Dr. Laura Bambrick:

The Senator asked about the timeline. The Department and the Minister are due to respond to the Senator's Bill in March. That will bring forward legislation. The plan is for that to be adopted by the end of the term with the scheme being introduced by the end of the fourth quarter of next year. Our understanding is that it will be introduced gradually. It will start with a small introduction and build up over time.

The Senator also asked about the number of days that we think employers should be responsible for paying sick leave before the charge comes on the Social Insurance Fund. We have deferred giving an answer to that until we have confirmation on how the cost is to be split between the employers and the State.