The issue of children’s safety in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services has become a central issue for Australian governments and parents around Australia following the arrest of two
educators charged with numerous cases of child sexual abuse in Queensland in August 2023 and Victoria in May 2025, and two charged with assault of a toddler in New South Wales in July 2025.
Reducing gender wage gaps is not an inefficiency but an overall better utilisation of women’s skills, and so an economy-wide productivity gain.
This submission seeks to inform the Economic Reform Roundtable of the gender implications of building economic resilience and the benefits from investing in gender equality. Workplace flexibility is improving but is at risk, and there is more to be done.
The evidence globally and in Australia is clear that advances towards gender equality contribute to nations’ resilience, deliver economic gains and accelerate productivity. Despite progress on improving gender equality in Australia, women are still more likely to work part time, be underemployed, and experience lower pay and job security compared to men.
NFAW calls on the Next Government to Continue Progress for Women. We urge the next Government to be bold and to continue to progress the gender reforms initiated by the 47th Parliament.
The National Foundation for Australian Women welcomes the announcement by the Assistant Minister for Women, Kate Thwaites, on 29 October 2024 that the Australian Government has finalised a new set or agreements for five National Women’s Alliances.These organisations play a crucial role in coordinating and supporting women’s organisations and feminist movements in Australia and have done so since 2012.
The Government's refusal to include questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression in the 2026 Census is a troubling and distressing decision that undermines the inclusion of Australia’s LGBTQIA+ community. While the Government claims to be avoiding divisive debates on sensitive topics, its actions have only deepened the sense of exclusion felt by LGBTQIA+ individuals across the nation.
NFAW's 2024 Federal Budget gender lens analysis finds that the budget's initiatives only partially reflect the ambition outlined in the Government's Working for Women—A Strategy for Gender Equality, released in March. While there are some commendable efforts to include gender impact analysis, particularly women's careers in the Future Made in Australia program, it has not yet been fully integrated across the entire budget process.
In March 2024 the Australian Government released “Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality”. This strategy identified five key priority areas to address the economic inequality that women experience.