Closing the gender pay gap
An equal day’s pay for an equal days work should be a fundamental principle of modern Australia. For too long there has been a lack of concrete action to close the gender pay gap. A Federal Labor government will take action to close the gender pay gap by:
- making companies with more than 250 workers report their gender pay gap publicly
- prohibiting pay secrecy clauses and give workers the right to disclose their pay (if they want to)
- taking action to close the gender pay gap in the Australian Public Service
- giving greater power to the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in low paid, female-dominated sectors.
Affordable childcare
Australians pay some of the highest child care costs in the world.
The cost of childcare has never been higher than it is now.
Fees have increased by 41 per cent since the Liberals came to government. Over the past 12 months, childcare costs soared by 6.5 per cent – almost double the rate of inflation.
A Federal Labor government will take real action on affordable childcare. Federal Labor will:
- Lift the maximum child care subsidy rate to 90 per cent for families for the first child in care;
- Increase child care subsidy rates for every family with one child in care earning less than $530,000 in household income;
- Keep higher child care subsidy rates for the second and additional children in care;
- Extend the increased subsidy to outside school hours care.
Learn more about how much your family will save here.
Improving Women’s safety
Federal Labor will establish a Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner. The commissioner will act as a strong voice for victim-survivors by:
- Working with commonwealth agencies, states, territories and community organisations to ensure we have the data we need to invest resources effectively;
- Helping co-ordinate key national frame works so safety and access to services doesn’t depend on where you live; and
- Providing accountability and transparency by measuring progress against the National Plan and delivering a yearly report
Right now, women fleeing violence are being turned away because the Morrison Government has not funded enough workers to help them. Across the country domestic violence organisations tell us how much more they could do with an extra pair of hands.
This is why an Albanese Labor government, will fund 500 new community sector workers to support women in crisis. Federal Labor’s commitment enable:
- Shelters to employ an extra case manager to help women go through the complex task of setting up a new, safer life
- Community organisations to hire a financial counsellor to help women escape the debt their abuser has run up in their name
- Specialist women’s services to gain a support worker to help children work through their experiences.
Federal Labor will also:
- Invest $100 million as part of our Housing Australia Future Fund in crisis accommodation and build 4,000 homes for women and children fleeing violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness. Learn more here
- Legislate for 10 days paid domestic violence leave. Because no one should have to choose between a job and leaving an abusive relationship
- Progress a national definition of domestic violence that includes coercive control
- Support justice reinvestment in First Nation’s communities with a $79m investment to reduce incarceration rates, including early intervention to reduce family violence.
Stopping sexual harassment at work
In April 2021, Scott Morrison promised he would adopt all recommendations of the Respect@Work Report. The Morrison Government has failed to act, leaving the report to gather dust on the desk of former Attorney General, Christian Porter for a whole year.
A Federal Labor Government will help stop sexual harassment at work. We will fully implement all 55 recommendations of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s
Respect@Work Report to help stop sexual harassment at work. Learn more here
Teaching Respectful Relationships Programs
A Federal Labor Government will invest $77 million in respectful relationships programs in our schools so that every child will have access to quality respectful relationships education from an early age.
Across Australia many programs are already being delivered but they are inconsistent across states and territories. A Federal Labor Government will partner with state and territory governments to ensure consistency and quality in the deliver of these programs, with the aim of preventing violence and improving child safety. The plan will also see additional support staff in schools to assist families who have experienced violence.
With one in five Australian women being a victim of sexual assault, we need to do more to teach respectful relationships. Every Australian should be safe whether it be at school, at home or in their workplaces.