4.2 Increasing workforce participation

2024-25 Budget Measures

Chart 4.1 demonstrates the impact that caring for children has on women’s working life. The gap in full-time work widens considerably between the ages of 25-29 years and 40-44 years, around typical child-rearing years. This gap has an impact on lifetime earnings.

Increasing women’s workforce participation and economic security is a key driver of economic growth and is essential to supporting the long-term prosperity of NSW. Ongoing barriers to women’s workforce participation mean women earn less, accumulate less in superannuation and are more at risk of long-term financial insecurity.⁹⁷ Removing barriers that prevent women from equally participating in work will improve gender equality and benefit our economy. ⁹⁸

The gendered division of unpaid care is a key barrier that restricts the types of jobs and roles available to women. Currently, caring for children is the primary reason women in NSW cite for not being available to start a job or work more hours. ⁹⁹

The NSW Government is delivering the largest ever investment in public preschools. The sites for the 100 public preschools have been chosen and the first at Gulyangarri Public School is set to open in late 2024.

To support families with the cost of living, the NSW Government will continue to provide up to $4,220 per year in fee relief for parents and carers of three to five year olds in community and mobile preschools.

In addition, $500-$2,110 in fee relief is available to parents and carers of children aged three to five years attending eligible preschool programs in long day care centres. It is estimated that over 200,000 enrolments will be eligible for NSW Government fee relief in 2024.

In 2023, the NSW Government launched the Flexible Initiatives Trial (FIT), a $20.0 million investment which aims to increase access to early childhood education and care for working parents, including exploring new ways of making drop-off and pick-ups easier for working parents.

The FIT funds early childhood education and care services to test and trial new or adapted operating models that address key barriers to parents accessing care, including longer hours, weekend operating hours and additional places in areas where they are needed most.

The first round of successful FIT applications for funding has been announced with 16 services across metropolitan and regional NSW receiving a total of more than $2.8 million. The second round of funding is currently open, and applications close in early July 2024.

First Nations women in NSW can experience distinct barriers to employment, making access to economic opportunities more difficult. These include intergenerational trauma and lack of intergenerational wealth.¹⁰¹

First Nations women are also more likely than First Nations men or non-Indigenous women to be carers and to provide care to multiple people, meaning the challenges they face are amplified.¹⁰²

Other barriers to achieving and sustaining employment outcomes exist for different cohorts of women resulting from complex needs. This includes women affected by domestic and family violence.¹⁰³

Women with disabilities face barriers including inaccessible workplaces.¹⁰⁴ Further, women from refugee and non-English speaking migrant backgrounds face barriers including having to choose between learning English and looking for work, with limited access to specialised services.¹⁰⁵

In this Budget, the NSW Government is investing $2.0 million in 2024-25 to continue the Return to Work Pathways Program. The Return to Work Pathways Program has already supported more than 1,000 women to become job-ready and secure sustainable employment.

The NSW Government has made progress on the Future Women’s Jobs Academy ($5.8 million investment over two years). The program opened for applications in May 2024 and the first intake is set to commence this year. This investment will support 1,000 women over two years to build their confidence, capabilities, and connections needed to commence their job search, secure employment pathways and thrive at work. The program will provide access to women from communities that have lower workforce participation rates and face intersecting barriers to entering and progressing in the workforce, including First Nations women, women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women with disability and women living in regional, rural and remote areas.