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What is the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) or Extended Childcare Leave (ECL) entitlement if I have more than one child?


Updated by MSF

If you have more than one child, your childcare leave entitlement is not cumulative. It is determined solely by the age of your youngest child.

For example, if your youngest child is 4 years old and your elder child is 10 years old, you are entitled to up to 6 days of childcare leave in total, based on your youngest child being under 7.

Leave entitlements based on children's ages:

Have a child below 7 years old?

Have a child between 7–12 years old?

CL benefits

No

Yes

2 days of ECL

Yes

No

6 days of GPCL

Yes

Yes

6 days of GPCL

Key considerations:

  • A child's age is calculated based on the age they attain on their birthday within the year the leave is taken.

  • When a child is born in a year when you are already eligible for leave due to an older child, the leave taken will be allocated to the child that provides the longer benefit period (i.e. the youngest child).

Twins and multiple births:

For twins or multiple births from one confinement, the GPCL entitlement concludes in the 8th year, rather than the 7th year as it would for a single child. This approach maximises the period available for consuming GPCL benefits for parents of twins or multiple births.

The tables below illustrate the difference between twins born in 2020 and a single child born in 2020, assuming no other children in both scenarios.

(i) Twins born in 2020:

Year of entitlement

Twins' age

Year CL is taken

CL benefits

1st (GPCL)

0

2020

6 days of GPCL

2nd (GPCL)

1

2021

6 days of GPCL

3rd (GPCL)

2

2022

6 days of GPCL

4th (GPCL)

3

2023

6 days of GPCL

5th (GPCL)

4

2024

6 days of GPCL

6th (GPCL)

5

2025

6 days of GPCL

7th (GPCL)

6

2026

6 days of GPCL

8th (GPCL)

7

2027

6 days of GPCL

(ii) Single child born in 2020:

Year of entitlement

Child's age

Year CL is taken

CL benefits

1st (GPCL)

0

2020

6 days of GPCL

2nd (GPCL)

1

2021

6 days of GPCL

3rd (GPCL)

2

2022

6 days of GPCL

4th (GPCL)

3

2023

6 days of GPCL

5th (GPCL)

4

2024

6 days of GPCL

6th (GPCL)

5

2025

6 days of GPCL

7th (GPCL)

6

2026

6 days of GPCL

1st (ECL)

7

2027

2 days of ECL

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