “16 weeks” with “20 weeks”.

Section 26 amended (Duration of extended leave) In section 26(3), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

19 Section 32 amended (Requirements where extended leave sought) In section 32(2)(a), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

20 Section 45 amended (Early ending and extension of parental leave) In section 45(4)(a), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

21 Section 71A amended (Purpose) In section 71A(a), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.
22 Section 71J amended (Duration of parental leave payment) In section 71J(1)(a) and (b), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

23 Section 71L amended (End of parental leave payment) In section 71L(1)(a), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

Consequential amendments 5 10 15 24 Amendments to Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 Amend the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 as set out in Part 2 of Schedule 2.
20 4 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Schedule 1 Schedule 1 New Parts 4 and 5 inserted into Schedule 1AA s 4 Part 4 Provisions relating to Part 1 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017 5 4 (1) Application of Part 1 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017 This Act, as amended by Part 1 of the Parental Leave and Employment Pro- tection Amendment Act 2017, applies to a person who takes parental leave or applies for a parental leave payment in respect of a child if,— 10 (a) in the case of a child born to the person or to the person’s spouse or part- ner,— (i) the expected date of delivery of the child is on or after 1 July 2018; or 15 (ii) the child is born on or after 1 July 2018; or (b) in any other case, the person or his or her spouse or partner becomes the primary carer in respect of a child on or after 1 July 2018.
(2) A person referred to in subclause (1) may, before 1 July 2018,— (a) (b) give notice of a request to take parental leave, in which case the person may begin the parental leave before 1 July 2018 as if those amendments were already in force; and 20 apply for a parental leave payment under Part 7A as if those amend- ments were already in force.
Part 5 Provisions relating to Part 2 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017 25 5 (1) Application of Part 2 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Act 2017 This Act, as amended by Part 2 of the Parental Leave and Employment Pro- tection Amendment Act 2017, applies to a person who takes parental leave or applies for a parental leave payment in respect of a child if,— 30 (a) in the case of a child born to the person or to the person’s spouse or part- ner,— 5 Schedule 1 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill (i) the expected date of delivery of the child is on or after 1 July 2020; or (ii) the child is born on or after 1 July 2020; or (b) in any other case, the person or his or her spouse or partner becomes the primary carer in respect of a child on or after 1 July 2020.
5 (2) A person referred to in subclause (1) may, before 1 July 2020,— (a) (b) give notice of a request to take parental leave, in which case the person may begin the parental leave before 1 July 2020 as if those amendments were already in force; and apply for a parental leave payment under Part 7A as if those amend- ments were already in force.
10 6 Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill Schedule 2 Schedule 2 Amendments to Parental Leave and Employment Protection Regulations 2016 ss 14, 24 Part 1 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2018 Regulation 9 In regulation 9(2)(a)(v), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

Regulation 10 In regulation 10(2)(a)(iv), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

Regulation 15 In regulation 15(3)(e), replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.
Schedule 2 In Schedule 2, form 2, notes 3 and 4, replace “18 weeks” with “22 weeks”.

Part 2 Amendments to come into force on 1 July 2020 Regulation 9 In regulation 9(2)(a)(v), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

Regulation 10 In regulation 10(2)(a)(iv), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

Regulation 15 In regulation 15(3)(e), replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.

Schedule 2 In Schedule 2, form 2, notes 3 and 4, replace “22 weeks” with “26 weeks”.
5 10 15 20 Wellington, New Zealand: Published under the authority of the New Zealand Government—2017 7