Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Act), employees and employee organisations can comment on any employers’ gender equality submission made to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
In the first instance, comments on an employer’s report should be made to the employer. This will enable the employer to deal with any errors or inaccuracies.
Who can make a comment to WGEA?
Employees and employee organisations with members in an employer’s workplace can comment to the employer, or to WGEA, on an employer’s report. Your employer should provide advice to employees about the best way to provide comments. If you wish to make comments to WGEA directly, you will need to complete the Contact WGEA form. On the form, select "I want to comment on a report", under the "Type" dropdown.
What must comments relate to?
WGEA can only deal with matters that relate directly to an employer’s report to WGEA.
If you have a complaint relating to an individual case of discrimination or a similar matter, there are other agencies that can help you—for example, the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Human Rights Commission. WGEA does not adjudicate or mediate any individual cases relating to discrimination or workplace disputes regarding gender.
On what basis will the Agency deal with comments?
Two criteria will be considered by WGEA when determining if a comment should be dealt with.
- Relevance of the comment to the employer’s report.
- The degree or likelihood that WGEA dealing with the comment will result in improved accuracy or completeness of the report.
When can comments be made?
There is no time restriction on when comments can be provided. However:
- comments made to an employer within 28 days after a report has been lodged, may be taken into account by the employer in deciding if the report needs amending and
- comments made to WGEA within 28 days after a report has been lodged, may be taken into account in deciding whether to request additional information from the employer as part of assessing compliance.
How to make a comment
Please make comments via the Contact WGEA form. On the form, select "I want to comment on a report", under the "Type" dropdown.
WGEA will not respond to comments individually other than to send an automatic reply when your email is received. Please consider whether your comment relates directly to your employer’s report or whether you have an issue that needs to be dealt with by an agency such as the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Australian Human Rights Commission.
What will happen to comments sent to WGEA?
WGEA will deal with comments in one or more of the following ways.
- Take comments into account when requesting additional information from the employer.
- Take comments into account when determining if a review is to be conducted of the relevant employer’s compliance.
- Decide to take no further action.
Will my details be kept confidential?
All personal information submitted on the Contact WGEA form will be kept strictly confidential.