REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION (A/52/231)

The material posted here was provided to the Division for the Advancement of Women by the Government in response to the Secretary-General's Questionnaire on Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. It has been made available in electronic format from the form received. In cases where it was not possible to reproduce charts and tables supplied, these can be obtained by contacting the Division for the Advancement of Women directly.

I am pleased to provide the attached response to the United Nations Questionnaire to Governments on the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action on behalf of the Government of Australia.

The Australian Government has a proud record in the measures it has introduced to support opportunity and choice for women throughout the community, across the range of critical areas identified under the Beijing Platform for Action.

The Australian Government, and the State and Territory Governments within the Australian federal system, are proud of their achievements to support and advance the status of women. These measures are designed to enable Australian men and women to live in a society that is free from discrimination on the grounds of sex and to share together the benefits of Australia’s robust economic performance and its stable and peaceable society.

The attached material addresses progress under the 12 Critical Areas of Concern in the Beijing Platform for Action. They reflect Australia’s commitment to women and our recognition of the fundamental principle that women’s rights are inalienable and indivisible human rights.

The Australian Government is committed to an open and participatory society.

In preparation for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Beijing Plus Five in June 2000, the Australian Government has sought input to its response from State and Territory Governments in its federal system.

The Australian Government is also undertaking extensive community consultations in eighteen locations around the nation to seek input on progress and obstacles to the continued advancement of the status of women. These consultations are being conducted by the national women’s machinery, the Office of the Status of Women in the

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, working closely with State and Territory women’s machineries and with the involvement of the women’s non-government sector.

Community consultations are also providing information about and seeking input for our preparation of Australia’s combined 4^th and 5^th Country Report under the Convention on the Discrimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which is due to be lodged in October 2000.

In order to ensure that its final response is informed by the views of women in the community, Australia proposes to lodge its final response to the Questionnaire after public submissions on these consultations are received in early November.

I am very pleased to provide the attached as an advance response to the Questionnaire pending the final response.

JOCELYN NEWMAN

cc Secretary-General
United Nations

In line with international best practice, the Australian Government pursues a strategy of integrating women’s issues into mainstream policy making and practice across all areas, including budgetary procedures.

Implementation of the Platform for Action

After the Beijing Conference, the OSW convened an Interdepartmental Committee comprising relevant government agencies to oversee the implementation of the Platform for Action. Each portfolio examined the Platform and identified progress and further action required in relation to the twelve critical areas.

Each government department at both federal and state/territory level maintains gender focus points in the form of women’s desk officers, undertakes gender analysis and furthers progress towards integrating gender into mainstream business activities and planning.

Global conferences

• Vienna World Conference on Human Rights - a five year review was submitted to the UN in 1998;
• the World Summit for Social Development - report to the UN in September 1999.

NGO consultations

NGOs are consulted on a regular basis in other areas of the government’s responsibility, for example the Attorney General’s NGO Forum on Domestic Human Rights Issues, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s consultations with NGOs on international human rights and the Department of Immigration Affairs’ community consultations on the annual migration programme.

Consultation with the community has been an ongoing process. The Australian Government funds women’s NGOs and works closely with community and business partners on a range of issues affecting women and policy. OSW funds an information newsletter service for the women’s NGO community, maintains a website, email and phone access and undertakes communications activities to improve women’s access to information about government policies.

The Australian Government also attended in an official capacity at the Asia-Pacific sub-regional conference in Sydney in July 1999 for NGOs to hear NGO views on the implementation of the Platform for Action.

In September/October 1999, the OSW conducted extensive community consultations with NGOs and other interested parties in eighteen locations around Australia to review the implementation of the Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The results of these consultations, including open forum discussions and public submissions, will inform the government’s final response on implementation of the Platform.

A. WOMEN AND POVERTY

The Australian Government is committed to the achievement of long term sustainable growth, rising employment, and a favourable economic environment to the benefit of all Australians. Australia has withstood the regional economic downturn, recording an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 4.5% and real wage increases of 2.6% in 1998-99, while maintaining low inflation (with the CPI rising by just 1.1% over the year to the June quarter 1999). Interest rates, including home finance lending, are at their lowest for thirty years. Employment has increased substantially in recent years, and unemployment rates for men and women are at their lowest for around ten years. Since 1996, 526,000 additional jobs have been created, 259,500 of these for women. Women’s unemployment reached a nine year low in July and August 1999 with a rate of 7.0%.

Australia maintains a robust income support safety net to protect women and men in genuine need, including the unemployed, students and youth, parents and sole parents, and older Australians. The Australian Government provides cash and taxation benefits to families with dependent children, assistance with the costs of child care and payments for disabled persons and carers. Australia does not utilise social insurance systems and these payments are publicly funded from general taxation revenue. Total transfer payments account for about one-third of Budget outlays and about 8% of GDP.

These benefits are augmented by an extensive and increasingly flexible retirement incomes system and statutory child support provisions. Specific assistance is also available to low income families, including women and sole parents, through public housing and assistance with private rental housing, telephones and pharmaceuticals. In combination, these measures help to reduce the incidence of poverty in Australia and to moderate wealth inequalities which may arise from market incomes alone.

The Australian Government’s new tax system will ensure that 80% of Australians have a marginal income tax rate of no more than 30 cents in the dollar, compared to only around 30% of Australians at present. The new tax system will reduce effective marginal taxation rates (poverty traps) for many recipients of means tested payments, including women with families, sole parents and pensioners.

Australia has been at the forefront of restructuring income support to separately recognise the role of women within couple families and of introducing appropriate activity and means test provisions.

The Australian Government is actively pursuing policies to help prevent poverty and break the cycle of welfare dependence through early intervention and assistance to women, men and families affected by homelessness, domestic violence, drug abuse, family breakdown, unemployment or other crises. It is delivering a set of measures which both respect and support individual women’s (and increasingly, men’s) choices to undertake full-time parenting or caring responsibilities for a period, while improving financial incentives and practical assistance for individuals to pursue paid employment where they are capable of doing so.

According to a wide range of research, using reliable poverty measures, Australia has recorded a gradual decline in the extent and incidence of poverty over recent years. The Australian Government’s policies and programmes, many of which give special emphasis to women, have contributed to higher living standards and lower levels of inequality. Women have been major beneficiaries of these improvements.

Mechanisms have been established to regularly monitor government programmes and policies for their effect on poverty, inequality and living standards. Gender figures prominently in the analysis.

The Australian Government conducts research into household living standards to ensure that assistance is adequate and appropriate for those in genuine need. This research shows that income is only one dimension of need and that a capacity to purchase a certain level of products is only one indicator of outcomes. In 1998, independent research was conducted on Budget Standards and the pilot testing results of the Living Standards Survey. The results of these studies are being used for the ongoing development of the survey of living standards. Measures of financial stress will be added into several national regular surveys, which will further inform policy development.

The Australian Government has undertaken a series of reforms which have strengthened Australia’s economic foundations and delivered some of the best economic outcomes since the 1960s. The key pillars of reform have been the deregulation of the financial system, the strengthening of the monetary policy framework, significant improvements in the operation of product and labour markets and a new taxation system.

These reforms have helped create one of the most dynamic, innovative and productive economies in the western world, bringing increased benefits to consumers and relief for family budgets. The Australian economy is growing very strongly, with a growth rate of around 5% in 1998 and very low inflation. Australia has the lowest net government debt to GDP ratio of any country in the OECD and the lowest interest rates since the 1960s. Australia has recorded the lowest unemployment rate in almost ten years and the lowest level of industrial disputes in 86 years. Such a stable economy provides a secure environment and benefits for all Australians, especially for families, with better affordability of home ownership, secure employment and higher standards of living.

Shoring-up the country’s economic foundations is also fundamental to the capacity of the government to take action in other areas. Strengthening the economy has provided the Government with a springboard to meet its social obligations to the disadvantaged in the community. This has enabled the Australian Government to maintain or increase spending in many areas of major relevance to women in genuine need, such as child care assistance and income support payments.

As with the economy, the Australian Government has also pioneered far-reaching reforms in the social arena, to build a strong bedrock of social foundations that better assists those who are most vulnerable in society to secure economic independence.

The Australian Government has developed a progressive new approach – called ‘social coalitions’ – to tackle today’s critical social problems, such as poverty and high unemployment. Taking a key leadership role, the Australian Government is fostering partnerships between all levels of government, the business and community sectors, families and individuals.

Under this approach, the Australian Government continues to provide support for those in genuine need but also works collaboratively with other key players to tackle entrenched social problems at their source. This strategy seeks to build a series of localised approaches throughout the community and to focus mainly on prevention rather than cure.

This holistic approach taps into the community spirit, and promotes the concept of personal responsibility for individuals and groups, including businesses. The Australian Government is encouraging leading edge businesses to give back to the community, from which they derive their profit.

Participation in employment is an important means for women to gain financial security for the present as well as the future. The number of women in employment grew by 241,000 (6.7%) between March 1996 and August 1999. This growth has been accompanied by high participation rates – female labour force participation has averaged 53.8% since March 1996 and reached a record high of 54.4% in September1999.

One of the barriers to women's employment has been the challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 (‘theWRAct’) provides greater workplace flexibility, allowing employers and employees to negotiate a range of family-friendly provisions at the workplace. Approximately 67% of certified agreements and 79% of Australian Workplace Agreements approved under the Act include one or more family-friendly measures. The WR Act also contains a safety net (including 12 months parental leave for permanent full-time and part-time employees who meet the continuous service requirements) and provisions to encourage regular and predictable part-time work with pro-rata entitlements.

Section 358A of the WR Act requires that the Australian Government prepare a report on developments in agreement making, including the effects of bargaining on women’s employment. The 1998 Update to the 1997 Report on Agreement-Making under the Workplace Relations Act found that women were more likely than men to have provisions in their federal collective agreements which covered leave, family/carer's leave and part-time work. It also found that agreements where women made up between 40% and 60% of the employees covered had the highest average annualised wage increase.

Australian women have experienced excellent improvements in wages growth. In February 1999, women's average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) reached the highest ever level of 84.8% of male AWOTE. Women's earnings have been growing at a faster rate than men's: in the twelve months to May 1999, AWOTE grew by 3.5% for women and 3.3% for men. Over the same period, all females' total earnings (which include part-time workers) grew by 3.2%, compared with 2.6% for males.

The Australian Government has reviewed the operation of the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, to ensure it operates more effectively for women and businesses, with less red tape. The Government also commissioned a Pregnancy Discrimination Inquiry and recently tabled the Inquiry’s report, Pregnant and Productive: It's a Right not a Privilege to Work while Pregnant, in Federal Parliament.

Women’s unemployment has decreased significantly since 1996. Women’s unemployment was 7.4% in September after falling to a nine-year low of 7.0% in July and August 1999 – a significant decrease from 8.0% in March1996.

The Australian Government provides services to assist unemployed women returning to the paid workforce. These include Job Network employment services; jobs, employment and training programmes for women with children and sole parents; and new measures to assist women (and men), who have been out of the workforce for more than two years for parenting or caring.

In 1997, the Australian Government introduced measures to increase social participation by unemployed people, through Mutual Obligation. This initiative provides more unemployed people with the opportunity to enhance their self esteem and job prospects, and encourages them to give something back to the communities that support them.

Under Mutual Obligation requirements, jobseekers aged 18-24 and unemployed for six months, or 25-34 and unemployed for 12 months, are required to undertake suitable activities. These activities include government funded literacy/numeracy training, Work for the Dole and Green Corps programmes to meet assessed skills needs, volunteer work or part time employment.

Women jobseekers are well represented in these activities. The Green Corps programme allows participants to undertake conservation and cultural heritage activities, appropriate accredited training and community service, while the Literacy and Numeracy Programme provides basic literacy and numeracy training which leads to a measurable improvement in participants’ literacy and numeracy skills.

The Australian Government has introduced a major reform to the delivery of employment services to unemployed Australians through Job Network. Job Network is a national network of more than 300 private, community and government organisations that specialise in finding jobs for unemployed people, particularly those who are long-term unemployed.

The new competitive arrangements offer jobseekers a greater choice of organisations to help them find a job. Job Network organisations are paid for the results they achieve and this provides the strongest possible incentive to ensure the highest level of service and outcomes for jobseekers.

Employment services are directed to those people most disadvantaged in the labour market. Many jobseekers benefit from the new job matching arrangements, while other jobseekers may need job search training or intensive assistance before they can find and retain a job. Intensive assistance provides individually tailored help to jobseekers who are long-term unemployed or are assessed as being at high risk of becoming long-term unemployed. Time out of the workforce for parenting or caring is recognised as a factor in assessment of client needs.

A range of Job Network services are available to job seekers who are not in receipt of unemployment benefits – many of these are women. These services include access to touch screens, computers, facsimiles, photocopiers, telephones and assistance in the preparation of resumes and interview techniques.

In 1998, job matching assistance was extended to be available to all job seekers who work less than 15 hours a week. This measure is particularly beneficial to women who work part-time. In addition, carers returning to the workforce after two or more years absence and who are not on allowances, mainly women, also have access to job search training.

Job Network organisations offer flexible and tailored assistance to job seekers, including those with special needs. Currently, almost 30% of Job Network providers offer specialist services to disadvantaged job seekers and there are 14 Job Network outlets with expertise in providing services specifically to women. Seven of these outlets also provide services targeted at sole parents.

Job Network is monitored to ensure that disadvantaged groups in the community, including women, continue to receive an equitable share of available employment services. Women currently comprise almost 40% of all registered job seekers.

Many women who have taken time out of the workforce due to parenting or caring commitments face difficulties returning to the workforce due to loss of skills and connections with the workplace.

The Jobs, Education and Training Programme (JET) is a voluntary programme aimed at improving the financial circumstances of eligible clients by assisting with skill development and/or aiding their entry or re-entry into the workforce. JET recognises that there are a number of major barriers that may affect the ability of sole parents and some other carers and parents to join the paid workforce. JET assesses and helps people overcome these barriers by providing structured assistance which includes: development of a plan to achieve labour market readiness; and as appropriate, access to education, training and employment assistance; referrals to government and community services, and where required, child care assistance. As of June 1998, 181,819 customers were identified as JET participants, of whom at least 90% are women.

The Job Placement, Employment and Training Programme (JPET) assists students and unemployed young people under 21 years, who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, to overcome problems which prevent them from maintaining stable accommodation and entering into full-time education, training or employment. Several projects have specifically targeted young women. The ‘Girlstorey’ project delivers counselling, support, advocacy and referral and training courses to women who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, unemployed refugees, wards of State, offenders or early school leavers.

The Return to Work Programme provides assistance to people who want to return to the workforce after a prolonged absence. See also F: Women and the Economy for more details on this programme.

Income security is a vital part of a reliable safety net and support system for Australians in need. The Australian Government provides income support for people who cannot provide adequately for themselves for reasons such as age, disability, unemployment or caring responsibilities. Special emphasis has been given to the position of women and children in many government programmes. The Australian Government has also recently begun the process of addressing inadequacies in the distribution of superannuation on marriage breakdown, which has particularly affected the income security of women for many years.

The Australian Government’s recent reforms to the income support system, which include restructuring assistance to unemployed couples to introduce individual payments and income testing arrangements, help to address women’s unemployment by providing much better financial incentives for the spouses of unemployed men to get work.

New Start and Youth Allowance provide a means tested, non-contributory, publicly funded welfare safety net for unemployed people in genuine need. The New Start Allowance ensures that unemployed men and women receive an adequate level of income and participate in activities designed to assist their employment prospects. The Youth Allowance provides incentives to job seekers under 18 years of age to find work or remain in training or education, yet still provides a safety net when needed.

Many women not seeking to enter the workforce also have access to a range of income support payments. These include the partner allowance for older women without recent workforce assistance, the disability pension and carer payments (the majority of carers in Australia are women).

The Australian Government has a strong commitment to providing opportunity and choice for women with families. Family assistance payments, targeted at primary carers (mainly women), assist families and help to alleviate poverty. This provides increased choice to women with dependent children – whether they choose to work full or part time or to be out of the paid workforce for a period while caring for children.

The Australian Government has provided increasing levels of assistance for families in areas such as child care, health, education, family relationship support and youth issues. Funding of more than $7.3 billion is provided to family assistance (excluding Family Tax Assistance and child care assistance), as well as more than $1 billion a year in assistance for child care subsidies for parents (mainly women) in employment or training or at home. (See also the ‘Child Care’ section in this chapter.)

The Australian Government’s new taxation system, from 1 July 2001, will increase payments to families with dependent children and minimise poverty traps by reducing high effective marginal taxation rates for low income women and those considering returning to the paid workforce.

Family Allowance assists the majority of Australian families (around 79%) with the costs of raising their children. Payment is directed to the primary carer, the vast majority of whom are women. The rate is based on the level of family income and assets, and the number and ages of dependent children. Additional payments are available if the family is renting privately, if the parent is a lone parent, if the family is large (with three or more dependent children), and if there are multiple birth children (triplets, quadruplets or more) under six years of age.

The Australian Government’s tax reform represents one of the most significant social reforms in Australia’s history.

• Tax reform will provide $13billion in income tax cuts each year. It will provide
  $2½ billion of additional family payments to low and middle income families annually. Around two million families will benefit from higher income tax free thresholds and lower taper rates. Women will benefit from substantial extra income to help low and middle income families raise their children, and from changes which reduce work disincentives arising from the interaction of the tax and social security systems; and
• The primary carer in the family, usually the mother, will be able to choose how family assistance is paid — as a fortnightly payment, a reduction of tax instalment deductions or as an end-of-year lump sum.

Under Family Tax Benefit changes from 1 July 2000, a single income family with two children under 13 years earning private income of $28,080 per annum, will receive Family Tax Benefit A of $117.32 a week, plus Family Tax Benefit B of $51.41 a week. This will make their weekly disposable income including private earnings $615.30.

The Australian Government has extended access to Health Care Cards (HCC) to foster carers of children who receive Family Allowance. Foster carers will be issued with a HCC for the foster child(ren), providing the foster child(ren) was/were eligible for a HCC when domiciled with their original family. This recognises the role of foster carers and the health expenses they incur for children in their care. Around 900 foster parents were given access to HCCs for their foster children from

1 September 1999.

Parenting Payment, a payment for primary carers of children, was introduced in March 1998. This payment provides recipients with recognition of their parenting responsibilities, adequate income and opportunities for greater financial independence. Parenting Payment has three components:

• an income support payment to low income lone parents (formerly known as Sole Parent Pension);
• an income support payment to parents whose partners are pensioners, allowees or low income earners; and
• an income supplement available to partnered parents with a low personal income (regardless of their partner's income).

The introduction of Parenting Payment aligns many of the differences between the previous payments and simplifies the system of payments to primary carers, as it recognises that there is significant flow between partnered and lone primary carers of children as parents separate and repartner.

The vast majority of Parenting Payment recipients are women, reflecting the fact that it is mainly women who take on primary care of children.

Australia has progressively reformed its assistance to families with dependent children, resulting in a substantial redirection of assistance for families to the parent with principal parenting responsibilities (mainly women). These moves include:

• integrating a range of payments to assist with the costs of children, which are now paid to women in the vast majority of cases;
• a tax rebate for dependent spouses with children — mainly paid to men — was cashed out and directed to the primary child carer;
• the married rate of the unemployment benefit was split and half paid to the recipient’s partner; and
• assistance to unemployed couples was substantially restructured to introduce individual payments and partially individualised income testing arrangements.

By providing individual entitlements, the income support system recognises that traditional notions of dependency on partners no longer reflect the reality for most Australian families. The provision of fortnightly cash payments to the primary carer in the family, as opposed to annual tax assistance to the taxpayer (usually male in one-income families), enables women to contribute to the family income.

Other measures to assist Parenting Payment recipients, who are mainly women, to re-enter the workforce or to improve their participation in income-producing activities are the Pensioner Education Supplement and Education and Employment Entry Payments. These are available for targeted groups within the Parenting Payment population to assist with their education costs or costs of entry to the workforce.

A low income family with two children in full-time care is entitled to assistance that covers around 70% of their child care costs, while a middle income family in the same situation would be entitled to assistance covering around 60% of their costs.

The supply of child care is estimated to have met demand in many parts of Australia and the 0-4 year old population is declining. In order to ensure that new child care services open in areas of demonstrated need and to avoid over-supply, a national planning system has been introduced.

Child care subsidies will be simplified and improved from July 2000, with the introduction of a new child care benefit. The new benefit provides increased levels of subsidy, and targets extra assistance to low income families and families with more than one child in care.

Separation from a partner can place many women at risk of poverty. Reliable access to child support transfers from a former partner relieves financial pressure on unpartnered women caring for children. Australia has achieved very high levels of compliance through the scheme, which is based on voluntary agreements supported by statutory arrangements to assess and collect child support liabilities where parents cannot agree. In 1997-98, the Child Support Scheme handled 494,534 cases, of which 57.56% involved collection through the statutory scheme.

The Child Support Scheme aims to ensure that:

• parents share in the costs of supporting their children according to their capacity;
• adequate support is available to all children living with both parents;
• Commonwealth involvement and expenditure is limited to the minimum necessary for ensuring children’s needs are met;
• work incentives for both parents to participate in the labour force are not impaired;
• the overall arrangements are non-intrusive to personal privacy and are simple, flexible and efficient; and
• Commonwealth expenditure is minimised, while ensuring the adequacy of child support to all children not living with both parents.

Recent changes to child support include:

• its location in the Family and Community Services portfolio, to facilitate a holistic approach to service delivery and policy development for families; and
• the requirement, from 1 July 1999, for all former non-custodial partners to make a minimum contribution towards child support, even if their only source of income is income support. All child support payers will be required to pay a minimum of $5 a week in child support.

A significant number of older Australians and their carers are women. Women are the major beneficiaries of the Australian Government’s Staying at Home – Care and Support for Older Australians package. The 1998 package, which provides around $280 million over four years, includes reforms to income support for carers with eligibility for the Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit being widened (at a cost of $96.4 million over four years). This builds on the 29% increase in the rate of benefit (from $58.30 to $75.10 per fortnight), that was introduced on

1 July 1998.

To complement this measure, the Australian Government extended respite support for carers of young people with disabilities, who are unable to access existing State respite care or assistance provided under Commonwealth initiatives, and who have a short term or immediate need for respite support. An estimated additional 900 carers per year will benefit at a cost of around $200 million over four years. The vast majority of these carers are women.

The 1998-99 Commonwealth Budget provided around $164 million over four years for War Widows’ and Widowers’ Pensions to be adjusted to male total average weekly earnings. Through this measure, the Australian Government has shown its commitment to care for those in need by protecting the living standards and ensuring financial security of widows.

Women make up 65% of Australians currently aged over 65. While Australia’s population is comparatively young by international standards, forecasts are that by the year 2021, one in ten Australians will be a woman over 65. Their concerns, interests, activities and difficulties are likely to become increasingly visible, just as their growing numbers and the changing age structure of the population will place them firmly within the mainstream of Australian society in the course of the 21^st century. Just as the majority of today’s older women are neither dependent nor disabled, so too can the majority of older women in the future look forward to a reasonably healthy old age. While debate continues as to the possibility that increased longevity may bring with it increased years lived with a significant level of disability, available evidence suggests that the more likely consequence is the continuation of the status quo.

Australia's retirement income system is based on three pillars: a targeted safety-net age pension, compulsory superannuation and voluntary savings. The means-tested age pension, the value of which has been legislatively mandated at 25% of total male average weekly earnings, provides a basic protection against poverty. Compulsory superannuation was introduced in Australia in 1992 through the Superannuation Guarantee system, which requires employers to make mandated contributions on behalf of most employees. Today, the majority of employees are covered by superannuation: 89.7% of female and 92.5% of male employees as at December 1998. The third pillar, voluntary savings through vehicles such as personal superannuation contributions and owner-occupied housing depends on choices made by both individuals and households and capacity to save.

The Australian Government recognises that superannuation is a particular concern to women. Women on average live longer than men, often have less opportunities for economic independence, and frequently have patterns of paid work which are not consistent with the models on which many superannuation schemes and regulatory arrangements are based.

Recognising the importance of superannuation issues for women, the Australian Government has introduced a range of progressive reforms which make Australian superannuation more competitive and suitable to the retirement saving needs of working women and those who take time out of the paid workforce.

The Australian Government has introduced an 18% income tax rebate for people who contribute up to $3000 to a superannuation fund or retirement savings account of their ‘at home’ or low income spouse. It has also introduced superannuation choice legislation and established the Retirement Savings Accounts as a low risk, flexible and fully portable savings option suitable for people with intermittent working patterns, most of whom are women. In addition, the Age Pension means test now encourages the take up of retirement income streams. Australia gives tax concessions to people who have voluntarily entered into a private pension (superannuation) scheme.

These measures provide more choice and opportunity for individuals and their families to make tax-effective savings for future retirement use. In this way, they build on and extend the 1992 compulsory superannuation scheme which was introduced to complement the age pension system and ensure that the system remained fiscally sustainable, particularly in light of the ageing population. The superannuation scheme, which is intended to increase the coverage of superannuation across the workforce, is compulsorily funded by employers (currently 7% of an employee's wages). This will increase in stages, reaching 9% by 2002.

The Australian Government is reforming superannuation and family law to address longstanding concerns about women’s access to retirement savings built up in marriage and give separating couples greater choice in their financial affairs. Upon marital breakdown, a couple will be able to agree to divide superannuation interests held in the name of either party. Superannuation interests will be divided in whatever proportions the couples choose and can be offset against other marital property, such as the family home. Where couples cannot agree, the Family Court will be able to divide superannuation equitably between the parties. Superannuation funds will give effect to these agreements and court orders, usually by setting up a new account for the non-superannuated spouse.

The Government has implemented changes to enable couples to make binding financial agreements about their property before or during marriage or after separation. The Courts retain the right to set aside these agreements in specified circumstances.

The Australian Government provides means-tested, tax funded, non-contributory age pensions to women who meet minimum residence requirements. Outlays on age pensions were $13.142 billion in 1997-98. The qualifying age for men is 65. The qualifying age for women is currently 61½ and will increase gradually to 65 by 2013.

Currently, two-thirds of age pensioners are women. As part of its new tax system, the Australian Government will provide special payments to pensioners and self-funded retirees with income from savings.

The Aged Persons Savings Bonus will help maintain the value of savings and the retirement income of older women by providing a one-off bonus of up to $1,000, depending on the amount of savings and total income, to Australians over 60years of age.

In addition, the Self-Funded Retirees Supplementary Bonus will provide up to an additional $2,000per person to eligible people who are of pension age and not in receipt of a social security or service pension. This additional one-off amount will assist self-funded retirees who do not benefit from the increases in the maximum rates of age and service pensions.

The Australian Government has made provision for the expected future increase in pension expenditure by its commitment to maintain the single rate of pension at 25% of male total average weekly earnings (indexed twice a year in line with CPI changes) with proportional flow-ons to the married rate of pension. These adjustments are designed to maintain both the real and the relative value of the Age Pension.

A Lump Sum Pension Advance of up to $500, was introduced in July 1996 to assist pensioners to meet unexpected living expenses.

Older women have benefited from the change in the income test for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card from one based on current income to one based on taxable income. The income limit was extended from (single) $21,320 to $40,000 and (couple) $35,620 to $67,000.

The Australian Government is sponsoring the Australis Self Made Girl programme. This is a short course designed to encourage young women to develop an entrepreneurial approach to personal finance and develop the skills to take care of their own financial security. Workshops have been held around Australia, where young women have been given the opportunity to work with female role models on various interactive business activities. Almost 1,000 young women participated in the workshops in 1998, including those from disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ backgrounds. Other aspects of the programme include a business plan competition and games which teach various aspects of making and actively using money, in ways other than spending, as well as operating confidently in the world of commerce.

Examples of State and Territory initiatives

In May 1997 the Victorian Government released a report aimed at the finance sector entitled We're all equal now aren't we? This was the product of research into women's attitudes to securing their own financial future, their access to financial information and their experiences with financial institutions. Its intended outcome was to increase the awareness in the finance sector of the needs of their women customers.

The Victorian Government, through Small Business Victoria, has also implemented the Financing Growth of Your Small Business seminar series and established an Internet site to assist women who wish to start up or expand their existing operations.

Family separation and financial security

The Australian Government recognises that many women experience financial difficulties after separation. A number of government measures are expected to assist this group of women. For example, the Australian government recently introduced a $63 million package of initiatives aimed at addressing family separation and its consequences and focusing on family reunion and counselling. This package includes $11.3 million to establish a national network of Link-Up centres and $33.3 million for counselling and related services. Several of these measures provide information and advice to women on income support and other financial matters with a view to ensuring their economic security.

One of the priorities for the Australian Government has been to work with a range of community partners on ways to help vulnerable people in Australia, especially those on low incomes, the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. The Australian Government’s determination to address these critical social problems is reflected in the funding of a wide range of programmes and policies over recent years. Women and their children are major beneficiaries of these measures.

The Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement (CSHA) is the Australian Government’s principal strategy to address housing needs of low income people who do not have access to home ownership or face difficulties in the private rental market. The Australian Government will provide over $4 billion to the States and Territories over the four-year term of the 1999 CSHA. The main recipients under the CSHA are those affected by discrimination in housing markets, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, single parents and their children, young people, people with a disability, people with a mental illness, and people from non-English speaking backgrounds.

The Australian Government has undertaken a range of reforms to tackle youth homelessness. An early intervention programme, with $60 million funding over four years, was introduced on 1 July 1999 to assist young people and their families where there is a risk of youth homelessness. The programme will cover about 100 services which will assist about 12,000 young people and families per year. These services will be located in a range of regional, rural and urban areas and aim to develop or improve local youth homelessness early intervention networks, by strengthening the connections between agencies which provide support to young people and families. This programme was established in response to the Prime Ministerial Youth Homeless Taskforce Report in November 1998.

The Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme (SAAP), a Commonwealth/State shared programme, provides transitional support and accommodation to homeless people and those at risk of homelessness, many of whom are women escaping domestic violence. The Australian Government has renewed its commitment to SAAP for another five years, subject to negotiation of new agreements with the States. This initiative will result in the further expenditure of over $1 billion for support services.

Indigenous men and women generally experience a high level of disadvantage in terms of their access to suitable housing, compared to other Australians. Homelessness is around 20 times more common and overcrowding four times more common than for other Australian families.

A range of programmes are being funded to improve housing for Indigenous Australians, particularly those in rural and remote communities. In 1998-99, the Australian Government provided $308 million to the two main targeted programmes, the Aboriginal Rental Housing Programme (ARHP) and the Community Housing and Infrastructure Programme (CHIP). More than 1,000 houses were provided per annum, as well as a similar number of upgrades, repairs and maintenance. In addition, the Australian Army provides urgently needed health-related infrastructure, including water and sewerage systems, to the most needy remote communities, under the ATSIC/Army Community Assistance Programme.

Indigenous Australians on low incomes also have access to means-tested concessional home loans from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). Interest on these loans starts at 5% per annum and increases by 0.5% per annum until it reaches the ATSIC home loan rate, which is set at no more than 1% below the Commonwealth Bank variable housing loan interest rate. For families with an income of less than $25,000, a reduced commencing rate may apply.

The On-Arrival Accommodation initiative provides initial short-term accommodation in self contained units for migrants and refugees deemed to be in need of humanitarian resettlement. Associated case co-ordination services help clients, based on an individual assessment of settlement needs, to access relevant community services.

The Women at Risk Programme provides Australian resettlement for refugee women and women ‘of concern’ to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and their dependents, who are in dangerous or vulnerable situations because of the breakdown of traditional support mechanisms. This initiative provides assistance to women who have been tortured, sexually assaulted or otherwise traumatised and in particular need of settlement assistance. In 1997-98, 543 visas under the programme were granted, representing 13% of the refugee intake. Major regions included the Former Yugoslavia, Africa and the Middle East. Australia is one of only a small number of countries that conduct such programmes.

The Community Refugee Settlement Scheme (CRSS) organises volunteer community groups to assist eligible refugees to settle during their first 6 months in Australia. Assistance includes arranging accommodation, encouraging refugees to learn English and providing contact with general migrant and community services. The CRSS gives priority to ‘women at risk’ entrants.

The Australian Government is providing more than $1 million during 1998/99 under the Community Settlement Services Scheme and Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy for organisations to undertake projects with a specific focus on settlement issues for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Most of the funding is used for the employment of welfare or social workers providing casework, counselling, information and referral services to migrant and refugee/humanitarian entrant women from various target communities.

Funding is also provided for project based awards addressing particular women’s settlement issues.

The New South Wales Government provides housing assistance to low income people - two thirds of new leases are held by women. A Supported Accommodation Assistance Programme provides resources for community organisations to assist women in disadvantaged communities to develop skills and identify support.

The Northern Territory Government has initiated HomeStart, a first mortgage home loan designed to assist low to middle income earners buy their first home. Since its inception in July 1997 approximately 25% of all HomeStart borrowers have been single women.

A jointly funded programme by the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Governments provides rental assistance to low income earners occupying private rental accommodation while awaiting public housing. The majority of these recipients are single women often with dependents. Tenants of public housing in the Northern Territory have their rent determined on the basis of income to ensure they are not paying a disproportionate share of their income on rent and they can maintain an appropriate standard of living.

The Australian Government is strongly committed to ensuring the economic independence of rural men and women. In recent years, a wide range of innovative initiatives have been introduced to help rural communities overcome problems arising from the rapidly changing global economic environment. Many rural communities face special problems, such as declining rural industries, high unemployment, declining population and limited access to infrastructure and financial and other services.

Some of the Australian Government’s key initiatives designed to improve the economic sustainability of rural communities are:

• the Rural Transactions Centres Programme, with funding of $70 million over five years, which will help small rural communities to establish centres that provide access to transaction services such as banking, post, phone, fax, Medicare Easyclaim and education and training;
• the Rural Forums Australia Programme which seeks to build partnerships between business, community and governments to improve the economic viability of rural communities;
• the Agriculture – Advancing Australia assistance package ($525 million), which will help increase the profitability, competitiveness and sustainability of the farm sector and assist farmers to be more financially self-reliant. Key measures include: the Farm Family Restart Scheme which helps families in difficulty meet day to day living expenses, offers generous re-establishment grants and provides independent professional advice for farmers to consider their futures; and the Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment, which helps meet family living costs associated with severe drought and other events that are beyond the scope of normal risk management;
• the Invest Australia package, which facilitates sustainable and productive investment in Australia, including regional areas. To date, 150 projects worth $1.9 billion have been established in regional communities, creating around 3,000 jobs; and
• the Networking the Nation Programme aims to assist the economic and social development of regional Australia through funding projects which enhance telecommunications infrastructure, services and access. Over $50 million has so far been allocated, with all projects inclusive of rural women and a number specifically targeting them.

Too many Indigenous women continue to live in poverty. The Australian Government is strongly committed to enhancing opportunities for Indigenous men and women to pursue initiatives that will assist them to achieve economic independence. Indigenous people have an unemployment rate that is four times that of the general population. Lack of local employment opportunities and job skills are two of the main causes. Many Indigenous Australians live in remote areas with limited job options.

The Australian Government has introduced a number of innovative reforms to help Indigenous people move out of welfare and secure autonomy and financial independence. A discussion paper, Removing the Welfare Shackles, which was disseminated widely in the community, outlines a proposal for a new Indigenous organisation, Indigenous Business Australia, to promote and participate in joint ventures with the private sector, encourage job creation and provide business loans, grants and guarantees.

The Australian Government provided $402 million for the Community Development Employment Projects Scheme (CDEP) in 1998-99. Under the scheme, more than 33,000 unemployed Indigenous people undertook community projects, gaining invaluable work experience and skills that are recognised in the mainstream employment market. The scheme also provides training, enhances self-esteem, acts as a diversion from substance misuse and criminal activity and provides opportunities to increase income levels where CDEP’s successfully generate profits.

In 1999-2000, the Australian government’s economic programmes for Indigenous Australians will provide almost $50 million. The Business Development and Assistance Programme provides seed funding, training and other support to newly established or expanding businesses. One of the key aims is to promote the development of businesses to create new and sustainable jobs for Indigenous men and women. The programme offers low interest loans, as well as business advice and assistance to Indigenous people.

From 1July1999, a new Indigenous Employment Programme was established to provide a package of measures with a particular emphasis on private sector employment opportunities and support for Indigenous small business. A total of $52million has been set aside in the Budget for this initiative. Measures include a strategy to encourage Chief Executive Officers to recruit and train Indigenous staff, private sector structured training, a national programme for private sector cadetships and business preparation and support for Indigenous small business. The initiative will assist more Indigenous men and women secure greater economic independence, by assisting them into secure jobs and encouraging them to start their own business. Indigenous women are likely to be well placed to take up new opportunities in the growth industry of Indigenous arts and crafts.

The Australian Government’s Statement on aid, Better aid for a better future (1997), identifies poverty reduction and achievement of sustainable development as the objective of Australia’s aid programme. Gender and development is a critical cross-cutting issue of the Australian Government’s poverty reduction strategy.

The Gender and Development Policy for Australia’s aid programme, which was launched in March 1997, aims to mainstream a gender perspective in aid activities in all sectors. Mainstreaming a gender perspective into the aid programme means ensuring that women, as well as men, are considered in project implementation. The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), which is responsible for the delivery of Australia’s aid programme, spent approximately $119 million on health and an estimated $249 million on education and training in 1998-99. A major proportion of this expenditure was in areas where women are likely to be significant beneficiaries.

Aid for bilateral activities incorporating gender issues as a major component is expected to increase from $254million in 1997-98 to an estimated $323million for 1998-99. An increasing number of aid activities include gender analysis and gender sensitive consultations to help ensure that measures to promote women’s participation and address gender barriers are taken into account in the design and implementation of Australian aid projects.

In addition to bilateral expenditure, Australia makes a significant contribution to multilateral organisations, which support gender equity. During 1998-99 these contributions included $352,000 to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, $4.6million to the United Nations Fund for Children and $1.68million to the International Planned Parenthood Foundation. The Australian Government also provided $2.445million to the World Health Organisation’s Health Systems and Community Health Cluster, 70% of which will be directed to the Department of Child and Adolescent Health, 20% to the Safe Motherhood Programme and 10% to the Department of Women’s Health.

In line with United Nations initiatives, the issue of violence against women will continue to receive close attention in the aid programme. Australia is supporting innovative strategies for law reform, law enforcement, enhanced community awareness, and support for women and children affected by violence.

The Australian Government will provide up to $2.2million over the next five years to help the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre’s counselling services for those women and children in the Pacific who are the survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, including in rural areas and outlying islands of Fiji. As the Secretariat of the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women, the Centre also plays an important role in reducing domestic violence through 24agencies across 11Pacific Island States.

In Pakistan, an AusAID community development project for rehabilitation of saline and waterlogged land is implementing a gender strategy to ensure that all members of the community equally share benefits from the project. In Vietnam, the $15 million, four year, Primary Health Care for Women and Children Project will provide support for basic health care in five provinces. Men will also benefit from this project as their local health facilities are upgraded and the health of their families improves.

Community legal centres are community managed non-profit services that provide a range of assistance on legal and related matters to people on low incomes and those with special needs. They are a key component of Australia's legal aid system. They are a distinctive and effective form of service delivery which complement and extend the services provided by Legal Aid Commissions and the private profession.

In addition, women's legal centres provide a range of services for women clients, including advice and information on legal matters and, in some cases, advocacy and legal representation. These centres also play an important role in referring women to other government and community services. There are 11 women’s legal centres around Australia. Funds are also allocated to providing legal services for women through community legal centres in eight rural and regional areas.

The Government has reviewed Aboriginal legal services in New South Wales, introducing more competition through tendering and providing regionalised legal services. These reforms are currently being extended to other States and Territories. As a result of these reforms, new national standards will be introduced for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services.

The Government has improved women’s access to legal services provided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS). It is funding five indigenous legal service units specifically designed to provide advice and legal assistance to women. In addition, a further four family violence legal service units in high need areas will be funded by ATSIC and commence service delivery in 1999-2000. Two and a half million dollars has been committed in 1999-2000 to fund legal projects for indigenous women. In addition, ATSILS is now required to arrange and fund private legal representation of indigenous women in cases of conflict of interest with other clients.

A new national Women’s Advisory Committee will advise the ATSIC Board of Commissioners on the impact of policies and programmes on indigenous women.

In addition, the Indigenous Women’s Initiatives programme funds projects which inform women about indigenous policies, programmes or services or which strengthen women’s support networks.

Western Australia initiated a Government/non-government Poverty Taskforce during the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. Women were identified as a priority target group for the Taskforce. A major report was prepared by the Taskforce together with a government response. Strategies developed include: funding for research into key areas including community attitudes to poverty; a Churchill Fellowship on a poverty issue; a community forum on what the community can do; and a forum giving feedback on the research findings.

Australia’s universal income support safety net safeguards against extremes of absolute poverty. Progressive reform to the safety net system have focussed on those in genuine need while removing rigid, categorical programme structure which put individuals at risk when circumstances change (for example, Parenting Payment). At the same time, The Australian Government is moving to improve the safety net through mutual obligations and targeted employment assistance, including Return to Work, which recognise individual circumstances, including parenting, and aim to provide individuals with pathways out of long term welfare dependency.

While women’s market incomes have increased, and the gap between men’s and women’s average weekly ordinary time earnings has decreased from 17.1% to 16.3% of male earnings between the May quarters in 1996 and 1999, there is room for further improvement. The feminisation of poverty is less pronounced in Australia than in many other countries. Relative poverty measures between men and women are affected by numbers of aged pensioners (oftentimes with high housing assets, but pension level cash incomes), many of whom are women.

With substantial increases in women’s workforce participation occurring largely in the last thirty years, and continuing slow cultural change to encourage women to undertake independent financial planning and assets acquisition in their own right, many older Australians, particularly older women, have less financial assets men. Government changes in superannuation and divorce and more flexible savings vehicles need to take hold. Increased emphasis on financial planning skills for women, especially young women, and cultural change to bring up the girl child to plan for economic security in her own right, are also needed.

Increasingly, market incomes will be affected by changes in workforce and job structure including the forces of globalisation. The Australian Government’s workplace reforms are designed to support stable and sustainable adjustment and employment and economic growth. There continues to be a need to capitalise on these reforms, including increased flexibility for work and family arrangements.

The financial welfare of many Australian women, particularly older women, remains affected by past low levels of education and workforce participation and career advancement. While young Australian women are the beneficiaries of increasing education levels (54.7% of Australia’s higher education students and 48.5% of VET students are women) and record levels of employment, it will take time for these changes to flow through.

Women make up the majority recipients of social security transfers. This in part reflects the sizeable transfers to women from family-directed payments (paid to the primary carer), as well as flow through effects of past education and employment practices on mature aged women with limited work experience.

Australian workplaces are starting to address issues of work and family to the benefit of workers with family responsibilities, who are primarily, but not exclusively, women. Until this is the accepted norm, women continue to bear most of the economic and opportunity cost for career breaks for full time parenting.

Women make up the majority of age pension recipients. Again, this reflects past generational experience with low levels of participation in paid workforce and exclusion from occupational superannuation coverage. The Australian Government’s 25% pension guarantee, and other changes to the pension, will protect existing low income older women from poverty. However, more time is needed for the Government’s superannuation reforms to work.

Financial pressures are particularly acute for some groups of women, including sole parents and Indigenous women. Government measures aim to provide more secure and flexible pathways out of long term welfare dependency.

More women than men have workforce breaks and periods of part time work because of their caring role within the family. This affects their superannuation entitlements and thus women are more likely than men to rely on benefits for their retirement income. There are large intergenerational differences between women regarding access to economic opportunities that they have had in the past. The high divorce rate impacts on the financial security of women.

Future commitments for women are incorporated above.

In the Australian Government system, new funding commitments are customarily announced in the annual Federal Budget. Additional commitments may be publicly announced in the context of the election platform or at other occasions.

The Australian Government’s future budget commitments for women are comprehensively outlined in Delivering on our Commitments for Women, the Budget Ministerial Statement on Women from the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women. A copy of this Statement has been provided in response to Part 2 (Financial and Institutional measures).

Access to education and training is vital for women and men. Education remains the key to improving economic status in a changing economy and equipping individuals to achieve their goals and widen their life choices. A well functioning economy needs a workforce that fully utilises all its human capital, and promotes skills development and education without discrimination on the grounds of sex.

In recent times, Australian governments have introduced initiatives to increase women’s participation in education and training. Under the aegis of the national Gender Equity Framework for schools, the National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training and A Fair Chance for All, governments have acted to improve access to education and training for women. Initiatives have been implemented to expand the range of options for women and girls, particularly their access to private schools, apprenticeships and traineeships.

Educational opportunities and outcomes have continued to grow strongly for women since the mid-1990s. More young women than men undertake the senior years of secondary schooling (77.9% for girls, compared to 65.9% for boys). Women have made up more than half of all higher education students in Australia since 1987, and the proportion of female students has increased steadily since that time. The proportion of women entering higher education increased from 56.5% in 1995 to 56.9% in 1998. In vocational education and training (VET), women have almost reached parity with men (rising from 47.2% in 1995 to 48.5% in 1998). Dramatic improvements have occurred in the area of employment based training, with the proportion of women entering apprenticeships and traineeships increasing from around 25% in 1995 to more than 40% in 1998.

Women have also made significant inroads into several traditional male areas of study, such as science, engineering and medicine. More women and girls today are studying science, mathematics and technology-based subjects than ever before. In 1998, women entering medical undergraduate courses outnumbered men for the first time.

Since 1997, the Australian Government has funded a wide range of research aimed at enhancing women’s participation in education, training and employment. Projects have included: the identification of barriers to education, training and employment for girls and boys and the factors that affect their post-school outcomes; and women’s access to information technologies in education, training and employment.

All children between the ages of 5-6 and 15-16 years (some three million children) are required by law to attend either a government school, or some other government-approved educational programme. Although the final two secondary school years (Years 11 and 12) beyond age 15-16 years are not compulsory, young people are encouraged to complete these years and most do. The retention rate is higher for girls than for boys. Children in remote country areas and those with disabilities can access school education through other modes of service delivery, including distance education or special education.

The Australian Government’s national job creation strategy has created more opportunities for unemployed people to acquire the necessary skills and training to compete effectively in the labour market. An active, properly targeted labour market programme will help those who are trapped in the unemployment spiral through lack of skills and other factors. It will also ensure that training for unemployed people is, wherever possible, accredited training that leads to more advanced qualifications and is relevant to local employment opportunities.

More young women than men continue on to the senior years of secondary schooling in Australia. In 1998, the female year 12 retention rate was 77.7%, compared with 65.9% for males.

Gender Equity: A Framework for Australian Schools, sets out principles for action and strategic directions for education systems to move towards in order to achieve the best outcomes and opportunities for girls and boys. Specific outcomes are provided for each strategic direction, together with a range of approaches and strategies. Strategic areas include school curriculum, culture and management practices to better address different educational needs of disparate groups of girls and boys.

The Schools Work Towards Gender Equity project was funded in the 1996-97 Budget to develop resource materials to assist principals and school staff to investigate their schools’ gender equity needs and determine action that can be taken to bring about gender equity reform. The project provides a practical and informative resource to assist schools to address the strategic directions of the Gender Equity Framework (see above). The report is available on the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs’ website (http://www.deetya.gov.au/divisions/schools/publicat.htm).

In line with the Australian Government’s commitment to provide all students with access to a quality education and increase parental choice in schooling, the Australian Government introduced new funding arrangements for non-government schools based on a measure of the socioeconomic status of school communities. These new arrangements will give families, particularly low income families, greater access to the schooling of their choice, encourage greater investment in education and provide more support for the neediest schools.

The Australian Government provides $17.7 million annually, under the Country Areas Programme, to help schools and students in geographically isolated areas of Australia. This measure assists parents, administrators and other interested community members to improve the delivery of education services to primary and secondary students living in rural and remote areas.

The Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme helps families in rural and remote areas to overcome barriers to education and meet the extra costs associated with the schooling of their children. The aim of the Scheme is to help the families of students who are unable to attend a school daily because of geographic isolation. A range of allowances are available for students who board away from home, for families to set up a second home and for students who study at home by distance education methods.

The health and physical education statement and profile for Australian schools also makes specific provision for learning activities that promote the development of strategies for forming, maintaining and ending relationships and managing changes in roles and responsibilities.

The Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) funded the development of a set of curriculum units in family studies. The units examine the gender distribution of the various roles within families, the historical development of family patterns and structures, and the relationship between family structures and participation in economic, political and social life.

The National Women’s Health Programme provided funding for the development of a special curriculum module and training manual for teachers to assist them in combating the undermining effects of sex role stereotypes on girls (eg. through self esteem and confidence-building), in dealing with menstruation and related issues, and in teaching human relationship and communication skills.

The Australian Government provides direct funding through the Family Planning Programme to selected non-government organisations for a range of activities, including education, counselling and clinical services, as well as nationally accredited training for health professionals. Education programmes are conducted by Family Planning Organisations in primary and secondary schools. These programmes deal with the course covering relationships, sexuality, responsible sexual behaviour, health risks and related topics.

Discovering Democracy, which is part of the Australian Government’s Civics and Citizenship Education Programme, is designed to help all Australian students develop the basic knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to engage effectively in civic life.

Universities are encouraged to address the under-representation of women in some areas at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels through the provision of Higher Education Equity Programme (HEEP) funding. Nearly $5.5 million was made available to institutions in 1998 to assist them in providing appropriate programmes for equity groups, such as people from low socio-economic status background, rural and isolated backgrounds and women in non-traditional areas of study or in higher degree courses. HEEP funding is intended to be seed funding and not intended to cover the full costs of equity initiatives.

Universities are required to submit annual equity plans to demonstrate the extent to which equity planning and practice are integrated into their operations. These equity plans describe strategies developed to increase the participation of equity groups in higher education. Some innovative strategies for women include:

• the provision of scholarships for women re-entering graduate study which recognise the discontinuous participation of women in higher education as a result of their family responsibilities;
• ‘tracking’ processes to monitor the progress of women studying in the fields of engineering, maths and computing;
• information forums for final year undergraduate women students to encourage them to pursue an academic career;
• encouragement of female staff, especially those involved in Information Technology, to lead faculty student recruitment activities; and
• promotion of curriculum review with gender inclusivity as a major aim.

The Indigenous Support Funding Programme is providing $22.3 million in 1999 to higher education institutions to improve the access and participation of Indigenous men and women. The kinds of activities provided include study skills, personal counselling, provision of study centres, cultural awareness activities and visits to schools to encourage Indigenous students to consider university courses.

Universities offer course units by distance mode through Open Learning Australia (OLA). OLA’s objectives are to provide flexible access to tertiary education. An increasing number of courses are available through this mode of delivery, including undergraduate subjects, graduate programmes and some VET units.

The Australian Government provides financial assistance to students to assist in overcoming financial barriers to education, particularly for students from low income households.

Many full-time students aged 16 or over receive financial assistance through Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY.

• Youth Allowance is available to people under the age of 18 who are undertaking education or training and includes rent assistance, a pharmaceutical allowance and a Remote Area Allowance. Youth Allowance has resulted in young unemployed people returning to school or vocational training institutes. This is of particular benefit to rural communities.
• AUSTUDY is paid to students aged 25 years or over whose financial circumstances are such that without financial help, full-time study would not be possible.
• ABSTUDY is available for Indigenous Australians, regardless of age.

Women make up more than half of the recipients of Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY and around 41% of Austudy clients.

Most tertiary students are required to pay the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) charge for their university studies. The HECS charge can be paid on enrolment or through a deferred payment arrangement commencing when the graduate’s income reaches a certain level.

Post-graduate tertiary students may be eligible for an Australian Postgraduate Award. These awards provide an exemption from HECS, and those with stipend also provide benefits such as a living allowance.

A wide range of initiatives are under way to identify the barriers, and improve educational outcomes for ‘youth at risk’.

There are several programmes to assist women from a non-English speaking background with English language skills. In addition to State and Territory Government programmes, see above under Strategic Objective 2 (Eradicating illiteracy among women) for details concerning language programmes for those with English as a second language. See also E Women and Armed Conflict for assistance to refugee women in Australia.

A range of Government initiatives help to improve the access, participation and outcomes of rural and remote students. Special measures include the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme, the Country Areas Programme and the Higher Education Equity Programme (HEEP - see above).

Rural and remote students are targeted under the National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 1998-2000, the National Women’s VET Strategy and A Fair Chance for All.

The Education Network Australia (EdNA) is a national framework established to coordinate the use of interactive computer networks across the educational sectors. A key objective is to improve access to information technology by all Australians, regardless of socio-economic status or geographic location. The national network provides information about education and training opportunities, and also facilitates the flexible delivery of courses. Women living in rural areas will benefit from the service delivered through EdNA. The EdNA Directory Service can be found at (http://www.edna.edu.au). The Australian Government’s support for EdNA is provided through the Framework for Open Learning Programme.

The Australian Government has provided $250million over five years to Networking the Nation to assist the economic and social development of regional, rural and remote Australia. Through the programme, rural women are able to take advantage of improved communications, on-line training, up-to-date commodities information, world wide marketing opportunities, and the ability to work from home. The initiative will also increase the access of rural women to education and training opportunities delivered via distance learning.

The Rural Youth Information Service provides young men and women aged 15 to 25 years in rural and remote communities of Australia with access to information, advice and referral to other agencies on education, training and employment matters including income support. Brokers also provide assistance in negotiating placements with employers, including for New Apprenticeships.

While there have been improvements in the participation of Indigenous students in education and training, outcomes are still well below those of other Australians. In general, however, Indigenous women have better outcomes than Indigenous men. The number of Indigenous Australians enrolled in higher education courses increased by 4.4% from 1997 to 1998. There are now significantly more Indigenous women studying in higher education institutions than Indigenous men. In 1998, 63.9% of the Indigenous higher education student population was female.

All governments are strongly committed to providing support to bring about significant improvements for Indigenous people.

The Australian Government is undertaking concerted efforts to ensure that Indigenous students achieve equitable and appropriate outcomes. Substantial funding of $192.2 million in 1999-2000 is provided to the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programme (see above under "Higher Education") and the Indigenous Education Direct Assistance Programme. The aim of these programmes is to achieve equitable learning outcomes when comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Performance targets are negotiated with education departments and education providers. The areas in which outcomes are measured include literacy, numeracy, school attendance, retention, grade progression, Tertiary Entrance Rank, awarding of school certificates and Indigenous employment. Educational outcomes for Indigenous women are expected to improve significantly as a result of these initiatives.

Other Indigenous specific measures include ABSTUDY, the Indigenous Support Funding Programme and the Indigenous Researchers Development Scheme. Funding for these measures for 1999-2000 totals $196.6 million.

In addition, a wide range of mainstream policies and programmes target Indigenous Australians. These include the National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 1998-2000, the National Women’s VET Strategy and A Fair Chance for All, the New Apprenticeships Access Programme and the Higher Education Equity Programme (see above).

The ANTA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Training Advisory Council provides advice to the ANTA Board on ways to improve access and outcomes for Indigenous Australians in VET.

The Australian Government has also initiated a project to increase Indigenous women’s retention rates in information technology courses.

The Australian National Training Authority’s (ANTA) Disability Forum is a national advisory committee that provides advice to the ANTA Board on the training needs of people with a disability, including women with a disability.

The Australian Government funds the Disabled Apprenticeship Wage Support Programme which provides weekly wage support to employers who employ a person who has a disability as an apprentice. Assistance may also be provided by way of necessary workplace modifications or the hire and leasing of special equipment, tutorial assistance or interpreter services.

Students with disabilities are also target groups of federal government funded programmes and policies, including the National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 1998-2000, the National Women’s VET Strategy and A Fair Chance for All, the New Apprenticeships Access Programme and the Higher Education Equity Programme (see above).

The Australian Capital Territory has developed a strategy to implement Gender Equity: A Framework for Australian Schools. The strategy assists schools to develop annual action plans to analyse and address gender issues. Professional development and training for teachers promotes gender-sensitive education. Vocational education and work experience programmes includes analysis of gender perspectives and non-traditional work patterns.

Queensland has been active in the implementation of both the National Action Plan for the Education of Girls and since 1997, the National Gender Equity Framework. The national Framework indicates a range of priority areas for action and is linked to national reporting processes.

Professional development projects conducted in Queensland schools during 1995/96 include the Racist and Gendered Violence Project and a curriculum project called Gender up Front.

The Making Waves project for Indigenous women in broadcasting is aimed at training women to manage and operate programmes and equipment in remote communities.

In March 1997, Australian ministers for education agreed to a National Literacy and Numeracy Goal, That every child leaving school should be numerate, and be able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. The Australian Government specifically supports the achievement of this goal through the provision of funding under the Literacy and Numeracy Programme. Almost $869 million is being provided from 1999-2000 to 2002-2003 to help schools measurably improve the literacy skills of students in the early and middle years of schooling.

The Quality Teacher Programme is a new three-year, $77.1 million initiative aimed at strengthening the skills of the teaching profession. The programme will focus on the renewal of teacher skills and understanding across key learning areas, including literacy and numeracy. It will target the 70% of teachers who completed formal training ten or more years ago, causal teachers and teachers re-entering the teaching profession.

A number of recent surveys show that girls in Years 3 and 5 outperform boys in literacy. The 1998 Literacy and Numeracy Survey found that more than three quarters of Year 3 and 5 girls met the literacy benchmarks for reading and writing compared to less than two thirds of boys. The 1996 National School English Literacy Survey found similar differences between girls and boys. These and other studies show that there are a wide range of achievement levels between the lowest and highest achieving students, and that the difference between boys’ and girls’ levels of literacy is greater among children from unskilled and manual occupation backgrounds than among children from other socio-economic groups.

The Workplace English Language and Literacy Programme (WELL) provides workers, including non-English speaking background and Indigenous women workers, with English language and literacy skills to enable them to meet the demands of their current and future employment and training needs. WELL projects assist the delivery of workplace-based English language and literacy training activities, the development of English language and literacy resources, and support national strategic activities within particular industries, including the incorporation of language, literacy, and numeracy competencies into industry training packages. In addition, the Workplace Communication Project, a component of the WELL programme, supports the integration of language and literacy competencies into training packages.

Funding for the English as a Second Language (ESL) General Support Programme is now subsumed within the Government’s Literacy Programme. This change recognises the central importance of literacy skills for every child.

Within broad guidelines, school authorities have greater flexibility in administering and allocating funds according to local priorities and the needs of individual students within the target groups, including students from a non-English speaking background.

In addition to ESL funding under the Literacy Programme, the Australian Government provides substantial assistance for newly arrived non-English speaking students who are citizens or permanent residents to enable them to participate in intensive language tuition under the English as a Second Language - New Arrivals Programme. A similar programme has also been introduced for students whose first language is an Indigenous one.

In 1998-99, approximately 73% of newly arrived adult migrants in need of English tuition registered with the Adult Migrant English Programme (AMEP). The registration rate for refugee and humanitarian entrants was 88%. The proportion of women participants in the programme was 62%. Child care is provided if required. Research has been conducted into the client reach and retention of the AMEP programme. Its findings and recommendations are expected to lead to refinements of policy and procedures and, ultimately, to increased reach and retention rates. The outcomes are expected to be available in 1999-2000.

The South Australian Government has introduced Integrated Language and Workplace Trainer - training for women of non-English speaking background employed in the textile industry.

Tasmanian data suggest that girls as a group are outperforming boys as a group in literacy outcomes. Whilst adult literacy programmes in Tasmania do not specifically target women, in 1998 women made up approximately 47% of all participants in the Adult Literacy and Basic Education programme conducted by TAFE. Women-only literacy classes for women from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds have been delivered since 1992.

The national VET system in Australia is a cooperative arrangement between Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, working closely with industry. TAFE institutes charge fees according to schedules set by their State/Territory government. Several States/Territories provide fee exemptions or concessions for disadvantaged students.

Australia’s National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 1998-2000 identifies objectives for the national VET system, which include achieving equitable outcomes for all students. The strategy supports the National Women’s VET Strategy which sets the national direction for governments, industry and training providers to consistently address the needs of women in policy making, planning, resourcing, implementing and monitoring VET. Increasing the number of women completing VET programmes across all levels and fields of study is a key objective of the Strategy. The Strategy also targets particular groups of women including women from different racial and cultural backgrounds, rural and remote women, women with a disability and women returning to paid work after a period of absence.

Women’s participation in VET has been increasingly steadily since the mid 1990s. In 1998, women made up almost half of all VET students and more than 40% of commencing New Apprentices.

Under the School to Work Programme, the Australian Government is providing significant funding to support VET in schools, with a total of $23 million over four financial years, ending in June 2000. Initiatives include professional development for teachers, the delivery of VET courses in schools by industry and trainers and piloting part-time New Apprenticeships in schools where students are able to combine their senior secondary studies with accredited vocational training and paid employment.

The Australian Government has played a leading role in promoting lifelong learning and flexible delivery mechanisms, including distance education. These measures contribute to improving women’s access to VET. In 1998, women comprised more than 55% of distance students.

Training courses in Australia are increasingly delivered in many varied locations, in a variety of modes, such as through on-line courses, and have a greater number of entry and exit points. The flexible delivery of training is very important for women, particularly those with family responsibilities and Indigenous women, who often require access to training at times and locations more suited to their specific needs.

National Training Packages provide the basis for consistency in training and qualification outcomes and form the foundation of vocational training. They are designed to support a range of learning and career pathways and flexible combinations of on- and off-the-job training and assessment to meet particular enterprise, regional and individual training needs. All training packages include guidelines for the assessment and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL enables training organisations and employers to identify and formally recognise the skills that women gain outside formal training.

Apprenticeship initiatives have significantly increased the number of women in New Apprenticeships. The total number of female new apprentices rose from 32,555 in December 1996 to 57,000 in 1998 – an increase of 75 per cent.

Australia’s New Apprenticeships reforms are providing greater flexibility and support to improve and expand training opportunities for women. New Apprenticeships have been expanded into industries with large numbers of female workers.

Where State/Territory government licensing allows part-time employees to undertake apprenticeships, women benefit in particular. The Australian Government commissioned research into the provision of part-time New Apprenticeships in traditional male industries and emerging industries, and research on strategies to increase women’s access and participation in these areas.

More opportunities are now available for existing workers to undertake a New Apprenticeship. Certain categories of existing workers, for example, can now attract an employer incentive payment.

Additional incentive payments ($1000) are also paid to employers for taking on a female apprentice or trainee in a non-traditional occupation.

The New Apprenticeships Access Programme provides pre-apprenticeship and pre-traineeship assistance for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market and require preliminary training before they can successfully participate in a New Apprenticeship. Women who are registered as unemployed or receiving income support and wish to enter a non-traditional ‘female’ occupation are eligible for assistance under this programme.

Under the Jobs Pathway Programme, school leavers not intending to go on to university are assisted to make a successful transition from school to work through partnerships involving schools, industry and the local community. The programme enables ‘at risk’ male and female students to gain access to a range of services, such as information and advice about VET options and brokerage assistance to gain an employment placements, including New Apprenticeships. In 1998, around 25,000 young school leavers from over 1,500 schools across Australia were assisted under this initiative.

The Government recognises the enormous contribution to the country’s economy made by women in small business. Women make up 34percent of Australia’s 1.3million small business operators, and this figure is growing strongly.

In 1999-2000 the Government will implement new programmes to assist women in small business through measures to improve the flow of information on business issues to women and provide opportunities to enhance their management skills and networks, at a cost of $800,000perannum.

The Government is also addressing women’s small business training and skill development through nationally recognised training materials and self-paced training programmes. Information on the training products will be disseminated through on-line technology, seminars and printed material.

Projects to address the particular small business training needs of women have been funded under the Small Business Professional Development Best Practice Programme. The programme is an action research programme designed to develop, trial and implement a range of models to meet the training needs of small business and to stimulate the demand for quality training.

Several projects target small business women, or industries where there are large numbers of women workers, to increase women’s participation in training and help them expand their business operations. The Women in Small Business Mentoring Project, for example, developed a mentoring network linking new starters with experienced business owners to share knowledge and experience and boost confidence and success. The network placed a strong emphasis on improving skills and participation in on-the-job training with general business support and information.

The Indigenous Education Direct Assistance Programme provides career guidance, support and tuition for students and trainees in need of additional assistance. This initiative has helped many Indigenous female students to gain entry to VET courses.

In 1998, women made up 55.5% of the total higher education population in Australia.

Female commencements in higher education have increased by 39% over the last ten years, whereas male commencements increased by only 28.4% during the same period. Female postgraduate students rose from 49.9% in 1997 to 50.4% in 1998.

Mature-age women outnumber mature-age men in higher education. In 1998, 40.2% of higher education students were aged 25 years or older and 53% of these students were women. Mature-age women include women returning to study after a break, women with children, sole parents returning to the workforce and women improving their skills. Many mature-age students are admitted through flexible entry provisions and choose to study on a part-time or external basis.

Women in non-traditional areas are a focus of government education policy outlined above. The key priority areas include women in engineering, computer science and post-graduate research and course work.

In years 11 and 12, an equal number of girls and boys now enrol in mathematics and chemistry. However, fewer girls enrol in the physical sciences and computing. In VET and higher education, women continue to be under-represented in engineering, architecture and computer science.

Effort has been invested in encouraging girls and women to enter non-traditional areas of study. These efforts include the development of curriculum materials, including Gender Work, an education kit addressing issues of gender and work.

The Australian Government has also established a Women and Information Technology Advisory Group for Online Australia to develop projects to encourage better access for women to new technologies.

The Science and Technology Awareness Programme supports activities to increase women’s awareness and promote education and careers in science and technology. Projects include a trial of a Best Practice Model for encouraging and supporting women interested in science and technology and engineering courses in the vocational education and training sector. Talks by scientists and others are available to rural women to educate and inspire women about the fundamental role of science in our daily lives and future prosperity.

Victoria has strategies to assist women to upgrade their skills after they enter the workforce or when they wish to return to the workforce after breaks for child birth and rearing. These include:

• use of flexible delivery strategies for women in the workforce, rural women, isolated women, Indigenous women and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds;
• promotion of the Recognition of Prior Learning, recognition of Adult and Community Education and promotion of Pathways from Adult and Community Education into Technical and Further Education (TAFE);
• research into the training needs of women and industry, particularly emerging industries and occupations;
• delivery of training on the World Wide Web, eg. through the TAFE Virtual Campus;
• an over-arching Managing Diversity policy to promote equity and access across the State Training Service; and
• TAFE virtual campus for accessing on-line accredited training.

In New South Wales the TAFE State Programme of Action for Women has increased women's access to TAFE. 55.9% of distance education students in TAFE in 1997 were women.

The Tasmanian Government’s Tasmanian Implementation Plan for Women has been developed to implement the National Women’s VET Strategy. The State Steering Committee is responsible for identifying key areas of need, including women in information technology, and assisting in the development and implementation of strategies.

Tasmania is trialing case management for people from groups with special needs (including women) as they progress through vocational education and training.

TheTasmanian East Coast Pilot Project Training Brokerage for Rural Women 1997/1998 was a pilot project to: assist women to access information about courses they were interested in; assist women with enrolment procedures; provide initial return to study sessions; and provide tutorial assistance as required by individuals. Following the project, there was a 57% increase in female enrolments in VET courses from the piloted municipality between l996 and 1997. The pilot is continuing.

The Tasmanian Government funds women's access courses in all regions of the State. These courses assist women who have been out of the workforce for a significant time to return to study and/or employment. TAFE Tasmania, through its Women's Training Consultant, promotes women's access and participation in vocational education and training. The role of the consultant includes staff development in gender-inclusive training and other areas.

Approximately 75% of enrolments in adult education courses in Tasmania are women. Funding is also provided to Neighbourhood Houses, used predominantly by women, to deliver programmes which promote self-esteem and encourage women to participate in lifelong learning.

In 1996 funding was provided to TAFE Tasmania for the State-wide delivery of Certificate III in Information Technology in women-only classes. Women's interest in the course was very high and outcomes were excellent.

In Tasmania, gender equity, with a focus on the education of girls, was a priority for the three year period from 1995-1997. Significant extra resources were allocated to support the implementation of the Department's policy on gender equity. Seven district gender curriculum officers were employed with central coordination to improve educational practices in relation to gender.

South Australia has sponsored the following initiatives:

• a two year project supported by the Department of Technical and Further Education, entitled Development of an Access and Equity Policy for TAFE Institutes, improves practices for employing and supporting women lecturing staff in non-traditional areas and growth areas;
• SA Women in VET Strategy is a three year rolling strategy, informed by the National Strategy, to increase the access and participation of women in vocational education and training, particularly in areas with high employment potential;
• Non Traditional Traineeships for Young Women is part of the SA Government’s Youth Training Scheme utilising State and Commonwealth funding to provide training and work experience opportunities through National Training Wage Traineeships. Of the 1,519 trainees placed in the public sector under this scheme, 63% were women;
• Equity Grants Pilot Project. In 1998, 50% of the Equity Grants were allocated to women. The pilot project provided funds to assist study in information technology for students with disabilities, students from non-English speaking backgrounds and Indigenous students; and
• Brushstrokes, an initiative implemented by Employment SA as part of the rehabilitation process for women prisoners and to develop workplace skills and understanding. Women eligible for pre-release engage in formal training and on-the-job skills development in painting and decorating.
• A project developed by Vocational Education and Training (VET) Access and Equity in conjunction with the Working Women’s Centre. The project was jointly funded by Employment SA and the Australian National Training Authority and aims to model the improvement, and recognition, of skills of women from non-English speaking backgrounds in the workplace.
• The Electric Women project, is a nine week project provides introductory training for women in the skills necessary to enter the electronics industry. 70% of women who completed this training gained full time employment. The project was the result of a partnership between Employment SA and a private training provider.

Australia has a robust legislative framework to ensure that women and particular groups of women (such as Indigenous women ) are not discriminated against in education and training.

Robust monitoring and reporting of education and training programmes and outcomes for students, including those for particular equity groups including women, is a well established feature of Australia’s education and training systems.

Evaluation and monitoring procedures have been significantly enhanced since 1995. Under the National Women’s VET Strategy, new performance indicators were introduced for women in VET. A comprehensive report was published in 1997 on key VET outcomes for women across a wide range of indicators and covering disadvantaged groups of women (eg, Indigenous women, NESB women, women with disabilities and rural women).

Australian governments support a number of initiatives to promote the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of skills gained outside formal training. RPL is also a priority area in the National Women’s Vocational Education and Training Strategy.

Australian governments provide practical impetus for RPL through the establishment of skills recognition centres, research, and the publication and dissemination of information and practical resources to employers, training providers and individuals.

The national VET system aims to meet the needs of the existing workforce so that workers can upgrade their existing skills or obtain new skills. It also aims to improve pathways to VET for new entrants to workforce and those returning to the workforce.

In 1997, students aged over 25 years comprised 62% of the total student population in the VET sector, 66% of whom were women.

• Gender differences in educational performance and attainment have significant implications for employment and further education outcomes later in life.
• Despite women having a higher overall participation rate in higher education than men, women are still concentrated in particular fields, with very few women in some science and technology-related disciplines. This is receiving attention by both policy makers and educators, through mechanisms such as the Higher Education Equity Plans.
• Australia continues to have a highly occupationally-segregated workforce, with most women concentrated in retail sales, service and clerical occupations. Further concerted effort is needed, building on current approaches to encourage girls into non-traditional areas and to encourage their participation in maths, science and technology from an early age to avoid educational streaming. Entrenched gender differences in the workforce in part reflect the existence of large numbers of women who completed their education in past years and it will be some time before girls participate in non-traditional areas in sufficient numbers to reverse these trends.
• In recent years, public sentiment has emerged expressing concern that the gains made by girls in education have been at the expense of their male counterparts. There is an increasing focus on boys issues in education. Jurisdictions have responded to this through a more productive 'gender issues' approach addressing the needs of both boys and girls. The Australian government has commissioned research to examine the factors influencing the educational performance of both males and females in school and their initial destinations after leaving school.

Future commitments for women are incorporated above.

In the Australian Government system, new funding commitments are customarily announced in the annual Federal Budget. Additional commitments may be publicly announced in the context of the election platform or at other occasions.

The Australian Government’s future budget commitments for women are comprehensively outlined in Delivering on our Commitments for Women, the Budget Ministerial Statement on Women from the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women. A copy of this Statement has been provided in response to Part 2 (Financial and Institutional measures).

C. WOMEN AND HEALTH

Overall, Australia is one of the healthiest nations in the world and Australian women have very good health compared to those in other countries. Life expectancy for both women and men is high, with women expected to live longer than men. Between 1977 and 1997, female life expectancy at birth increased from 76.9 to 81.3 years (compared to male life expectancy that rose from 70.0 to 75.6 years). The most recent data available shows that the maternal mortality rate in Australia is one of the lowest in the world at 5.8 per 100,000 live births (1995) and infant mortality is very low at 5.0 deaths per 1,000 live births (1998).

Life expectancy for Australia’s Indigenous people has improved over recent years but still remains significantly below that for the general population, at 56.7 years for men and 61.7 years for women (1996). Indigenous infant mortality rates remain nearly four times that for the general population.

In 1997, the leading causes of mortality for women in Australia were circulatory diseases (43.7%) such as heart attack and stroke, and cancer (24.9%). Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women after non-melanocytic skin cancer. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer related-death amongst Australian women. For Indigenous women respiratory disease and metabolic disorders (eg diabetes) are also significant causes of death (1997). However, breast cancer rates are lower amongst this group.

To 31 March 1999, an estimated 19,581 people in Australia had been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (18,132 males and 1,123 women). Of these, 8,103 developed Acquired Immunodeficency Syndrome (AIDS) and 5,753 died. Of those who developed AIDS, 342 (4.2%) were women and 225 (3.9%) women died. Of people diagnosed with HIV infection to 31 March 1999, 29 people were in the 13-19 years age group, 4 of which were women.

While primary responsibility for the provision of health services rests with State and Territory governments, the Australian Government plays a crucial role in such areas as health financing, national health policy and planning and maintaining Australia's capacity to meet its international obligations. In 1997/98 Australia spent approximately 8.4% of its Gross Domestic Product annually on health care.

All Australians have access to free hospital treatment, a doctor of choice for out of hospital care and subsidised pharmaceuticals through the national health insurance programme, Medicare. This universal access to health care is complemented by Government initiatives, which aim to prevent specific causes of morbidity and mortality and enhance services to better meet the needs of special population groups, including women and Indigenous Australians. The Australian Government is continuing to fund primary health care services and other initiatives to improve the health and welfare of Indigenous Australians, which remains below that of the general population on most indices.

Over the past three years, the Australian Government has developed health campaigns to meet the information needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The Australian Government is strongly committed to supporting a world class health care system that provides universally affordable services, including preventative care and promotes healthy lifestyles. Women, as the major users of the health care system, are major beneficiaries of the Government’s reforms.

Australia’s unique National Women’s Health Policy (1989) continues to be supported by all Australian governments, through women-specific and mainstream health programmes.

The Medicare programme provides universal access for all Australian residents to medical and hospital services. The objective of the programme is to provide medical services necessary for health care through financial assistance towards the cost of these services. Services to in-patients of public hospitals are provided free of charge. Contributions are made for medical services in private hospitals.

A national, publicly-funded Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme provides timely, reliable and affordable access for the Australian community to cost-effective medicines.

The Australian Government believes that the private sector is a vital complement to the long-term viability of Medicare and the public hospital system, and is taking active and positive steps to ensure that private health insurance is a realistic choice for those who wish to use it.

Around 31% of Australians choose to take out private health insurance to cover their care as a patient in a public or private hospital and ancillary services such as physiotherapy, dental and optical.

In recent years, the Australian Government has taken steps to promote greater choice in health care provision by making private health insurance more affordable for all Australians. Incentives are offered to low and middle income earners to take out or retain their private health insurance cover. In addition, the Australian Government offers a 30% Rebate on private health insurance. More women than men are covered by private health insurance and the Rebate, bringing significant benefits to women across all age groups.

General practice is the first point of contact with the health care system for the majority of Australians. General practitioners are private practitioners whose services are largely funded through Medicare. There are around 98 million patient contacts with general practitioners each year.

A General Practice Strategy to better integrate general practitioners into the health system and to tackle the imbalances in distribution of general practitioners between urban, rural and isolated re