Status of Women Report Card - 2023

The Australian Government is committed to advancing gender equality as a national priority and making Australia one of the most gender equal societies in the world.

The Status of Women Report Card, released on International Women’s Day 2023, provides a picture of what life looks like for women in 2023.

Australia has made progress towards gender equality, but the data tells us that there is still work to be done.

Women and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council: communique 17 March 2023

The inaugural meeting of the Women and Women’s Safety Ministerial Council was held today, which has now been formally established under the National Cabinet architecture.

The Council, co-chaired by Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher and Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP brings together the Commonwealth and state and territory Ministers for Women and Ministers with portfolio responsibility for women, families and/or the prevention of domestic, family and sexual violence.

Ministers who attended today’s meeting are:

Secretaries Board communique: 8 March 2023

The Secretaries Board met at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to discuss the following matters.

APS Reform

The Board agreed an approach to engage APS staff in developing an APS Purpose Statement (Recommendation 6 of the Thodey Review). Draft Terms of Reference will be developed for agreement by the Board.

Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM, Secretary for Public Sector Reform, updated the Board on the design of a Long Term Insights Briefing model. The Board discussed a range of potential themes for a pilot briefing to be delivered later this year.

Care and support economy

The care and support economy is one of the fastest growing parts of the Australian economy.

To meet this growing demand, a significant reform agenda is underway across different parts of the sectors that make up the care and support economy - aged care, early childhood education and care, veterans’ care and disability support.

This work is already helping to deliver quality care and support, and quality jobs, and is making sure the systems and processes that support the care and support economy are productive and sustainable into the future.

The Australian Government is working toward a vision across all care and support economy sectors for:

  • Person-centred care and support that recognise those accessing it as individuals and deliver quality outcomes.
  • Secure, safe jobs with fair wages, conditions and opportunities for career development.
  • Systems of care and support are effective and sustainable and harness innovation to generate efficiency gains that do not compromise quality of services.

Care and support economy reform at a glance

Care and support economy state of play

There are some common issues facing all parts of the care and support economy, such as workforce shortages. To make sure these are addressed, the Government is taking a coordinated approach to policy design and service delivery.

The Care and Support Economy Reform Unit has been established within PM&C to oversee the coordinated implementation of reforms through strong policy stewardship and strategic coordination. The Unit will focus on improving the alignment of policies, programs, and actions across the care and support economy and tracking the implementation of reforms.

The Unit will continue to engage with state and territory governments, the public, and key stakeholders as reforms progress.

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