As of April 1, nearly 2,000 of Australia’s largest businesses must comply with the federal government’s gender equality laws.
Under the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment Act 2025, businesses with 500 or more employees must fulfil three gender equality targets from a prescribed list of 19.
They also need to demonstrate progress within three years.
They include targets (pdf) like increasing the number of female managers, reducing the pay gap between men and women, increase uptake of employer funded parental leave, or introducing policies against sexual harassment.
“By introducing a target setting requirement, Australia is ensuring large employers are publicly accountable to take action and make demonstrable progress towards gender equality,” said the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s CEO Mary Wooldridge, in a statement.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency was introduced in 2012 under the former Gillard Labor government.
While the WGEA’s rules are not compulsory the consequences of failing to meet targets include public shaming via its gender pay gap report, and missing out on tendering for Commonwealth contracts.
The rules are not without their critics.
Former federal cabinet minister Kevin Andrews warned gender pay gap data did not reflect basic differences of working hours between employees.
“All the report really does is compare the median earnings paid to employees of different genders,” Andrews wrote in The Epoch Times.
“It does not examine the underlying reasons for the differences,” Andrews said, noting the lifestyle choices some women may take.
