Advancing gender equality

Better support for parents

Expanding eligibility for Parenting Payment (Single)

Recognising the added pressures that single parents face, the Government is expanding Parenting Payment (Single) for primary carers, 91 per cent of whom are women, until their youngest child turns 14.

Abolishing ParentsNext

The Government will abolish ParentsNext from 1 July 2024 and develop a replacement voluntary program, to provide high‑quality pre‑employment support.

Interim changes will be considered as soon as possible to move ParentsNext to voluntary participation.

Strengthening Paid Parental Leave and affordable early childhood education and care

From July 2023, the Government’s Cheaper Child Care and Paid Parental Leave changes will take effect to provide greater support and choice for parents, deliver benefits for children and advance gender equality.

A fairer child support system

The Government is making the child support system work better by making it easier for employers to withhold child support from a parent's wages.

Closing the gender pay gap

The Government will publish the gender pay gaps of employers with 100 or more workers from early 2024.

The Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms made gender equality an object of the Fair Work Act, giving gender equality appropriate weight throughout the workplace relations framework.

Supporting women's health

The Government is investing in affordable, high‑quality health care for women and girls.

The Government will support research and data collection for women and girls’ health outcomes and will make it cheaper to test for risk of recurrent breast cancer.

Ending violence against women and children

Supporting women and children's safety

National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022‑32

The Government is committed to working with states and territories to end gender‑based violence within a generation through the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022‑32.

This Budget delivers an additional $589.3 million for women's safety, which includes supporting implementation of the National Plan that builds on the $1.7 billion provided in the October Budget.

First Nations family safety

Investments under the National Plan include $194 million for a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan.

This will provide $145.3 million for activities to address immediate safety concerns for First Nations women and children, $23.2 million to deliver place‑based, trauma‑aware and culturally responsive healing programs aimed at early intervention and recovery, and $17.6 million on family safety initiatives.

Funding of $11.8 million will be provided to develop a standalone First Nations National Plan for Family Safety, including to establish a national Peak Body for First Nations family safety.

The Plan is being developed in partnership to ensure the voices and perspectives of First Nations people are at the centre of all efforts to end family violence.

The Government will also provide $68.6 million over 2 years to support the Family Violence Prevention Legal Services providers to deliver legal and non‑legal support for First Nations victim‑survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence.

Addressing entrenched disadvantage in communities

An integrated package to achieve long‑term positive change

The Government will deliver a $199.8 million integrated package to address entrenched and concentrated community disadvantage.

Delivering a Framework to Address Community Disadvantage

The Framework will guide the Commonwealth to work in partnership with communities to address disadvantage, by identifying key strategic objectives and principles.

This includes finding opportunities to better use place‑based approaches to target disadvantage and to support a greater ability for communities to make decisions reflecting their needs.

Empowering community‑led change backed by data

The Government is providing $64 million to extend the Stronger Places, Stronger People initiative. This provides certainty for existing place‑based partnerships in 10 communities and supports greater shared decision‑making and funding for local solutions in 6 of these communities.

The integrated package also includes $16.4 million to build communities' data capability and develop an integrated data asset to inform improved outcomes over the long term.

Establishing an Outcomes Fund

The Government has committed $100 million towards establishing an Outcomes Fund, to be co‑designed with stakeholders, including states and territories.

An Outcomes Fund will make payments for programs delivered in local communities, based on these programs achieving agreed, measurable outcomes. This will support data‑driven, evidence‑based solutions, improving outcomes in a range of policy areas.

Helping social enterprises become investment ready and access finance

In response to recommendations by the Impact Investing Taskforce's Expert Panel, the Government will convene an Investor Roundtable to discuss how to unlock private capital to support social impact investing initiatives.

The Government will also deliver a $11.6 million Social Enterprise Development Initiative, which will provide grants and online education and mentoring for eligible organisations. This will support these organisations to build capability to access capital and support improved social outcomes.

Partnering with philanthropy

Building on the outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit, the Government will partner with leading philanthropies through an Investment Dialogue for Australia’s Children.

Investing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Implementing the Uluru Statement

The Government is delivering on its commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum will provide Australians a historic opportunity to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people in our Constitution to deliver better decisions and outcomes for First Nations Australians.

A new Chapter creating an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament in the Constitution will ensure stronger consultation with First Nations Australians from across the country about the laws and policies that affect them.

Investing in Central Australia

The Government is providing $250 million to deliver the plan for A Better, Safer Future for Central Australia.

In partnership with local First Nations communities, the Government will work to address the decline in services and investments in the region over the past decade.

The Central Australia Plan is focusing on 6 priority areas:

• improved community safety and cohesion
• job creation
• better services
• preventing and addressing issues caused by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
• investing in families
• on‑country learning to improve school attendance and completion.

Funding will support a range of programs and projects under the Central Australia Plan, including a number aimed at supporting First Nations young people.

This is in addition to the $48.8 million investment announced on 24 January 2023.

Closing the Gap

This Budget invests $1.9 billion over 5 years from 2022‑23 to deliver sustained, practical actions to improve the lives and economic opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

$150.5 million to strengthen educational outcomes and protect traditional knowledge

• $38.4 million for high quality, culturally appropriate education for First Nations children in remote areas
• $11 million for a new policy partnership to strengthen national Indigenous languages
• $21.6 million for the Indigenous Boarding Providers grants program and $32.8 million for the Clontarf Foundation

$193.5 million for strong economic participation

• $46 million to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to deliver foundation skills training for First Nations people
• $40.6 million to continue the Indigenous Ranger Biosecurity program

$561.6 million for better health

• $238.5 million to improve First Nations cancer outcomes
• $141.2 million to expand the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program, including vaping prevention

$410.4 million for critical investments in housing and infrastructure

• $111.7 million for a new one‑year partnership with the Northern Territory Government to accelerate building of new remote housing
• $20.8 million to support Aboriginal Hostels, $23.3 million for housing works in Wreck Bay Village, Jervis Bay Territory, and $92.8 million for critical works to supply essential services to Mutitjulu on the lands of the Anangu people

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