This page contains important changes to be aware of when lodging your Gender Equality Report.
Changes to the 2026 reporting program
Program name change
The next Gender Equality Reporting Program will be called the 2026 Gender Equality Reporting.
This name change reflects the year the lodgement is made.
Both private sector employers and Commonwealth public sector employers will report in the same program.
Changes for Commonwealth public sector employers
Lodgement period
From 2026 onwards, relevant Commonwealth public sector employers must lodge their reports between 1 April – 31 May, the lodgement period.
This changed lodgement period reflects the merging of the public and private sector Gender Equality Programs.
Changes to APSC data transfer
Employers of staff under the Public Service Act that previously used the APSC data transfer will no longer be able to use the APSC to transfer relevant data to WGEA.
Commonwealth public sector employers will report all their data directly to WGEA in the same way the private sector does. The process is outlined in reporting steps.
The APSC and WGEA have jointly developed a data mapping document to support APS agencies that previously used the APSC data transfer process to report to WGEA.
New Targets legislation
From 2026, employers who directly employ 500 or more employees in Australia are known as designated relevant employers (DREs). Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (the Act), DREs must:
select 3 gender equality targets
meet or demonstrate improvement against each target at the end of the 3-year target cycle.
For more information on the Gender Equality Targets requirements, refer to:
Transition from ANZSCO to OSCA codes
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has replaced the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) with the Occupation Standard Classification Australia (OSCA) to reflect significant changes in the Australian labour market. WGEA will transition to OSCA for the 2027 Gender Equality Reporting program. This guidance explains how employers should report occupations during the transition and how the change affects gender equality targets.
Guidance for Commonwealth public sector employers (2026 Gender Equality Reporting)
Employers must report using ANZSCO occupation codes during the 2026 lodgement period.
Employers that have adopted OSCA internally should use one of the following approaches:
- Option 1 (recommended): Use the correspondence tables to convert APS Job Families and OSCA codes to ANZSCO codes: APS Job Family Framework 2026 (with ANZSCO Codes)
- Option 2: Use the first digit of the OSCA occupation code and apply a “000” prefix (e.g., an OSCA code beginning in 1 would be reported as 0001). The first digit corresponds to the major group (e.g., Managers, Professions), which retains the same structure between ANZSCO and OSCA.
Implications for gender equality targets
WGEA’s transition from ANZSCO to OSCA will occur during the first 3-year targets cycle. Some targets require employers to improve their gender composition or gender pay gap based on manager or occupational categories.
Employers should consider the following when selecting these targets:
- Targets are based on ANZSCO major groups (e.g., Managers, Professionals). OSCA introduces changes to some lower-level occupations, but the overall major group structure remains consistent with ANZSCO.
- Most occupations remain in the same major group when mapped from ANZSCO to OSCA. However, a small number of occupations shift to a different major group under OSCA.
- Employers with a high proportion of employees in these reclassified occupations may find it more difficult to track progress consistently over time. These employers should select different targets for the first targets cycle.
Year of birth
'Year of birth' (in column 'I' of the Workplace Profile) is now a mandatory field. Employers must provide the year of birth for each employee as a 4-digit number.
.