Women's Budget Statement 2002-03
Overview
The Women's Budget Statement 2002-03 demonstrates the Government's strong and continuing commitment to women in this special year-the Centenary of Australian Women's Suffrage. It is one hundred years since the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 came into effect, allowing most Australian women the right to vote and to stand for Federal election for the very first time. They exercised this right 18 months later in the Federal election held on 16 December 1903.
This statement reflects a strong commitment to Australian women across all spheres of Government activity. It outlines the initiatives in the current budget over a range of portfolios and highlights achievements during the past 12 months.
Highlights of this year's Women's Budget Statement include the following initiatives:
- The Baby Bonus takes effect from 1 July 2002 and will apply to first children born on or after 1 July 2001. As a transitional measure it will also apply to children born on or after 1 July 2001 for families who already have children. Parents adopting or otherwise gaining custody of a first child will also be eligible. Every year for up to five years, a parent will be able to claim up to $2,500 of the tax payable on their income earned in the year prior to the birth of their child. A minimum annual benefit of $500 will be available to parents with annual incomes of $25,000 or less.
- Women make up 56 per cent of the population aged
over 65 (and almost 70 per cent of those aged over
85). Women also comprise 72 per cent of residents
in aged care homes. Over the next four years the Government
will provide $509.3 million in additional funding to increase
residential aged care subsidies, community care packages, support
for carers and expanded training and development opportunities
for members of the aged care workforce-most of whom are female.
Measures include:
- $163.7 million on additional care packages and enhanced assistance for carers to allow older Australians, primarily women, to stay in their homes for as long as possible.
- $78.8 million over the next four years ($100 million over six years) to assist with the upgrading or replacement of small high care homes in rural, remote and urban fringe areas and provide transitional capital funding for homes needing financial assistance to enable them to maintain ongoing certification.
- $211.1 million in increased subsidies for residential aged care to allow providers of aged care to attract and retain more nurses by offering them pay rates closer to those of nurses in the public hospital sector.
- $7.2 million for a review of the current pricing arrangements for residential aged care subsidies
- $26.3 million for up to 250 scholarships (valued at up to $10,000 a year) for students from regional areas to undertake nursing studies at rural and regional universities;
- $21.2 million will enable personal care staff in aged care homes to take up accredited training; and
- $1 million to establish a Productive Ageing Centre within the University of the Sunshine Coast.
- A $61.1 million programme over four years that allows women in the late stages of breast cancer to receive Herceptin - a new drug to treat certain forms of metastatic breast cancer.
- Twice yearly indexation of the ceiling rate of Income Support Supplement (ISS) for war widows.
- 2001-02 Budget provided $30 million over four years to fund four new policy initiatives for women. Progress on these initiatives is reported at pp 11-15.
