Commonwealth public sector relevant employers must lodge their Gender Equality Report during the lodgement period (1 September - 31 October). If you cannot meet this deadline, you may apply for a 1-month extension before the end of the lodgement period.
To be eligible to receive a Certificate of Compliance, you must lodge your Gender Equality Report by 31 October (or within an approved extension period).
When can I apply?
You can apply for a 1-month extension during the lodgement period, which runs from 1 September to 31 October each year.
- Extension applications must be submitted by 31 October. Late applications cannot be accepted.
- If approved, your new deadline will be 30 November.
Note: WGEA cannot grant extensions after the reporting deadline has passed.
How to apply
Extension application via the Employer Portal.
- log into the Employer Portal
- select ‘Lodge a support request’
- select ‘General Enquiry’ as the case type
- outline the reason for your request (applying for a 1-month extension)
- lodge your request.
Extension application via email:
- If you are unable to access the Employer Portal, you can apply for an extension by using this extension request email template.
Once your request is lodged, WGEA will review it and provide an outcome email confirming your report is due by 30 November.
Note: You can only apply for one extension per reporting year.
After your extension is approved
If your extension is granted:
- Your new reporting deadline will be 30 November.
- You will still need to prepare and lodge all required reporting documents, including the:
- Employer Questionnaire
- Workplace Profile (if applicable)
- Workforce Management Statistics (full or partial, depending on APSC transfer)
What happens if the deadline is missed?
Employers that fail to meet their deadline are non-compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act.
They will be given the opportunity to provide a reasonable excuse for not lodging their report. If we do not receive/accept the reasonable excuse, we will consider naming the employer on our website or in a report to our Minister.