Minister for Finance and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher
Minister for Finance and Minister for Women Katy Gallagher (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch)

The Albanese government claims its federal budget includes the “most significant single-year investment in women’s equality in at least the last 40 years”. 

Yet the three big-ticket welfare reforms in the women’s budget statement are not actually gender specific. According to the government, however, they will benefit women. 

While Labor’s October budget invested in cheaper childcare and expanded paid parental leave, this budget prioritises “supporting women facing disadvantage, including single parents, and low-income workers across the care and support sector”.

Welfare reforms

The $2.7 billion to increase the maximum payment rates of Commonwealth rent assistance by 15% for all recipients would help single women, the government claims, who make up almost half of recipients. 

Similarly, the $1.9 billion to expand eligibility for the parenting payment to single principal carers — the majority (91%) of whom are women — by raising the age of the youngest dependent child from eight to 14 would give $88 extra a week to about 57,000 families. 

The $4.9 billion to increase support for student and JobSeeker payments was also included under “women’s economic equality”. As previously reported, the government is also abolishing the punitive ParentsNext from July 1 next year.

Women’s health

The government is investing $26.4 million to extend support for research and data-collection that support health outcomes for women and girls, including money for the existing Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health and support to monitor and evaluate maternity services. 

There’s $11.3 million for breastfeeding support, and $16.8 million for a new Medical Benefits Schedule item for a test that determines a patient’s risk of recurrent breast cancer.

Domestic violence

The government has allocated $589.3 million for women’s safety, including $262.6 million to address violence against First Nations women and $134.1 million for the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to tackle online harm. 

Finally, there’s $72.4 million for backfilling positions while early childcare workers undergo training and $18 million in grants to establish centres in underrepresented places. 

That’s about it!