The Australian Women's Register

Summary

In 1977, when the Galbally review of Post-Arrival Migrant Programs and Services was announced, Senator Margaret Guilfoyle wrote to the Prime Minister advising him of the specific problems and special needs of migrant women. In June of that year, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser asked the Office of Women’s Affairs to set up an Interdepartmental Working Group Taskforce on Migrant Women. Officers from the following department were involved:

• Immigration and Ethnic Affairs
• Social Security
• Employment and Industrial Relations
• Productivity
• Health
• Education
• School’s Commission

Under extremely trying conditions, including endless delays caused by the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, the taskforce completed its report in November, just making the deadline to be considered by the Galbally Review. Among other things, the report recommended that ‘wherever possible action should be taken to provide services through or in co-operation with ethnic organisations and migrant women’.

The report was regarded as a valuable resource for implementation of Recommendation 43 of the Galbally Report.