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This paper is about one of the biggest challenges facing Australia in the 21st century: balancing paid work and family responsibilities. It's about how we live today, and how we want to live tomorrow. It's about valuing care, valuing families, and valuing happiness.

2.1 Introduction 2.2 What the Australian community told us 2.3 Responding to conflicts in paid work and caring responsibilities 2.4 Paid and unpaid work and the national interest: Prosperity and social wellbeing 2.5 Conclusion

back to contents It's About Time Abbreviation and Acronyms ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ACCI Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry AFPC Australian Fair Pay Commission AIFS Australian Institute of Family Studies AiG Australian Industry Group AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare AIRC Australian Industrial Relations Commission AMEP Adult Migrant English Program ATO…

Chatper 1: Background Chapter 2: It's about time Chapter 3: Legal protection for workers with family and carer responsibilities Chapter 4: Striking the balance in the workplace Chapter 5: Striking the balance int he family Chapter 6: Government support: Welfare and tax Chapter 7: Government support: early childhood and care Chapter 8: Government support: care for adults and support for carers…

That the Australian Bureau of Statistics be funded to produce a full national time use survey at regular five-yearly intervals to help inform and measure progress towards gender equality in paid and unpaid work.

back to contents It's About Time Submissions Dan Ahern Maurice Mok Kay Pearson Phil Jones Confidential J S Kempster Carol Cunningham Jenny Smith Tanya Fane Ruth Wells Confidential Beverly Puls Julie Blyth Sydney for Kids Johnny Ruigo Julia Graham Buckby Confidential Lone Fathers Association Australia Emma Hawkes Christopher Newell Peter Steindl Far North Fathers The Memucan Institute…

HREOC conducted a series of 28 consultations around Australia during 2005 and 2006 with employers, employees, community organisations and individuals following the release of the Striking the Balance discussion paper. The dates of these consultations follow.

HREOC formed a number of honorary advisory panels to help guide the development of this paper. HREOC consulted with members of these panels formally and informally and sought comment on the draft of this paper. HREOC is grateful for this assistance.

1.1 Introduction 1.2 Broadening the work and family debate 1.3 HREOC and the human rights principles supporting workers with family and carer responsibilities 1.4 Background and methodology 1.5 Research and data 1.6 Conclusion

3.1 Introduction 3.2 Australia's human rights obligations for workers with family and carer responsibilities 3.3 Limitations of federal discrimination law 3.4 The need for law reform 3.5 Conclusion

4.1 Introduction 4.2 The key issues 4.3 Workplace relations framework 4.4 Recognising the relationship between paid work and caring work 4.5 Certainty and flexibility in the workplace 4.6 Structural change to support gender and carer equality 4.7 The need for expanded legal rights 4.8 Workplace culture and use of family-friendly policies 4.9 A life cycle approach to work and a universal approach…

5.1 Introduction 5.2 Signs of change 5.3 Changing family structures require additional social support 5.4 Translating values into reality 5.5 Sharing care 5.6 Distributing household tasks fairly 5.7 Caring for people beyond the home 5.8 Education and cultural change 5.9 Conclusion

6.1 Introduction 6.2 Developing principles for a carer-friendly welfare system 6.3 Current government assistance for families 6.4 Support for all types of families and care needs 6.5 Supporting parents and other carers to work and care 6.6 The need for a consistent and integrated system 6.7 The interaction of taxation and welfare systems 6.8 Fairness in the taxation system for all family types…

7.1 Introduction 7.2 What children want and need 7.3 Early childhood education and care services and children's wellbeing 7.4 Government provision of early childhood education and care services 7.5 How do we make child care services more family-friendly? 7.6 Making early childhood education and care services more accessible for parents and children with disability 7.7 Integration of child care…

8.1 Introduction 8.2 The universal nature of care 8.3 Support for carers combining paid work and caring 8.4 Supporting the diverse needs of carers 8.5 Government provision of formal care for older people 8.6 Greater availability of formal care to meet growing need 8.7 Specialist disability services 8.8 Conclusion

9.1 Introduction 9.2 Transport and access to paid work and services 9.3 Better urban planning 9.4 Supporting community life and wellbeing 9.5 Conclusion

10.1 Introduction 10.2 Time to care 10.3 A new framework for meeting paid work and family/carer responsibilities 10.4 Making the new framework a reality 10.5 Striking the balance is a shared responsibility

Striking the balance between paid work and family life has become more than a "barbeque stopper" - it is one of the major challenges facing families, employers and governments.

This discussion paper briefly discusses federal laws which exclude same-sex couples from accessing financial and work-related entitlements. The paper discusses the following areas of federal law:

This is an Inquiry into discrimination against same-sex couples regarding access to financial and work-related entitlements and benefits. Many of Australia’s laws exclude same-sex couples from financial and work-related entitlements and benefits that are enjoyed by heterosexual couples. For example, same-sex couples do not enjoy the same tax and health concessions as other de facto couples…