Full details of the federal government's paid parental leave scheme will be released when negotiations with the states have been completed, a Senate estimates hearing has been told.
Former finance minister in the Labor government, Penny Wong, was surprised the government's PPL was included in the contingency reserve of the budget rather than detailing its cost each year, particularly when the coalition has taken the scheme to two elections.
The contingency reserve includes money set aside for policies yet to be announced or negotiated.
The reserve also includes the levy that will be imposed on the nation's most profitable 3,200 companies to pay for the scheme and a planned 1.5 per cent company tax cut that comes in at the same time.
All three items are due to start on July 1 2015.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government had yet to complete negotiations with the states over the interaction with existing paid parental leave schemes.
Senator Wong said the government was happy to tell people what will be cut out of family budgets, but not happy to tell them what they are going to pay for a paid parental leave scheme.
Senator Cormann described those remarks as a "gratuitous piece of commentary".
"In good time .. all the relevant announcements will be made," he said.
