Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister of for Women. Can the minister inform the Senate on how the government's policy settings in workplace relations and gender equality are benefiting Australian women?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Walsh for her question and for her years of representing low-paid workers, in particular women, through her service in the labour and union movement.

This government is committed to gender equality—not as an afterthought because we have a women problem—but because we understand gender equality as a core economic imperative that benefits all of us. This government recognises that there are structural challenges to achieving gender equality that need structural responses. There's been a decade of ignoring these structural barriers to gender equality, and women have been bearing the cost, including through lower pay, poor conditions and chronic labour shortages in feminised sectors.

We are getting on with the job of fixing this through our workplace relations settings, investments in cheaper childcare, modernising PPL schemes, reforms to close the gender pay gap and investments to end violence against women. These are structural reforms to fix the systems that are not working in the interests of women.

We're putting gender equality at the centre of workplace relations by making gender equality and job security objects of the Fair Work Act and strengthening access to flexible working arrangements. We will also establish a Pay Equity Expert Panel and a Care Community Sector Expert Panel in the Fair Work Commission. We will increase pay transparency by prohibiting pay secrecy clauses and strengthening gender pay gap reporting. We will prohibit sexual harassment under the Fair Work Act—a recommendation of the Respect@Work report, which we are implementing in full. While our workplace relations reforms will lift women's wages, our investment in cheaper child care will make early childhood education and care more accessible, and our PPL reforms will give families more choice when caring for their youngest family members.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, first supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister update the Senate on how these policy settings will drive wages growth with women in low-paid, feminised industries?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These important reforms will provide greater access to bargaining for workers in lower-paid and highly feminised sectors—workers like Jane, who has been an early childhood educator for 40 years. She works at East Brunswick Kindergarten and Childcare Centre. She is incredibly passionate about her job, but it's been a tough industry to dedicate her life and career to. There are constant struggles with staffing shortages due to low wages and conditions in the sector. Jane and her staff, along with workers in 70 other centres in Victoria, benefit from being part of a multi-employer agreement. They've won wages increases of 15 to 18 per cent above the award, and, just as important, they've won things like more time for planning and professional development, which delivers better quality care for the children they are providing care to.

The process is currently drowning in red tape, and it shouldn't be that hard. Directors in these centres are usually educators, not workplace relations or HR professionals. We are making it easier for people like Jane to get better pay.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Walsh, second supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister please update the Senate on why this policy agenda is so critical to improving conditions that will benefit women?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Walsh for the question. Achieving economic equality for women requires reforms to improve working conditions as well as pay. We are amending the Fair Work Act to provide stronger access to flexible working arrangements. Women are twice as likely as men to request flexible work arrangements, but the reform is not just important for women; this will help families to share those work and caring responsibilities, which is critical to driving gender equality. Currently an employee can ask for flexible work arrangements, but if their employer says 'no' they've got nowhere to go. The reforms we're looking at will bring employers and employees together in workplaces in the first instance to resolve requests and give the Fair Work Commission the power to resolve the dispute if needed.

In addition, we are prohibiting sexual harassment under the Fair Work Act. This complements reforms to the Sex Discrimination Act that passed this place last Friday. Along with the implementation of paid family and domestic violence leave, our reforms will make workplaces safer and more flexible for women.