Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Australia (Ratification: 1990)

The Committee has noted with interest the detailed information furnished in the first report of the Government and the complementary documentation submitted on the application of the Convention.

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its future reports on any amendments made or proposed to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and, in particular, those that arise from the recommendations made in the report of the Inquiry into Equal Opportunity and Equal Status for Women in Australia by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (Lavarch Report).

2. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any legislative developments at the State and territorial levels relevant to the application of the Convention and on the practical measures taken to promote that legislation.

3. In regard to paragraphs 1 and 2 above, and noting the concern expressed in the report on the desirability of recognizing as "family" the kinship ties of particular peoples such as the Aboriginal community, the Committee would be grateful if information could be provided concerning any measures to consider how the concept of "family" might be extended so as to take account of the way in which different groups of people construe their family obligations.

4. Article 3. The Committee requests the Government to furnish copies of any policy statements made by the federal or state authorities relevant to the application of the Convention.

5. Noting with interest that an interdepartmental committee, chaired by the Commonwealth Minister of Industrial Relations, was created to develop a strategy to implement the Convention across Commonwealth policies and programmes, and that the Work and Family Unit of the Department of Industrial Relations was created to oversee that strategy, the Committee requests the Government to provide full information in its next report both on the strategy developed and on the activities of the Unit.

6. Having noted the information provided by the Government on the activities undertaken by the Department of Industrial Relations to further the application of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to provide any information to illustrate the extent to which workplace bargaining agreements are including provisions designed to enable workers to harmonize their work and family responsibilities. In this connection, the Committee, noting also with interest the efforts taken by the workers' and employers' associations to promote family-friendly practices, requests the Government to continue to supply information on the measures taken and results achieved through the introduction of such business practices.

7. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the extent to which the decision of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in the Parental Leave Test Case, 1990, has flowed on into other federal awards. Noting from the Lavarch Committee report (paragraph 4.4.10) that very few men had taken parental leave in the calendar year preceding the above-mentioned decision, the Committee requests the Government to provide any information indicating that the community education programmes to publicize the Convention have had a positive influence on encouraging a more equitable sharing of family responsibilities in this regard, or indeed, in other aspects of family life.

8. Article 6. The Committee has noted with interest the educational programmes launched to foster equality between women and men in employment and within families. It would request the Government to continue to supply information on any other relevant surveys, studies or programmes undertaken, including those conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

9. Article 7. The Committee has noted the comprehensive range of programmes created at both the federal and state levels to increase the participation and enhance the employment prospects of unemployed persons with family responsibilities. It would be grateful if the Government provided in its future reports, information on the actual numbers of people who have been able to take advantage of these programmes.

10. In regard to further facilitating the access of workers with family responsibilities to vocational training, the Committee requests the Government to supply full particulars on the establishment and activities of the Australian National Training Authority.

11. On the eve of the Committee's session, the Government transmitted a further comprehensive report on the application of the Convention. This will be considered at the Committee's next session.