SENATOR KATY GALLAGHER
MINISTER FOR FINANCE
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE
MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES

AMANDA RISHWORTH MP
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES
MINISTER FOR THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME

Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher, has today launched Building Australia’s Future: Labor’s Commitment to Women.

Labor put social and economic equality for women at the heart of our agenda from day one – because equality for women is not an add-on; it’s at the heart of all our decision making.

We have made significant progress toward women’s economic equality by closing the gender pay gap and ensuring women are paid properly.

Women working full-time are earning an average of $217 a week more now than since the last election.

We have made childcare cheaper for over a million Australian families, delivered a pay rise to early childhood educators and aged care workers, and legislated to expand paid parental leave to six months and pay superannuation on it.

The Prime Minister has made ending violence against women and children a priority for National Cabinet, backed by more than $4 billion for women’s safety initiatives: boosting and securing frontline services, delivering financial and housing support for women escaping violence, and much-needed law reform.

But we know there is much more to do.

Gender equality cannot be achieved without ending gender-based violence and the Albanese Government remains absolutely committed to this task.

Today, we’re committing to new practical steps to crack down further on perpetrators and address financial abuse in Commonwealth systems.

Our plan places a new focus on ending financial abuse, a fast growing and insidious form of domestic and family violence where perpetrators rack up tax or social security debts in their partner’s name. We have zero tolerance for perpetrators who exploit financial systems to harm their victims.

We want to close the loopholes that allow this to happen, and we will change the rules so that perpetrators pay back these debts – not the victim.

A re-elected Labor government will take steps to:

· Prevent perpetrators from using the tax and corporate systems to create debts as a form of coercive control and make perpetrators accountable for these debts if they do.

· Look at making perpetrators liable for social security debts incurred by a victim-survivor due to coercion or financial abuse. 

· Look at how we can stop perpetrators of domestic and family violence from receiving their victim’s superannuation after death.

Strengthening our focus to engage men in prevention and hold perpetrators to account has been a key part of our approach to ending the scourge of violence.

We want to deliver programs that will prevent violence, not just provide support after it escalates.

A commitment of $8.6 million will boost innovative perpetrator responses – like electronic monitoring and ankle bracelets on high-risk perpetrators, intensive behaviour change programs, and specialist early interventions for young people.

Only Labor has a clear plan to deliver more positive outcomes for women in Australia – with their health, with financial independence, in their families and in the workplace.

A re-elected Albanese Labor Government will also:

· Deliver a $790 million Women’s Health Package to bring more choice, lower costs and better health care for women.

· Protect the right to work from home to make sure modern families can balance work and family.

· Work towards a universal early childhood education system – helping children get the best start in life and supporting women’s workforce participation.

· Continue work to close the gender pay gap and properly value the work women do, including working positively with the Fair Work Commission to address its recent findings of gender undervaluation in key female dominated awards.

· Deliver a tax cut to all Australian women who pay tax so they can keep more of what they earn.

We've made significant progress in one term – but now is not the time to pull back or slow down.

Women’s economic empowerment and safety is crucial to the success of our nation and we have a clear plan to build Australia’s future to keep delivering for women.

TUESDAY, 22 APRIL 2025