Employers who directly employ 500 or more employees in Australia are known as Designated Relevant Employers (DREs). Under the Workplace Gender Equality (Gender Equality Standards) Instrument 2023, DREs must have policies or strategies in place to support each of the 6 Gender Equality Indicators (GEIs).
These policies or strategies must aim to achieve the gender equality objective outlined in section 6 of the Instrument. They can be standalone or part of a broader policy or strategy that covers multiple GEIs.
Important: for Commonwealth public sector employers, sector-wide policies or strategies do not meet the requirement.
Legislative update
In 2025, legislative changes updated the definition of a DRE to include only employers who directly employ 500 or more staff. As a result, previous base and comparison periods no longer apply.
The new base period for meeting the GE Standards is:
- Private sector: 1 April 2025 – 31 March 2026
- Commonwealth public sector: 1 January – 31 December 2025
The lodgement period for both the private sector and Commonwealth public sector will be 1 April - 31 May 2026.
If you don’t meet the GE Standards by the end of the base period, you’ll have two further reporting periods to comply before being considered non-compliant under section 19C of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (the Act).
Gender Equality Indicators (GEIs) & objectives
| Item | Gender Equality Indicator (GEI) | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gender composition of the workforce | Supporting gender equality in the designated relevant employer’s workplace |
| 2 | Gender composition of governing bodies of relevant employers | Supporting and achieving gender equality in the designated relevant employer’s governing body |
| 3 | Equal remuneration between women and men | In relation to employees of the designated relevant employer, ensuring equal remuneration between women and men |
| 4 | Availability and utility of employment terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities | Providing effective flexible working arrangements for employees of the designated relevant employer with family or caring responsibilities |
| 5 | Consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace | Ensuring employees are consulted and have input on issues concerning gender equality in the designated relevant employer’s workplace |
| 6 | Sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination | Prevention of, and appropriate response to, sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination in the designated relevant employer’s workplace |
What should my policies or strategies cover?
WGEA provides guidance on developing policies and strategies for each GEI. While employers can use these resources to shape their approach, their policies or strategies should reflect an organisation’s unique context.
| GEI | Questionnaire section | GE Standard to meet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Workplace Overview section Question 1.1 | To meet GEI1, you must have a formal policy or strategy to support gender equality in the workplace. Your policy or strategy might cover areas, such as:
|
| 2 | Governing Bodies section Question 1.5(E) | To meet GEI2, you must have a formal policy or strategy to support gender equality in your governing body. The GE Standard also applies where some (but not all) appointments to the governing body are within the employer's control. There may be circumstances where employers have no control over their governing body composition. The employer may:
In these cases, employers can select ‘No - do not have control over governing body/appointments’ in response to the relevant item in the Questionnaire. This will constitute meeting GEI2 for that employer. |
| 3 | Action on Gender Equality section Question 2.1 | To meet GEI3, you must have a formal policy or strategy to support equal remuneration between women and men. Your policy or strategy might cover areas, such as:
The gender pay gap is a measure of how women’s and men’s contributions are valued in the workforce. It is the difference in average or median earnings between women and men. |
| 4 | Flexible working arrangements section Question 3.1 Support for Carers section Question 4.4 | To meet GEI4, you must have formal policies or strategies to support:
A carer refers to, but is not limited to, an employee’s role as the parent (biological, step, adoptive or foster) or guardian of a child, or carer of a child, parent, spouse or domestic partner, close relative, or other dependent or friend. |
| 5 | Employee consultation section Question 2.5 | To meet GEI5, you must have a formal policy or strategy in place to support consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace. Employee consultation is a formalised way to collect information about your employees’ views on the workplace, what is working well and what could be improved. |
| 6 | Sexual harassment section Question 5.1 | To meet GEI6, you must have a formal policy or strategy to support the prevention of, and appropriate response to, sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination in your workplace. The provisions in a policy and/or strategy for prevention and management of sexual harassment are important for setting workplace culture and achieving a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace. |
Answering the Reporting Questionnaire
You’ll report your policies and strategies through the reporting Questionnaire. Each question clearly identifies which GEI it relates to.
Policies
- The guidelines, rules and procedures developed by an organisation to govern its actions (often in recurring situations).
- They provide employees specific entitlements or rights and define the limits (dos and don’ts) within which decisions must be made.
- They are widely communicated and available to all staff.
Strategies
- A plan of action designed to achieve one or more of an organisation’s objectives.
- Strategies fill the gap between “where we are” and “where we want to be”, that is, “how are we going to get there?”.
- They relate to how an organisation allocates and uses materials and human resources and require an executive decision.
Formal policy or strategy
- A written document approved by human resources or management.
- While a strategy can exist without a policy, and vice versa, they often coexist and should be aligned to support each other.
Important
- A Commonwealth public sector-wide policy or strategy does not count as an organisational policy or strategy.
- Free text responses in the Questionnaire are optional and won’t be used to assess eligibility or compliance.
Compliance requirements
You must have policies or strategies in place to support all 6 GEIs. If you don’t meet this requirement in your base period, you’ll have two more reporting periods (the comparison period) to comply. WGEA will assess compliance based on your Report at the end of the comparison period.
Corporate Groups
If a DRE in a corporate group is non-compliant with the GE Standards requirements, it does not affect the compliance status of other entities in the corporate group. This is different from other compliance requirements where one entity’s non-compliance can affect the whole group.
WGEA will provide advice and support to help you become compliant.
For further information about your compliance requirements, WGEA’s Compliance Strategy and the consequences of non-compliance, please refer to Reporting compliance.
Timeframes and examples
- Reporting period (12-month period of data provided in your Report):
- Private sector: 1 April – 31 March
- Commonwealth public sector: 1 January – 31 December
- Lodgement period (when you lodge your Report to WGEA):
- Private sector and Commonwealth public sector: 1 April – 31 May
- Base period: the first reporting period GE Standards apply to you. If you lodge a Gender Equality Report in 2026 (or beyond) and have 500 or more employees under an ABN in your Workplace Profile, you will be recorded as a DRE and subject to the GE Standards requirements.
- Comparison period: the second reporting period after the base period. WGEA will use your Report lodged in this period to assesses whether you have met the GE Standards compliance requirements.
Please refer to Reporting dates for further information and key dates for Gender Equality Reporting.
Example, scenario, outcome
Example:
- Base period (reporting period):
- Private sector: 1 April – 31 March
- Commonwealth public sector: 1 January – 31 December
- Lodgement period: 1 April – 31 May 2026
- Comparison period: 2028 Gender Equality Reporting Program
- Assessment year: 2028. WGEA will assess compliance during this year based on the Report lodged in April–May 2028 (or within an approved extension period).
Scenario:
- A DRE lodges their 2026 Report and does not have a policy or strategy in place for GEI 6.
- This Report is their base period.
- The employer then has two full reporting periods to meet the GE standards:
- 2027 Report: lodged between 1 April – 31 May 2027 (or within approved extension period)
- 2028 Report: lodged between 1 April – 31 May 2028 (or within approved extension period)
Outcome:
- If the 2028 Report confirms the employer has policies or strategies in place to support all 6 GEIs, they will be assessed as compliant with the GE standards after the 2028 lodgement period.
- To maintain compliance, the employer must continue to meet the GE Standards in future Reports.
- If the 2028 Report shows they do not have policies or strategies in place to support all 6 GEIs, they will be assessed as non-compliant.
- They will remain non-compliant until a future Report confirms that all required policies or strategies are in place.
Support and resources
We offer a range of resources and assistance to help employers improve gender equality in their workplace and comply with the GE Standards legislative requirements.
- WGEA: Take Action|Employer Guides and Resources
- Workplace Gender Equality Action Planning Playbook
- Gender Pay Gap Analysis Guide: Find the cause of your gender pay gap
- WGEA's masterclasses and learning events
Also refer to Support & contact us for when and how to contact us for additional support.
Legislative resources
For more information about the GE Standards and GEIs, visit Our Legislation | WGEA.