- Published:
- Thursday 23 June 2016
Public health care employees will now receive superannuation contributions while on paid maternity leave thanks to a decision by the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy, today announced the reform while addressing the annual Victorian conference of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.
Parents working in the public health care sector will now receive superannuation contributions from their employers while they are on paid maternity leave.
Previously, maternity leave payments did not include superannuation.
A range of factors contribute to the gender gap in retirement savings and currently Australian women retire with just over half the amount of super as men, and one in three women retire with no super at all.
Victoria’s health system is recognised as the best in the country and that has much to do with the expertise and professionalism of our health workforce, who work long and hard to ensure all Victorians receive the quality care they need, when they need it.
We know that the only way this can continue is by providing support for our hardworking doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health workers.
The Labor Government has:
- Increased funding for our hospitals, ambulances and health programs by $2.45 billion
- Enshrined nurse-to-patient ratios through the Safe Patient Care Act into law
- Reached an in-principle agreement to resolve the nurses EBA and deliver wage justice for Victorian nurses
- Invested more than $26 million to support more than 1500 nursing and midwifery graduate program places in public health services in 2015
- Established a $20 million Health Service Violence Prevention Fund to address violence in healthcare settings and against hospital staff
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Jill Hennessy
“We know superannuation has not been designed to suit women’s lives – from maternity leave, career breaks, caring for children and returning to work part-time – they are financially penalised every step of the way.”
“It is outrageous that so many of our female health care workers are confronted by the reality of retirement with significantly less financial security than their male counterparts – only because they are women.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Industrial Relations Natalie Hutchins
“While we know more needs to be done before we achieve full gender equity in the workplace, this is an important step to address one of the inequities female health care workers face in retirement.’’