Understanding the practical implications of recent amendments to Australia's Workplace Gender Equality Act

Obligations and opportunities for employers 8 min read

The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (WGE Act) is a part of Australia's regulation of respect and equality in the workplace. It creates obligations aimed at building transparency in respect of workplace gender equality, and prompting employers to promote equality in practice.

Earlier this year, the Federal Government extended these obligations by introducing a new substantive obligation for employers that meet certain employee thresholds (referred to under the WGE Act as 'designated relevant employers') to select and meet (or show they are progressing towards) three gender equality targets over a three-year period.

In this Insight, we provide an overview of the WGE Act, including the recent amendments and their practical implications for employers.

Key takeaways

• The WGE Act has been amended to create a new obligation on employers of more than 500 employees to select and meet (or improve against) gender equality targets.
• There could be reputational, financial and business continuity risks for businesses that fail to comply with the WGE Act. The regulator has been active in exercising its naming and shaming powers, and gender equality issues continue to attract media coverage.
• Additionally, non-compliance may exclude businesses from federal government contracts, grants and financial assistance.
• More broadly, non-compliance with the WGE Act may give rise to inconsistencies with a business' public-facing commitments and organisational values. Criminal liability may also arise in some circumstances.
• The WGE Act intersects with employers' other legal obligations and risks, and presents opportunities to strengthen corporate leadership in compliance and risk management.

Overview of the WGE Act and its legislative instruments

Who is caught by the WGE Act?

The WGE Act imposes obligations on 'relevant employers' and 'designated relevant employers'. The extent of employers' obligations is dependent on the size of the employer.

Under the WGE Act, a 'relevant employer' is defined to include:

• an individual, body or association that is an employer of 100 or more employees in Australia (regardless of whether the employer is incorporated), taking into account the employees of the employer's subsidiaries;
• a registered higher education provider that is an employer; and
• a Commonwealth company or entity that is an employer of 100 or more employees in Australia.

A 'designated relevant employer' is a subset of that group of relevant employers. A relevant employer will be a designated relevant employer if:

• it directly employs 500 or more employees at any time;
• the number of employees does not fall below 400 for a continuous period of 6 months; and
• the employer does not otherwise stop being a relevant employer.

Reporting obligation on relevant employers

Relevant employers are required to lodge annual public reports with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) in relation to the following six prescribed Gender Equality Indicators:

• gender composition of the workforce
• gender composition of governing bodies of relevant employers
• equal remuneration between women and men
• availability and utility of employment terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities
• consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace
• sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination.

Public reports must address the matters set out in the Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2023, which expands upon the matters that must be reported on in respect of each Gender Equality Indicator.

After lodging a public report, relevant employers must, as soon as reasonably practicable, inform their employees, shareholders and members of the lodgement and the way in which the report may be accessed.

Obligations on designated relevant employers

In addition to the reporting requirements which apply to all relevant employers, designated relevant employers are subject to the following additional obligations:

• Under the Workplace Gender Equality (Gender Equality Standards) Instrument 2023, designated relevant employers must have in place policies or strategies to support each Gender Equality Indicator. The policies or strategies must aim to achieve prescribed objectives in respect of each Gender Equality Indicator.

Legislation which was enacted on 27 March 2025 and that came into effect on 4 April 2025 introduced a new requirement that designated relevant employers also select three targets relating to the Gender Equality Indicators (Gender Equality Targets), which the employer must commit to achieving in its public report. The Gender Equality Targets from which designated relevant employers may choose are prescribed under the Workplace Gender Equality (Gender Equality Targets) Instrument 2025, and are subject to eligibility criteria which generally prevent employers from selecting targets they have already met. The menu of Gender Equality Targets consist of both numeric targets (which require employers to nominate a quantitative improvement against a baseline) and action targets (which involve implementing or adding to existing gender equality policies).

What else has changed in the WGE Act?

In addition to the new obligation relating to Gender Equality Targets, the recent reforms also:

• Clarified the way in which employees are calculated in the context of corporate groups for the purpose of determining whether an employer is a 'relevant employer'. In effect, this amendment confirms that the employees of a subsidiary (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) are also counted as being employees of the subsidiary's holding companies when determining which companies are relevant employers under the WGE Act. For example, if a subsidiary employs 150 people, the subsidiary and each of its holding companies is a relevant employer, regardless of how many people each of the holding companies directly employs, as they are each taken to employ more than 100 employees. Conversely, if a subsidiary employs 90 people, and its holding company directly employs 10 people, then the subsidiary will not be a relevant employer but the holding company would be because it is taken to also employ the employees of the subsidiary. Additionally, a foreign holding company with an Australian subsidiary may be captured by the WGE Act as a result of its subsidiary's presence in Australia.
• Defined 'designated relevant employer' (as set out above) in the WGE Act itself, rather than in the legislative instrument where it was previously defined.
• Clarified that the approach to calculating the number of employees for the purposes of determining whether an employer is a designated relevant employer differs from the approach taken in the context of determining whether the employer is a relevant employer. An employer will only be a designated relevant employer if it directly employs at least 500 people—the employees of its subsidiaries are not counted for this purpose (in contrast to the approach outlined above in respect of determining whether an employer is a relevant employer).

Consequences of non-compliance and risks to employers

Employers that do not comply with their obligations under the WGE Act and its legislative instruments may be publicly 'named and shamed' by the regulator. This may involve WGEA naming the employer as an employer that has failed to comply with the regime, and setting out details of the non-compliance.

WGEA has been proactive in exercising its naming and shaming power under the WGE Act, and has published annual lists of non-compliant employers (accessible here).

Being named as non-compliant with gender equality laws may pose a material reputational risk for businesses, particularly given the media attention that WGEA matters typically attract, and the organisational values and public-facing commitments that businesses may have made which would be inconsistent with non-compliance.

In addition to its naming and shaming powers under the WGE Act, WGEA may also decline to issue a non-compliant employer with a Certificate of Compliance. This may, in turn:

• exclude non-compliant employers from tendering for federal contracts, where a Certificate of Compliance issued by WGEA may be a prerequisite for eligibility; and
• cause non-compliant employers to be ineligible for certain federal grants or financial assistance.

Additionally, some forms of non-compliance with the WGE Act may also attract criminal liability under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (Criminal Code). For example, section 19B of the WGE Act confirms that a relevant employer fails to comply with the WGE Act if the employer lodges a public report or provides information to WGEA that is false or misleading. Providing false or misleading information or documents to a federal entity, or in order to comply with a federal law (like the WGE Act), is a crime under sections 137.1-137.2 of the Criminal Code.

Misleading or deceptive reports may also give rise to risks of bluewashing claims against the employer. As we have discussed in Allens' previous publications (eg here and here), we have continued to see an uptick in bluewashing complaints made against companies in respect of inconsistencies between their conduct and their public-facing ESG related commitments (noting that gender equality issues may be characterised within the 'Social' and 'Governance' limbs of ESG).  

Interactions with other laws and opportunities

Employers' obligations under the WGE Act and its legislative instruments intersect with other legal obligations and risks. Compliance with the WGE Act therefore gives rise to opportunities for employers to bolster their approach to risk management more broadly within the business. For example:

• Anti-discrimination laws: employers and persons conducting a business or undertaking have a positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, certain types of proscribed conduct, including unlawful sex discrimination, sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex and conduct that subjects another person to a workplace environment that is hostile on the ground of sex (amongst other things). Similar positive duties exist under some state and territory anti-discrimination laws, such as Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic). The measures taken by a relevant employer or designated relevant employer to comply with their obligations under the WGE Act may assist them in discharging their positive duties under anti-discrimination laws, and vice versa. It may also assist the employer in defending claims of vicarious liability for the unlawful discrimination of the employer's employees or agents under federal, state or territory anti-discrimination laws.
• Corporate culture: employers' obligations under the WGE Act are geared towards fostering a culture of workplace gender equality and respectful workplaces more broadly. Such a culture may assist employers in discharging their obligations under workplace health and safety laws, which now recognise the psychosocial hazards arising from conduct such as discrimination and sexual harassment. Such a culture may also assist employers in implementing effective, gender safe grievance mechanisms in line with international standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• Bluewashing risks: compliance with the WGE Act can also assist employers in discharging their public-facing ESG commitments to equality, non-discrimination and human rights more broadly. For example, a designated relevant employer with policies and strategies relating to the Gender Equality Indicators in compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality (Gender Equality Standards) Instrument 2023 may assist the employer in demonstrating it has a reasonable basis for certain of its public-facing human rights commitments.

The WGEA Act is one part of an increasingly complex network of ESG regulation that businesses must navigate. Businesses should monitor carefully the risks and opportunities that continue to emerge in this space.