Gender equality targets and big business: a world first proposal in Australia

Background

In November 2024, the Federal Minister for Women, the Hon Katy Gallagher, introduced a Bill to the House of Representatives proposing a world first gender equality target scheme aimed at big business.

The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024 (Bill) seeks to amend the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) (Act) by requiring ‘designated relevant employers’ (employers with 500 or more employees) to commit to, achieve and report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) on a range of measurable gender equality targets.

In doing so, the Bill implements recommendation 3.1(a) of the December 2021 ‘Review of Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 Report’ of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which both previous and current governments had agreed to implement.

Specifically, the Bill aims to impose significant reforms to compliance obligations under the Act by requiring employers with 500 or more employees to select specific gender equality targets against six gender equality indicators (GEIs) and either achieve the targets or otherwise provide evidence of measurable improvement over a three-year period.

The six GEIs are as follows:

1. Gender composition of the workforce
2. Gender composition of governing bodies of relevant employers
3. Equal remuneration between women and men
4. Availability and utility of employment terms, conditions, and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities
5. Consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace, and
6. Sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex, or discrimination.

The Bill further empowers the Minister for Women to set targets and specify the rules in relation to the selection of gender equality targets by designated relevant employers.

If passed, the Bill would allow the WGEA to publicly name employers who fail to comply with their obligations and refuse to provide such employers with a certificate of compliance, affecting their ability to gain government contracts.

On 21 November 2024, the Bill was referred to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (Committee) for enquiry and report. In January 2025, the Committee issued a Final Report, supporting the passing of the Bill, whilst making key recommendations as to its implementation.

Report’s recommendations

In this report, the Committee made five main recommendations as follows:

1. Recommendation 1 – Full Guidelines: the government provide full guidelines as to what the WGEA would accept as a ‘reasonable excuse’ for non-compliance.  This recommendation echoes evidence given to the Committee by the Law Council, who gave evidence that the lack of a definition of ‘reasonable excuse’ runs the risk of generating uncertainty in the application of the legislative test.
2. Recommendation 2 – Consultation with Unions:  WGEA closely consult with unions on the development of guidance materials for reporting entities on target selection and compliance.
3. Recommendation 3 – Reporting Framework: WGEA include in its reporting framework for gender equality reporting, questions on consultation undertaken with employees and workplace delegates. Whilst the WGEA already encourages consultation between employers, employees and their representatives on gender equality reporting, the Committee also noted that the WGEA may be appropriately placed to collect data for reporting purposes on this consultation process.
4. Recommendation 4 – Penalties for Non-Compliance:  the government consider applying WGEA compliance requirement for procurement eligibility for government grants. The Committee noted that the evidence received “mounted a compelling case” that procurement should be broadened to access to government grants being contingent on compliance. The Committee noted the introduction of civil penalties was unnecessary at this stage.
5. Recommendation 5 – Passing of the Bill: ultimately, the Committee recommended that the Bill be passed.

Implications and future directions

The Bill is a powerful step towards promoting gender equality in Australian workplaces.

As set out in the Bill’s Explanatory Memorandum, if the Bill was passed, “The gender equality targets scheme would be the first of its kind globally. Australia would pioneer the path to accelerate gender equality through a targets scheme that seeks to motivate action and embed systemic cultural change in large employers.”

Whilst the Bill is still under review, there is a considerable amount of work that goes into WGEA reporting.  Given the support for the Bill, employers would be wise to prepare for its potential implementation by reviewing their progress in respect of gender equality (including gender composition and remuneration discrepancies between genders) and the measures they have in place to measure gender equality.

Want to know more?

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