Noosa 360

Following our Question on Notice to the Minister for Women and Women’s Economic Security seeking clarification on how Government identifies and responds to emerging issues affecting women – including how regional communities like Noosa are represented in that process – the Minister provided the following response in italics: 

Further to direct engagements, a statewide survey was conducted that had 3,274 individuals respond regarding keys issues and what matters to Queensland women. I also hosted or attend another 11 roundtables and forums that I opened to specific cohorts, including rural and regional representatives, to unpack women’s economic security. My Ministerial staff and Departmental staff undertook significant scans of jurisdictions and worldwide research to understand some of the issues and drivers for the gap in economic security faced by women. This work has resulted in Queensland’s first Women’s Economic Security Strategy that was tabled in Parliament on 30 July 2026. 

The first strategic pillar of Financial Knowledge was identified that while women felt comfortable in many of the daily and short-term issues of money, the confidence in longer term knowledge, strategies and resilience regarding financial matters was lower. Activation of the strategy will have initiatives to concentrate on increasing the awareness and access to the resources available on these issues. 

One of the key announcements with the launch of the Strategy was boosting the funds towards our newly named Women’s Economic Security grants program.  

We have raised issues impacting women, and the new Strategy has addressed part of these, with the following positives – : 

• Local funding opportunity: the next $1 million Women’s Economic Security grants round opens around October 2026, offering grants of up to $10,000. We’ll be encouraging Noosa community organisations to apply and will help promote the round when applications open. 

• Regional voices heard: the Minister has confirmed rural and regional representatives were part of the roundtable process that shaped the Strategy.  

• A focus that could help local women: the Strategy’s first pillar targets longer-term financial confidence and resilience, not just day-to-day budgeting – a gap that’s well recognised nationally, and one we will be watching to see addressed locally. 

• Ongoing accountability: with annual reporting now committed to via the Budget Papers, we’ll have a clear yearly benchmark to hold Government to account on whether these commitments are actually delivered for our region. 

However, some genuine gaps remain in what we asked for. The Minister’s response did not address how cross-government issues we specifically raised – including access to justice and court delays, housing affordability and homelessness, equitable access to sporting and community infrastructure, workforce participation, and personal safety – are actually incorporated into the Government’s assessment of emerging issues for women. Nor was there any detail on how Noosa or other regional communities specifically are represented in the ongoing methodology beyond being one of several consultation cohorts. 

We welcome the Strategy’s launch and the funding commitment behind it, and encourage Noosa community organisations to keep an eye out for the grants round opening in October. We will continue to seek clarity on how the broader cross-government issues affecting Noosa women (not just financial knowledge) are being tracked and addressed, and will provide a further update once the Strategy document and grant guidelines are publicly available. 

Further information 

For the Women’s Economic Security Strategy, visit: https://www.women.qld.gov.au/  

To contact the Minister for Women and Women’s Economic Security, email: women@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please copy our office via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward any response you receive.