The Rudd Labor Government will ask the Productivity Commission to examine ways the Government can provide improved support to parents with newborn children.
The Commission will be asked to look at the economic and social costs and benefits of paid maternity, paternity and parental leave and to report back by February 2009.
“We want to explore ways to make it easier for parents to balance their employment and family commitments, and the Productivity Commission is ideally placed to advise us on these matters”, Senator Lundy said.
“I know that parental leave is an important issue to many families in the ACT, and encourage interested groups and individuals to make submissions to the inquiry. Access to parental leave is good for families and good for the economy because it provides opportunities to increase participation in the work-force and lift Australia’s productivity”, Senator Lundy concluded.
To register an interest in the inquiry, or find out more, visit www.pc.gov.au (http://www.pc.gov.au/) or 02 6240 3239.
The terms of reference for the Productivity Commission Inquiry into improved support for parents with newborn children are below.
Contact: Rachel Allen – 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
Terms of Reference for a Productivity Commission Inquiry
Improved Support for Parents with New Born Children
The Australian Government wants to consider how to improve support for parents with new born children. The context for this is the need to ensure strong and sustainable economic growth, adjust to the imperatives of an ageing population, promote the early development of children and support families in balancing work and family responsibilities.
In undertaking the inquiry the Commission is to:
- Identify the economic, productivity and social costs and benefits of providing paid maternity, paternity and parental leave.
- Explore the extent of current employer provision of paid maternity, paternity and parental leave in Australia.
- Identify paid maternity, paternity and parental leave models that could be used in the Australian context.
- Assess those models for their potential impact on:
- the financial and regulatory cost and benefits on small and medium sized business;
- the employment of women, womens workforce participation and earnings and the workforce participation of both parents more generally;
- work/family preferences of both parents in the first two years after the child’s birth;
- the post-birth health of the mother;
- the development of young children, including the particular development needs of newborns in their first 2 years; and
- relieving the financial pressures on families.
- Assess the cost effectiveness of these models.
- Assess the interaction of these models with the Social Security and Family Assistance Systems.
- Assess the impacts and applicability of these models across the full range of employment forms (e.g. including for the self- employed, farmers, shift workers, etc).
- Assess the efficiency and effectiveness of Government policies that would facilitate the provision and take-up of these models.
The Commission is to report by February 2009.
The Commission is to hold public hearings and seek public submissions for the purpose of the inquiry and is to produce a report for public release by government.
