Tony Burke MP
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

Catherine King MP
Acting Minister for Women

The gender pay gap in Australia is at its lowest level on record under the Albanese Labor Government.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today shows the gender pay gap at 12% – down from 13%.

The data shows the gender pay gap has fallen by 2.1% since we came to Government.

And next week – for the first time – we’ll be publishing employer gender pay gaps, driving action to help close the gender pay gap by boosting pay gap transparency.

We have been working hard to close the gender pay gap because women’s equality is at the heart of this Government.

Since coming to Government we’ve:

• Backed and funded a 15% pay rise for aged care workers.
• Secured record pay rises for the workers on the minimum wage.
• Secured record pay rises for award wage earners.
• Fixed the bargaining system to get wages moving, particularly in feminised industries.
• Changed the law to put gender equity at the heart of the Fair Work Commission’s decision-making.
• Banned pay secrecy clauses to reduce gender pay discrimination.
• Expanded access to flexible work arrangements.
• Made work safer for women, including through paid family and domestic violence leave, introducing a positive duty to protect against sexual harassment and making experience of family and domestic violence a protected attribute.

Peter Dutton opposed almost every single one of these measures.

Peter Dutton wants women to worker longer for less.

The Albanese Labor Government wants people to earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Our changes to workplaces laws mean workers are earning more, and our tax cuts mean they’ll keep more of what they earn.

We said we’d get wages moving again and that’s exactly what’s happening.

Yesterday’s ABS data shows wages growth coming in at 4.2% – the highest growth in 15 years.

That’s double what it was.

Under the previous government – wage growth averaged 2.1%

The Liberals and Nationals spent a wasted decade in government keeping wages low – admitting it was a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture.

Now in Opposition they say they’ll take a “targeted package of repeals to the next election” when it comes to workplace relations.

We know what that means.

Targeted against wage increases. Targeted against job security. Targeted against safer workplaces. Targeted against closing the gender pay gap.

As at 22 February 2024.