Budget Paper
Women's Budget Statement
Labour-force gap at record low, 6.3M women receive WATO, $218.3M for First Nations women & children safety
Women's Budget Statement 2026-27
Source: Women's Budget Statement (PDF, 0.97 MB) — local:
source-docs/womens-budget-statement-2026-27.pdf, text:source-docs/womens-budget-statement-2026-27.txt
Foreword highlights
- 49.6% of parliamentarians are women at the opening of the 48th Parliament — fourth consecutive year.
- Female labour-force participation gap at 11.5% in November 2025 — its lowest level on record.
- The proportion of women in leadership positions has risen from 33.4% (2009) to 54.3% (2025) at the opening-of-parliament marker.
Priority areas (chapter structure)
- Economic equality and security for women
- Ending gender-based violence
- Health and wellbeing for women
- Leadership, representation and decision-making
- Women in First Nations communities
- Women in defence, veterans and emergency services
Headline measures benefiting women
| Measure | Detail | Source theme |
|---|---|---|
| Working Australians Tax Offset (WATO) | 6.3M of the 13M recipients are women | Theme 04 §4.1.2 |
| Junior pay phase-out (retail, fast food, pharmacy) | Disproportionately benefits women aged 18-20 | Theme 02 §2.5 |
| Paid Parental Leave to 6 months | Effective from July | Theme 05 §5.4 |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women & children safety plan | $218.3 million | Theme 05 §5.4 |
| Child Support Scheme improvements | $182.6 million | Theme 05 §5.4 |
| Children and Families Support program | $171.7 million | Theme 05 §5.4 |
| Birthing on Country expansion | $44.4M, 1,100 mothers | Theme 05 §5.5 |
| LARC bulk-billing rate | +19.4 ppt rise since the LARC fee was uplifted | (Women's Statement Ch. 3) |
| CRA back-to-back uplifts | Disproportionately benefits single-parent (women-led) renting households | Theme 02 §2.3 |
| Bulk-billing incentives | 9-in-10 GP services bulk-billed by 2030 | Theme 02 §2.4 |
| Aged-care personal-care subsidy | Removes co-contributions for showering — predominantly female workforce + female-skewed older cohort | Theme 05 §5.2 |
Underemployment and participation
- 7.4% of employed women currently underemployed (seeking more hours).
- 29.6% age-based gender gap remains in some segments.
- WATO is forecast to provide modest support to labour supply from lower-income taxpayers, likely part-time workers and women (BP1 Statement 4 / tax-cut explainer).
Cross-cutting commitments
- 1.3 million Australians benefit from increased Medicare levy low-income thresholds, including ~750,000 women (60%).
- The Commonwealth is bringing forward the National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality in 2026, informed by ongoing consultation, reviews and inquiries.