What are organisations required to do to comply with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012?
The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 applies to private sector employers and Commonwealth public sector organisations with 100 or more employees. These are also known as ‘relevant employers’ under the Act.
Since the Act’s inception, relevant employers have been required to submit a report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) between 1 April and 31 May each year for the preceding 12-month period (1 April – 31 March), also known as the ‘reporting period’.
Relevant employers are required to report against a set of standardised gender equality indicators (GEIs). The GEIs relate to areas that are critical to gender equality:
- GEI 1: Gender composition of the workforce
- GEI 2: Gender composition of governing bodies
- GEI 3: Equal remuneration between women and men
- GEI 4: Availability and utility of employment terms, flexible working arrangements and support for family and caring responsibilities
- GEI 5: Consultation with employees on gender equality in the workplace
- GEI 6: Sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination.
Employers are required to submit:
- an online questionnaire related to policies, strategies and actions on gender equality
- a spreadsheet on Workforce Management Statistics (including information on employee appointments, promotions, resignations and parental leave)
- a Workforce Profile spreadsheet, including information on workforce composition, salaries and remuneration.
What happens if organisations don’t comply with the WGE Act?
Relevant employers that do not comply with their obligations under the WGE Act can face the following consequences:
- lose eligibility to tender for contracts under Commonwealth and some state procurement frameworks, as well as eligibility for some Commonwealth grants or other financial help.
- named in a report to the Minister for Women that is tabled in both Houses of Parliament
- named publicly online or by other means
DCA members can log in below for details of the changes to WGE Act reporting requirements that came into effect in early 2024.
The rest of this content is restricted to DCA members.
To find out more about joining DCA please see below.
If your organisation has already signed up for membership, this will activate as soon as payment is received.
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) (2023), ‘A roadmap to closing the gender pay gap: WGEA legislative reforms’.