The Status of Women Policy Committee (SWPC) welcomes the announcement by federal minister for women Senator Katie Gallagher in March 2024 that the government will pay superannuation on Government paid parental leave (PPL) from 1 July, 2025.
The Government’s announcement is appreciated and welcome, and we thank the Minister and the Albanese Labor Government for recognising the urgency of remediating gender inequity in superannuation by introducing this reform in their first term of government. About 180,000 families a year will benefit, while overall 311,000 women gave birth in Australia last year.
Latest superannuation fund statistics (November, 2023) show a 25% gender gap – a median balance of $158,806 for females aged 60-64 and $211,996 for men aged 60-64. This historical gap has seen older women fall behind their male peers in terms of their ability to escape poverty and house themselves in retirement, and to have the means to escape domestic violence and/or coercive financial control. https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource/download/womens-economic-equality-taskforce-final-report.pdf
The March announcement by the Albanese Labor Government will help close this gap between women’s and men’s retirement income. However, the government’s Women’s Economic Equality Task Force final report recommended that the government legislate the payment of superannuation on ALL forms of paid parental leave.
https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/10-year-plan (Recommendation 2.6).
Implementing the Task Force recommendation in full is urgent and necessary to help accelerate closing the gap so that this iniquitous inequity can be eliminated for future generations of Australian women.