Our team of predominantly female lawyers are well recognised for their advocacy for women and women’s issues. They are specialists in protecting the interests of women.

That’s why we’ve pulled together a summary of the key Federal election policy announcements that have been made by the major parties across a range of issues that are important to women – family and relationships, health, money and work.

Health

Australian Labor Party

• Establish Health Reform Commission
• $2.3b to raise Medicare rebate for cancer scans, medical tests and specialist appointments, and reduce waiting lists for cancer surgery
• $2.4b to extend child dental scheme to pensioners and seniors health care card holders to cover $1000 of private dental care every two years
• Lift the five-year freeze on Medicare rebates by 1 July 2019 ($200m)
• $448.5m to support GP care for over-70s
• $20m for breast and brain cancer research
• $200m for Headspace Plus
• $35m for early intervention youth mental health services
• $29.6m for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth mental health
• Ban LGBTQI conversion therapy
• Cap private health insurance premium rises at 2% for 2 years
• Initiate Productivity Commission inquiry into the private health sector
• Match LNP PBS co-payment threshold changes
• Restore funding to Australian Women’s Health Network
• Initial funding of $9.3m to establish a National Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy (including reviewing Medicare rebate for long acting reversible contraceptives)

Liberal National Party

• Lift Medicare rebate freeze by 1 July 2019 ($200m)
• Reduce overseas doctor intake by 155
• $503m for youth mental health and suicide prevention strategy
• $229m (over 7 years) for mental health
• Reduce the number of prescriptions for pensioners to qualify for free medicine – from 60 to 48
• Reduce the number of prescriptions for non-pensioners to qualify for cheaper medicine – from 38 to 36
• Private health insurance subsidy reduced from 30% to 25%
• $5m for suicide prevention initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
• Match ALP’s $448.5m for over-70s GP care
• $375m for 50+ new MRI licenses
• $550m for Stronger Rural Health Strategy
• $32.6m to make Medicare available for breast cancer MRI and PET scans
• $70.2m for residential eating disorder treatment facilities
• $1b for children’s dental services
• $54m for Type 1 diabetes research
• $20m for ovarian cancer research
• $10m for endometriosis support
• $44m for Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing Program
• $8m over 4 years to subsidise lymphoedema treatment

The Greens

• Extend Medicare to fully cover dental care
• Invest $4.7b over 10 years to lift Medicare freeze and invest in diagnostic tests
• End private health insurance rebate and invest the proceeds ($6.5b) in the public health system
• Legalise/regulate cannabis
• Ensure availability of pill-testing – especially at music festivals
• Double alcohol and drug treatment funding
• Expand safe injecting facilities
• Fully fund opioid substitution therapy
• Establish Preventative Health Commission ($196m start-up and $54m per year ongoing)
• $3.5b for chronic illnesses

Hospitals

Australian Labor Party

• $2.8b Better Hospitals Fund including $1b boost to capital projects
• $500m to cut waiting lists
• $250m to cut emergency department upgrades, palliative care and mental health
• Fund 50% of public hospital growth
• $1b to reduce waiting lists for cancer and elective surgery

Liberal National Party

• Fund 45% of public hospital growth
• $1.25b over 4 years for the Health and Hospitals Program

The Greens

• Additional $2.8b (2020-25) for public hospitals
• $100m for public hospital capital works on public hospitals

Families/childcare

Australian Labor Party

• Pay superannuation contributions for parents on government parental leave and those earning less than $450/month
• Extend government funding to 3-year olds in preschool ($1.7b)
• $4b in subsidies (372,000 families to receive free childcare – family income under $69,000, additional 511,000 families to receive childcare fee reduction – family income up to $174,000)
• Childcare workers to receive pay rise of $11,300 p.a.
• Freeze childcare fee increases

Liberal National Party

• Allow families to split government-funded parental leave into blocks
• $453m for 4-year olds in pre-school
• Increase annual subsidy cap to $10,190 per child per year

The Greens

• Restore Parenting Payment Single to parents of 8 to 16-year olds
• Remove freeze in income thresholds for Parenting Payment Single recipients
• Above two initiatives to cost $1.9b
• Abolish cashless welfare card
• $465m to remove waiting period for income support

Domestic violence

Australian Labor Party

• $660m for early intervention and education initiatives including 20,000 flexible support packages (up to $10,000) for victims of domestic violence
• $88m Safe Housing Fund for transitional and emergency housing
• Additional $60m for Fourth Action Plan funding for refuges and emergency accommodation ($328m total)
• Legislate 10 days domestic violence leave
• $90m Preventing Family Violence Legal Services Fund
• $60m for 20,000 Flexible Support Packages

Liberal National Party

• $78m for women and children escaping domestic violence – including $60m/3 years for emergency accommodation
• $67m (from the 4 year/$109m Women’s Economic Security Statement)
• $10.9m towards 1800RESPECT 24-hour telephone counselling service

The Greens

• $5.3b over 10 years to fund National Partnership Agreement on Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women
• $200m over 4 years to establish a Survivor Grant Fund
• Mandate 10 days Domestic Violence leave

Aged care

Australian Labor Party

• Mandate 24/7 on-site Registered Nurse in all residential aged care facilities (also designed to reduce pressure on emergency departments and acute care facilities in public hospitals)
• $1000 every 2 years dental care package for Age Pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders
• Prioritise 20,000 TAFE places for aged care training

Liberal National Party

• $320m to Aged Care Accommodation operators
• $282m for 10,000 additional homecare packages
• $34m for Aged Care Workforce Research Centre

The Greens

• $5.49b for an additional 50,000 level 3 and 4 Home Care Packages
• $3b to increase individual residents’ personal care time, mandate 24/7 RN and increase aged care workers’ pay by 15%
• End the use of chemical and physical restraints in aged care facilities
• Cap the percentage of funding used for administration
• Independent review of Guardianship Board

Housing

Australian Labor Party

• Bridge deposit gap (for those with at least 5% deposit)
• Subsidy ($8,500) for builders of new housing – conditional on rents being 20% below market rates
• $88m for Safe Housing Fund
• National Homelessness Strategy
• Build 250,000 new affordable dwellings
• Restore Ministry of Housing and Homelessness
• Reform Negative Gearing and Capital Gains Tax discount
• Re-establish National Housing Supply Council

Liberal National Party

• Bridge deposit gap (for first homebuyers with at least 5% deposit – income-capped)
• Establish National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation
• $25m over 4 years to research housing demand
• $1b for National Housing Infrastructure Facility

The Greens

• Improve access to long-term leases and pet-friendly tenancies
• $30m for tenancy advocacy services
• Reform negative gearing and capital gains tax discount including phasing out negative gearing concessions over 5 years
• Improve temporary accommodation funding
• Establish Federal Housing Trust to build 500,000 rent-controlled public and community homes
• $500m per year for transitional and crisis accommodation

Women’s issues

Australian Labor Party

• $665m to boost women’s superannuation
• Pay increases in female-dominated industries (including 20% wage rise for childcare workers)
• National Strategy for Gender Equality
• Change Fair Work Act to ensure pay equity is a central objective of the Fair Work Commission
• Restore cuts to penalty rates
• 50% target for women on government boards
• $95m for women’s sport
• $19.5m for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls’ and women’s school mentoring
• Reserve half of the 100,000 new fee-free TAFE places for women
• Establish Commonwealth Forced Marriage Unit
• Mandate that all government departments conduct gender pay audits

Liberal National Party

• $119m for Women’s Economic Security Statement
• 50% target for women on government boards
• Remove GST on sanitary items
• Additional $4m for National Breastfeeding Association
• $5m to support a National Women’s Health Research Translation and Impact Network
• $1.8m to extend Science in Australia Gender Equity for higher education and research
• $18m for Boosting Female Founders – entrepreneurial start-up fund
• $75m to fund Mid-career Checkpoint for women 30-45 returning to workforce after caring for family

This free Federal election guide is just one of the ways Catherine Henry Lawyers tries to help women have a voice and to make sure that issues impacting the lives of women are being properly addressed.

We’ve also produced a free guide to help women to navigate the legal system. Download your copy here.

If we can assist you with legal issues now or in the future, please give us a call on 1800 874 949 or contact us online.