WEL-Informed April 2026

An historic budget looms

As Australia approaches the 2026 federal budget on 12 May, WEL recognises the achievements already made over the four years of the Albanese government.

We are in the third year of the government’s ten-year plan, Working for Women, which puts women’s economic equality at the centre of national policy.  

Incremental increases in paid parental leave, an emphasis on childcare affordability and now quality, availability and safety, increased wages in feminised sectors and workplace rights are important steps towards addressing the structural inequalities that have long constrained women’s lives.

But for many women, inequality is not a single issue. It is cumulative, intersecting and deeply felt. During a worsening cost of living crisis, women continue to absorb the shock. They are more likely to be in insecure work, more likely to carry unpaid care, and more likely to fall into poverty and stay there. For single mothers, First Nations women and those experiencing violence, the pressures are immediate and compounding.

Every cut in social support programs weighs heavily on women and discourages their economic participation. Discussing on ABC radio the government’s plan to remove many ADHD children and young people from the NDIS, Martin Laverty, one of the founders of the NDIS told Sally Sarah that he had confidence in the ‘warrior mums’ who presumably would take on the fight for their children to gain support outside of the Scheme.

An unspoken assumption underlying the removal of showering and continence care from the basic home care package is that someone, likely a female relative, will undertake this care for free if costs can’t be met by the elderly person.

The economic case for driving gender equality is also clear.  The 2023 Sam Moyston chaired Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce proposed a 10 year ‘Plan to Unleash the Full Capacity and Contribution of Women to the Australian Economy’ which estimated that ‘women’s full participation could add $128 billion to the economy’. The question is whether policy settings will come anywhere near to match that ambition.

WEL will once again participate in the federal budget lockup, as it has for more than a decade. Measured against our policy demands we will provide a clear assessment of what this budget delivers for women and what it still leaves behind.

Capital Gains Tax Discount - will reform be in the budget?

WEL has long campaigned to improve housing justice for women. WEL and other key women’s organisations are urging the government to end the Capital Gains Tax Discount, a tax break for property investors which deepens the housing crisis and inequality, including the gender wealth gap.

Read more about how the CGTD is putting pressure on women, what WEL is doing and what you can do to support action to end these unfair deductions.

A Human Rights Act for Australia: not a ‘nice to do’ but a ‘must have’

The escalation in online misogynist attacks and harassment against women should add yet another impetus for the Federal Government to introduce a Federal Human Rights Act. 

Witness the sexist and sometimes violent fulminations against the appointment of the new Chief of Army Lieutenant General Susan Coyle.

Find out why we desperately need a Federal Human Rights Act and WEL’s involvement in two campaigns pushing for its introduction.

Reform of Gambling Advertising

WEL’s 2025 Policy Platform for the Federal Election included a national ban on all gambling advertising in mainstream media.

The Albanese Government has been slow to respond to the late Peta Murphy’s gambling harm report tabled in the Parliament almost three years ago. The report explores the impact of online gambling and makes a comprehensive set of recommendations including a complete ban on all forms of advertising.

The government’s recently announced reforms are welcome but do not go far enough. The package on advertising represents only a partial conditional ban in some specific contexts. For example, gambling advertising on broadcast television is only restricted to ‘no more than’ three ads each hour between 6am and 8.30pm though there is a complete ban during sport broadcasts within those hours.

The 2024 report of the Rapid Review on gender-based violence deals with the relationship between problem gambling and domestic, family and sexual violence. It references several studies which illustrate how men’s gambling harm can increase the risk of partner violence and financial abuse. Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Social Services, acknowledges this connection in the government’s media announcement of the reforms.

WEL considers that the announced reforms are a first step in what must be a progressive commitment to further action. We note that powerful vested interests are applying pressure on the government including free to air media which claims it would suffer huge revenue losses.

The gambling industry cannot have the last say: too much is at stake.

Job Ready Graduates (JRG) Package – debt burden for many students

Changes to the Commonwealth Grants Scheme in 2021 to introduce the JRG package aimed to deter students from certain popular degree programs like Communication, Society and Culture and Law and, instead, to encourage them to apply for courses which addressed skills deemed as national priorities.

WEL has explored the issue in its submission to the Senate Employment and Education Legislation Committee which is inquiring into an amendment Bill introduced by Senator Mehreen Faruqi in late 2025. The Bill is laudable in its aims, but WEL considers it under-estimates the complexity of higher education funding arrangements.

The JRG is a failure according to a study conducted by the IRU (Innovative Research Universities) group and other studies referenced in the final 2024 report of the Australian Universities Accord which was tasked with creating a long-term reform plan for the higher education sector.

These studies criticise its contribution to increasing Higher Education Loans Program (HELP) debts. The IRU group cites data which demonstrates that the package has deterred low socio-economic status students from enrolling in university. In addition, the Accord report sees it as having failed to funnel students into areas of national priority.

WEL notes that Jason Clare, Minister for Education, in his remarks on ABC’s Four Corners (30 March 2026) accepts the need for the JRG to go but concedes it will be expensive to reform funding. So, he is referring the issue to the newly established Australian Tertiary Education Commission. This referral is unlikely to lead to expeditious action.

WEL does not consider this a satisfactory outcome. We advocate a staged reform process to abolish the package and restore a funding model fair to all students.

Can the Budget remove Fembot debts of single mothers – the hallmarks of Robodebt

WEL attended the 20 April launch of a new report on ‘Fembot debts’.

These debts involve the automatic recouping of Family Tax Benefit overpayments that result primarily from ex-partners lodging late tax returns. This triggers a recalculation of previous child support assessments, resulting in debts for women.

WEL supports the report’s recommendations, which aim to prevent violent men from using the child support system as a weapon of financial abuse toward their ex-partners and children.

Find out more HERE.

Recognition of WEL’s 2025 election campaign

The ANU has just published the definitive analysis of the 2025 Election: Landslide: The 2025 Federal Election edited by Marian Sawer, Jill Sheppard and John Warhurst. It’s an open access publication which is also accessible chapter by chapter. Thank you to the ANU Press for this generosity.

WEL also urges you to order the book through your local library.

We particularly recommend Blair Williams and Marian Sawer’s chapter ‘Gender and Diversity in the 2025 Election: Politics and Presence’. Amongst other themes the authors review the contributions of feminist advocacy groups such as WEL and Fair Agenda. WEL has long been famous for our (now much copied) Election Scorecard. We were chuffed to see our 2025 Federal Election scorecard reproduced on page 124.

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