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.
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.
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.
From 1 April 2024, all relevant employers will have to provide workforce data reports to WGEA on:
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.
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:
Reporting will be on a voluntary basis in 2023, to give employers that don’t currently collect this data have time to prepare.
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.
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’):
Read WGEA’s guide to the workplace gender equality reforms.
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:
Late 2024 / early 2025: WGEA will publish Commonwealth public sector gender pay gaps.
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’.
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:
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:
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.