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.
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.
National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) Responds to the 2024 Federal Budget: A more ambitious and comprehensive action plan is needed
We welcome the Committee’s invitation to comment on the Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 [Provisions]. NFAW previously made a submission to the Inquiry into the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 which adopted previous recommendations made by NFAW and other women’s organisations to better implement the recommendations of the Respect@Work report.
