Women’s task force recommends super for paid parental leave

Anthony Albanese is being urged to pay superannuation on paid parental leave and extend the scheme to 52 weeks in a landmark new report designed to close the gender pay gap.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has emphasised Labor’s economic reforms including expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks from July 20926, gender-responsive budgeting and industrial relations reforms.

Anthony Albanese is being urged to pay superannuation on paid parental leave and extend the taxpayer-funded scheme to 52 weeks in a report handed to government designed to close the gender pay gap.

The Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce provided its final report to the Albanese government laying out a 10-year plan to reduce barriers preventing women from fully participating in the economy and making seven primary recommendations focusing on addressing inequality across care, work, education, skills, tax and government.

It recommended the government legislate to establish and invest in high quality and affordable early childhood education and abolish the childhood subsidy test.

The taskforce, led by Chief Executive Women chair Sam Mostyn, found an extra $128bn could be added to the economy by removing “persistent and pervasive” barriers to women’s full and equal participation.

It also urged the government to overhaul the tax system with a “gender lens” to identify negative gender biases and examine options to address the high marginal tax rates experienced by women.

Ms Mostyn said the taskforce strongly believed creating an economy that used the full capacity of women was foundational for solving productivity and innovation challenges laid out in the ­recent Intergenerational Report.

“Our immediate and urgent ­actions will disrupt the compounding economic disadvantage accruing to women now, and, longer term, will address systemic barriers that stymie the release of the full value of women’s economic participation to the benefit of all Australians,” Ms Mostyn said.

The taskforce – which also ­included incoming Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood, former Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott, ACTU president Michele O’Neil and former Labor minister Jenny Macklin – laid out gendered division of unpaid care.

The report found women spent 30.2 hours a week on unpaid care and housework compared to men who spent 21.8 hours a week.

Chief Executive Women chair Sam Mostyn. Picture: Richard Dobson

While adopting some of the recommendations by the WEET before the May budget – including abolishing the Parents Next program and increasing rent assistance – Labor has so far failed to act on the taskforce’s call to pay super on paid parental leave or abolish the childcare activity test.  The ­report sets out a series of timelines for change, with some reforms needing to be implemented urgently while others needed to be rolled out across the next decade.

Labor has come under increased pressure in recent months to add super to paid parental leave, which it committed to making a “priority reform” at national conference in Brisbane last month.

The Albanese government has made clear it intends to pay super on paid parental leave when budget circumstances permit.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher emphasised Labor’s economic reforms including expanding paid parental leave to 26 weeks from July 2026, gender-responsive budgeting and industrial relations reforms.

Increasing paid parental leave was a key recommendation from last year’s jobs and skills summit, with the move designed to close the gender pay gap, boost women’s workforce participation and lift national productivity.  Senator Gallagher said Labor would consider the recommendations alongside the government’s employment white paper as it ­developed its national strategy on gender equality, expected to be ­released next year.

“Led by Sam Mostyn AO, the WEET has identified the barriers that women face in the Australian economy and provided government with practical advice on how to address these issues,” Senator Gallagher said.