From early 2024, the gender pay gaps of all private sector employers with 100 or more employees will be readily accessible to the public and employers will have more onerous requirements to report workforce data.
The changes are part of reforms brought in by the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 that was passed in April 2023.
The government says the new provisions will provide a more complete picture of gender inequality across Australian workplaces and help “drive transparency and action towards closing the gender pay gap” - currently at 13%.
Employers will also have to provide pay gap reports to all members of their governing bodies and meet expanded reporting requirements on prevention and response to sexual harassment, harassment on the grounds of sex or discrimination in the workplace.
There is some lead time before the changes take effect, so let’s take a closer look at the details and what they will mean for employers and businesses.
Changes for employers
The Closing the Gender Pay Gap Bill amends the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.
The reforms apply to organisations already required to report annually to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), including private sector employers with 100 or more employees and, from 2023, Commonwealth public sector organisations of the same size.
Publication of gender pay gaps
From early 2024, WGEA will begin publishing private sector employer gender pay gaps on their website, as well as the gender pay gap at a national, industry, and occupational level. WGEA currently collects this data from employers, but has shared it confidentially rather than make it public.
According to WGEA, publishing the information will mean 4.5 million Australian employees can access their employers' gender pay gaps, leading companies to prioritise gender equality and lower employer gender pay gaps.
WGEA will publish the first set of data in early 2024, covering 2022-2023 reporting.
The agency will begin publishing Commonwealth public sector gender pay gaps from late 2024 / early 2025.
Employers will be informed of their gender pay gap well in advance of it being made public.
Reporting of more detailed workforce information
From 1 April 2024, all relevant employers will have to provide workforce data reports to WGEA on:
- Employee age (year of birth).
- Primary workplace location.
- CEO, head of business, and casual manager remuneration.
Currently, employers can choose to provide this data voluntarily.
WGEA says the information will increase understanding of the factors influencing equality in Australian workplaces so they can drive targeted action for the benefit of individuals, businesses, and community organisations.
Reporting on sex-based harassment
From 1 April 2024, employers will have to provide WGEA with responses to these mandatory questions on the prevention and response to sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination in the workplace:
- the provisions set out in any policy/strategy, including accountabilities for:
- Preventing and responding.
- Provision of training, its frequency and content.
- Disclosure processes and management of disclosures.
- Leadership statements or communication to demonstrate commitment to prevention and response.
- Information about sexual harassment risk management.
- Information about the prevalence data currently collected.
- Support available for employees.
Reporting will be on a voluntary basis in 2023, to give employers that don’t currently collect this data have time to prepare.
Mandatory sharing of WGEA reports with boards
From late 2023, employers are required to provide their board or governing body with the WGEA Executive Summary Report and Industry Benchmark Report.
WGEA currently provides these reports, confidentially, to CEOs and reporting contacts at the end of reporting.
The new requirement to share reports with the board comes on top of existing employer obligations to make WGEA reports accessible to employees and employee organisations, and to allow them to comment on the employer’s report.
Gender equality indicator policies for large organisations
From 1 April 2024, large organisations (500 or more employees) will be required to have policies or strategies for each of the 6 gender equality indicators (formerly known as ‘minimum standards’):
- Gender composition of the workforce.
- Gender composition of governing bodies.
- Equal remuneration between women and men.
- Availability and utility of employment terms, flexible working arrangements, and support for family and caring responsibilities.
- Consultation with employees on gender equality in the workplace.
- Sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination.
Read WGEA’s guide to the workplace gender equality reforms.
Timeline
30 March 2023: Bill passed both Houses (Royal Assent on 11 April 2023).
Late 2023: Employers must share their WGEA Executive Summary Report and Industry Benchmark Report with their board.
Early 2024: WGEA will publish private sector employer gender pay gaps.
From 1 April 2024:
- Employers must provide additional information on employees including age, primary workplace location, and CEO and casual manager remuneration.
- Reporting on sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination will be mandatory.
- Employers with 500 or more staff must have a policy or strategy for each of the six gender equality indicators.
Late 2024 / early 2025: WGEA will publish Commonwealth public sector gender pay gaps.
Non-compliance
Organisations that do not meet their obligations or have not met the minimum standards to prove their commitment to gender equality risk being named on WGEA’s ‘non-compliant organisations list’.
Further reforms proposed
The government has signalled it will introduce further reforms to implement remaining recommendations made in the 2021 Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, including:
- Collection of information about employees who identify as non-binary.
- Collection of diversity information about employees.
- Setting and achieving gender equality targets.
- Additional changes to support Respect@Work.
Our advice
While the legislation gives employers some lead time before changes take effect, we recommend you understand what they mean for your organisation and ensure you have appropriate systems and processes in place to:
- Meet your reporting and report-sharing obligations.
- Start addressing any gender pay gaps.
You should also expect more scrutiny of gender pay gaps and workplace gender inequality, not only from WGEA but from employees, potential employees, customers, and the general public.
It’s important to ensure that your employment data is up to date. In addition, we recommend all employers use this as a prompt to review your policies and practices around diversity, flexible work, salary reviews, and sexual harassment.
If you need expert advice on these changes or how to implement equitable remuneration strategies in your business, please contact MyHR.
