ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors examine the development of the right to request flexible work as a public policy intended to facilitate labour force participation and provide care. They begin the chapter with an overview of the current state of play of women's and carers' labour force participation. To provide an insight into current policy and practice in Australian workplaces, they present recent research identifying the influence of the right to request public policy on organisational policies. The chapter concludes with ideas for policy development in terms of both legal rights for carers and a government role in achieving wider culture change in organisations to make such a public policy change effective. Government policy is to increase labour force participation rates throughout the population to increase productivity and offset population ageing. The IGR suggests mature age workers' labour force participation could be increased to an extent that would significantly cut future government spending.
