ICYMI: this month the Treasurer and I handed down the strongest Budget for Australian women in the last 40 years.

And as recently as this week I have been sitting alongside my Office for Women colleagues to highlight these investments at Budget Estimates but I didn't want you to miss out on hearing the good news!

At the election we promised to improve the lives of women as a national priority and this Budget is a clear demonstration of how serious we are about this commitment.

I know there has been a lot of details during the last few weeks and I don’t want you to miss the significant investments that this Budget delivers for Australian women. 

Keep scrolling to see some of my highlights 🎉

You've likely heard about how we're expanding eligibility for the Single Parenting Payment.

Over 80% of single parents in Australia are women, so these changes will overwhelmingly benefit single mums who need it most.

We're also abolishing the punitive ParentsNext program which withheld income support payments from parents of young children if mutual obligations weren't met. Income support should be about lifting people up, not holding them back.

Some of the heroes of the pandemic were aged care workers which we know are mostly women and who are so often underpaid and undervalued.

This Budget will invest $11.3 billion in a 15% pay rise for these crucial workers, including for over 5,000 right here in Canberra.

We're investing a further $4 billion to provide extra funds to community and government organisations which are also highly-feminised workforces and which look after the most vulnerable in our society so they can keep their doors open and their phones answered.

Women's safety and wellbeing is always front of mind for this government, which is why we're building on our $1.7 billion investment in women's safety in the October Budget with an additional $589.3 million in this Budget.

The National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children is extensive, and invests in everything from prevention to stop violence before it starts, improving services for women facing violence, and ensuring women who need it can access safe and affordable housing.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women face higher levels of violence than other Australian women.

This is something that urgently needs to change, which is why we are investing $194 million in Australia’s first dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan which will focus on trauma-aware and culturally responsive healing programs for First Nations families.

Finally, we're investing over $69 million in women's health and wellbeing and to help improve medical research focusing on women's health, and $2.8 million to support Australians living with eating disorders.

It's vital that Australian women feel supported to access essential health care, because better health outcomes also lead to better lives.

I'm really proud of the Women's Budget Statement that we've put together.

Because investing in women's safety is indisputable, investing in women who are most disadvantaged is the right thing to do, investing in programs that help women get back to work is common sense, and investing in wages for women is good economics.

You can follow me on social media to stay up to date with all the latest news from the Albanese Labor Government, and what I am up to as your Senator for the ACT.