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A major step towards women's safety and gender equality has been taken by state, territory and federal leaders.

The draft National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children has been supported by ministers at all levels of government, with the final version to be released in October.

It will provide a decade-long strategy to inform the policy and service frameworks needed to address violence against women.

The plan will also include more data sharing around equality targets to measure its success.

Ministers responsible for women and women's safety met face-to-face for the first time under the new government to canvas the plan in Adelaide on Friday.

They also discussed a proposal to implement a National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher described the meeting as productive and said the national plan was an important priority in ending violence against women.

It is imperative that all levels of government work together to address violence, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.

"One woman dies in Australia every 10 days at the hands of their current or former partner. That is unacceptable," she said in a statement.

"The national plan will set out a strategy for the next decade with the aim of reducing that number."

Priorities for the new Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission were also discussed.

The commission is expected to play a key role in monitoring the implementation and tracking the progress of the National Plan.

The federal government has committed to a standalone plan for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family safety, which was welcomed by the states and territories.

The ministers were also expected to discuss safe access to abortion in Australia after the overturning of legal protections in the United States.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week ruled out reviving Labor's 2019 policy to require public hospitals to provide abortion services as part of their federal funding arrangements.

The ACT is pushing for Australia to have uniform and accessible abortion services across jurisdictions.

"All jurisdictions should have policies in place that provide women and people who can become pregnant access to affordable, safe and legal abortion services and the freedom to have control of decisions about their bodies and reproductive rights," an ACT government spokesperson said.

Health Minister Mark Butler and Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney will also review access to reproductive services as part of a national women's health plan.

"The states determine what they provide through the hospitals and surgical terminations are provided through public hospitals as required," Senator Gallagher told ABC radio on Friday.

"The Commonwealth doesn't dictate what they provide ... noting that the issue (state and territory ministers) raised was about nationally consistent laws for the provision of termination of pregnancy services.

"That's a matter that constitutionally rests with the states and territories."

It comes as the government announced legislating paid domestic violence leave would be one of its first priorities when parliament resumes on Tuesday.

The proposed laws will allow any Australian worker to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave.

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Australia has reported its lowest birth rate in more than a decade, as the average age of first-time parents continues to increase.

The country's birth rate fell significantly between 2007 and 2020, from 66 per 1000 people, to 56 per 1000 people.

As for the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of babies born declined by about 7100 between 2019 and 2020, equating to a more than two per cent drop, according to a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare published on Friday.

The average age for giving birth rose from 30 in 2010 to 30.9, with the proportion of teenage parents falling from 3.8 to 1.8 per cent in the decade to 2020.

The proportion of parents aged 40 and over also went up slightly to 4.5 per cent in 2020.

Parents aged 40 and over more commonly delivered via caesarean sections.

Overall, caesarean sections accounted for more than one in three births in 2020, up by five per cent in the previous decade.

In 2020, nearly one in eight expectant parents accessed antenatal care in their first trimester of pregnancy, which was an increase of 16 per cent since 2012.

That wasn't the case in remote areas, where the proportion of parents accessing that care in their first trimester hovered about 70 per cent, institute spokeswoman Deanna Eldridge noted.

More than nine in 10 of the nearly 296,000 babies born in Australia in 2020 were born at term and a healthy weight.

However, in the past decade, the rate of stillbirths and neonatal deaths remained between seven per cent and eight per cent for every 1000 births, and between two per cent and three per cent for every 1000 live births.

"One of the most amazing and challenging times in a family is pregnancy and the welcoming of a new baby, but tragically some families experience the loss of their baby," Ms Eldridge said.

Congenital anomaly was the most common cause of perinatal death in 2019.

The number of expectant parents who reported smoking at some stage during their pregnancy dropped from 14 per cent to more than nine per cent in the decade to 2020.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which published the birth findings on Friday, is expected to release a more detailed report about still births and neonatal deaths in November.

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Ministers responsible for women and women's safety will meet face-to-face for the first time under the new government to discuss gender equality and policy priorities.

The ministers will also discuss the national plan to end violence against women and children, as well as a commitment to establishing a national plan for First Nations women.

The meeting will be hosted by Women's Minister Katy Gallagher and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth in Adelaide on Friday.

"More people are recognising domestic and family violence, and more people are actually taking steps to address it," Ms Rishworth told the ABC.

"Unfortunately, we're also seeing prevalence increase. Now, that could be a mixture of more violence as well as more reporting, but we do need to tackle this.

"There's no doubt this is a scourge on the Australian community and we need to be all pushing in the same direction."

ACT Women's Minister Yvette Berry says the meeting will provide an opportunity for states and territories to commit to joint action.

"This meeting is an opportunity to better collaborate, act and drive a shared agenda," she told AAP.

"I firmly believe that greater opportunities to work together, with clear roles and responsibilities, will maximise the impact of joint action."

Greens senator Larissa Waters has called on the government to adequately fund the national plan and include meaningful targets.

"The new national plan to end violence against women is already overdue, and the new minister must now commit to ambitious targets and adequate funding to actually eliminate gendered violence," Senator Waters said.

"The plan should also address the full spectrum of abuse and controlling behaviour, including sexual violence and harassment, financial abuse, reproductive coercion, and technology-facilitated abuse."

The meeting provides an opportunity to recommit to joint action on gender equality and women's safety.

It comes as the government announced that legislating paid domestic violence leave would be one of its first priorities when parliament resumes on Tuesday.

The proposed laws will allow any Australian worker to access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave.

"It's a really important piece of legislation because it means that women who may be in these very difficult situations don't have to choose between their job and leaving a violent relationship," Ms Rishworth said.

Debate has also reignited about safe access to abortion in Australia after the overturning of legal protections in the United States.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week ruled out reviving Labor's 2019 policy to require public hospitals to provide abortion services as part of their federal funding arrangements.

The ACT is pushing for all jurisdictions to have accessible abortion services, and for people who become pregnant to be able to decide what is best for them.

"The ACT government believes that all jurisdictions should have policies in place that provide women and people who can become pregnant access to affordable, safe and legal abortion services and the freedom to have control of decisions about their bodies and reproductive rights," a government spokesperson said.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)

© AAP 2022