Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (the Act), registered relevant employers must lodge an annual Gender Equality Report to WGEA and meet all compliance requirements to receive a Certificate of Compliance.
Relevant employers that do not meet their compliance requirements may not be eligible to compete for government contracts under the Commonwealth Procurement Framework and may not be eligible for Commonwealth grants or other financial assistance.
Overview of compliance requirements
Compliance requirements | Links to relevant pages |
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Prepare and lodge an annual report by the due date Each year, relevant employers must prepare and lodge a Gender Equality Report with WGEA containing information in relation to employee and governing body composition and pay, as well as workplace policies and practices. Reports must be lodged during the two-month lodgement period (or within an approved extension period). | |
CEO approval & sign-off Before you can lodge your Gender Equality Report, your CEO (or equivalent) must review and sign-off/approve the following documents:
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Gender Equality Standards requirement Requires designated relevant employers to have policies or strategies in place to support each of the six Gender Equality Indicators (GEIs). A designated relevant employer is any relevant employer that directly employees 500 or more employees in Australia. | |
Gender Equality Targets requirement Requires designated relevant employers to select and meet gender equality targets. A designated relevant employer is any relevant employer that directly employees 500 or more employees in Australia. | |
Notification & access requirements These requirements relate to how and when a relevant employer must share certain documents from their Gender Equality Report, and who they must be shared with:
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Reports to be given to governing body (if any) The CEO (or equivalent) of a relevant employer is required to give a copy of the Executive Summary and Industry Benchmark Report to each member of the governing body (if any). | |
Employer must not give false or misleading information Relevant employers must not to give false or misleading information to WGEA. This requirement ensures the integrity of the information provided to WGEA for the purposes of monitoring and improving gender equality in the workplace. It also upholds public trust and confidence in the public reporting of workplace gender equality and enables informed policy making. In addition to WGEA potentially naming an employer as non-compliant for providing false or misleading information, the Act makes it a criminal offence which empowers WGEA to refer the matter to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for further investigation. |
Corporate groups – impact on parent organisation
A relevant employer can be a corporate group with 100 or more employees in total across all employing ABNs (subsidiaries).
Failure by a subsidiary to meet its compliance requirements will result in the corporate group and/or the parent company being non-compliant and liable to be named as non-compliant, as they are ultimately responsible for the subsidiary.
For further information, refer to Corporate Structures.
Certificate of Compliance
When a relevant employer lodges their Gender Equality Report within the lodgement period (or approved extension period) and meets all reporting compliance requirements, the employer will be deemed compliant with the Act and therefore eligible to receive a Certificate of Compliance.
For further information, refer to Certificate of Compliance.
Consequences of non-compliance
If an employer does not meet all their compliance requirements, WGEA may:
- name the employer in a report to the Minister that is tabled in both Houses of Parliament
- name the employer publicly by electronic or other means
- not issue the employer with a Certificate of Compliance.
For further information, refer to Consequences of non-compliance.
WGEA Compliance Strategy
Download a copy of the WGEA Compliance Strategy below.