QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:06): I thank Senator Darmanin for the question and for her career spent supporting working people in this country and strengthening compulsory superannuation, particularly for women.

The compulsory superannuation system is something this country should be very proud of: 18 million Australians have a superannuation account. Super makes up around a quarter of Australians' household wealth, and Australia's superannuation pool is the fourth largest in the world, at about $4½ trillion. The Albanese government has made a number of reforms to strengthen super since coming to government.

We legislated the objective of super, which is to preserve savings and deliver income for a dignified retirement. We increased the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent after those opposite had delayed it. We introduced payday super so that workers receive their super when they are paid.

For the average 25-year-old, that is worth around $6,000 more at retirement in today's dollars. When it comes to women, we know that, on average, women, as they approach retirement age, have 26 per cent less super than men of the same age. This is for a variety of reasons, including work interruptions for caring, as well as because women, on average, have earnt less than men.

What are we doing about it? We're paying super on paid parental leave so that women get superannuation when they might be out of the paid workforce and playing that caring role. We're closing the gender pay gap, and we've also supported significant increase in wages for industries dominated by women so that they're getting the wages they deserve.

That flows on to their superannuation balances over time. The PRESIDENT: Senator Darmanin, first supplementary?