Are you **bleeping** serious???

I wanted to write the heading using the "real" word, but my parents and parents-in-law sometimes read this blog, so I must pretend I'm ladylike.

I know that I'm very lucky to be receiving any money for being on maternity leave. Millions do not get any money at all, women throughout history were not paid to have babies. But I live in a society that does, I am lucky enough to get paid maternity leave both from my employer and the government, so I'm allowed to complain about my "FIRST WORLD PROBLEM"

I get 13 weeks of paid maternity leave at full time rates from my employer, I've chosen to take this as 26 weeks at half pay, I've been on that for two months now.

My paid parental leave from the government came into my bank account today. If you actually go to the website, it says:

The Paid Parental Leave scheme:

• is government funded
• is for eligible working parents
• can be transferred to the other parent
• is paid at the National Minimum Wage - currently $570 a week before tax*
• is for up to 18 weeks, and
• can be taken any time within the first year after birth or adoption.

Do you see the dollar amount, $520 (yes it does say before tax).

So what the freaking hell is my tax bracket. I got $302 into my bank account. Which says to me, they have withheld $218 in tax... that is bloody lot of tax if you ask me.

BUT

She then calls Centrelink to check. Its my quarterly Childcare Rebate. So its all good. They haven't finalised the Paid Parental Leave stuff yet.




I'm such an idiot.











Especially as I've burned three cupcakes due to writing this rant.