Reporting glossary

This glossary aims to define key terms used in WGEA’s Gender Equality Reporting.

A - C,   D - F,   G - I,   J - L,   M - O,   P - R,   S - U,   W - Z

A - C

  • ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics): Australia's national statistical agency, responsible for collecting and disseminating a wide range of statistical information. The ABS develops and maintains the ANZSCO classification system used by WGEA.
  • Annualised and full-time equivalent:  employee remuneration data that has been annualised and converted to full-time equivalent figures, to enable comparison of like-for-like data. Refer to the 'Guide to annualised and full-time equivalent data' for more information on how to calculate and report using this data.
  • Act: refers to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.
  • Action plan: a documented plan that outlines the steps an organisation will take to improve its performance against the gender equality indicators.
  • ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations): a skill-based classification system used to categorise occupations in Australia and New Zealand.
    • WGEA uses ANZSCO to classify employees' occupations in the reporting process. OSCA was released in late 2024 and is an update to the previous ANZSCO occupational codes.
    • WGEA only requires major codes to be used in the Workplace Profile, which remain the same between ANZSCO and OSCA, it is voluntary for an employer to use the more detailed class code of the specific occupation.
    • All class codes trace back to one of the 8x major codes.
    • For 2024-25, you can continue using ANZSCO class codes, should you voluntarily wish to provide them.
    • In the 2025-26 reporting year, the occupational codes tab will be updated to OSCA.
  • ANZSIC (Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification): a standard classification developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for use in Australia and New Zealand for the analysis of industry statistics.
  • Appointment: The act of placing a person in a job or position.

Appointments include employees who were:

  • appointed to another role in the organisation
  • reappointed to the same role after a new recruitment process for that role
  • employed in multiple roles and received a new contract for each
  • on secondment
  • appointed after completing an apprenticeship with the organisation

Appointments do not include employees who were:

  • absorbed in an acquisition
  • promoted to a new role in the organisation (this should be recorded in the 'promotions' section instead)
  • changing their employment status, such as from part-time to full-time 
  • temporarily filling a position and expected to return to their previous position, such as 'acting in a higher role'.
  • Allowances: payments made to employees in addition to their base salary, often to compensate for specific work-related expenses or conditions.


 

  • Base salary: refers to an employee’s actual annual earnings before tax in full-time and full year equivalent amounts, minus compulsory superannuation and other employee payments and benefits.
  • Benchmarks: Standards or reference points used to compare performance. WGEA provides Industry Benchmark Reports for various gender equality metrics, allowing organisations to compare their performance against their peers.
  • Board (of Directors): the governing body of an organisation, responsible for overseeing its management and strategic direction. A governing body means the body, or group of members of the employer, with primary responsibility for the governance of the employer. 
  • Bonus: a discretionary payment made to an employee, typically based on individual, team, or organisational performance.


 

  • Casual: an employee engaged on an irregular or intermittent basis. An employee who has a regular pattern of work may still be a casual employee if there is no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work.
  • Certificate of Compliance: provided by WGEA to relevant employers who meet all of their compliance requirements under the Act.
  • CEO (or equivalent): refers to the highest-ranked leader within your organisation or corporate structure. This includes anyone acting in the role. You may know them by a different title, such as Managing Director.
  • CEO Remuneration: refers to the total compensation received by the CEO or equivalent, including base salary, bonuses, vested interests and other benefits.
  • Commission: a payment made to an employee, typically based on a percentage of sales or revenue generated.
  • Compliance: adherence to relevant laws, regulations, and standards. In the context of WGEA reporting, compliance refers to meeting the requirements of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.
  • Confidential: information that is private and must not be disclosed to unauthorised parties. WGEA treats data lodged by employers as confidential, subject to the provisions of the Act.
  • Consultation: the process of seeking input and feedback from stakeholders. The Act requires employers to consult with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace.
  • Corporate structures: a group of legal entities (subsidiaries) controlled by a parent entity.

D - F

  • Data anomaly: any deviation or irregularity in a dataset that does not conform to expected patterns or behaviours. These anomalies can manifest in various forms, such as outliers, unexpected patterns, or errors. Some anomalies will prevent your report from being lodged.
  • Data cut-off: the final date to lodge your report to be included in the dataset. Submissions received after the data-cut off are not included in the dataset.
  • Data quality: the reliability, accuracy, and completeness of the data provided.
  • Designated relevant employer: relevant employers with 500 or more employees.


 

  • Employee: the Act defines an employee as an individual employed by a relevant employer. It includes full-time, part-time and casual employees as well as any other category deemed relevant by the employer.
  • Employee manager categories: refers to categories of managers, based on their level of responsibility, as defined by WGEA in the reporting guide.
  • Employee occupational categories: refers to the occupation of an employee, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).
  • Employer: refers to an organisation that employs people.
  • Employer Portal: the secure online platform relevant employers must use to lodge the data for their Gender Equality Report.
  • Executive (Level employees): GMs (other executives and general managers) are responsible for a department or business unit within an entity. In large organisations, they may not take part in organisation-wide decisions with the CEO. Alternatively, they may take part in those decisions to share expertise or develop projects but not have the entity-level or corporate group authority that would make them a KMP. 
  • Extension period: additional time granted to a relevant employer to lodge their Gender Equality Report to WGEA.


 

  • Flexible working arrangements: work arrangements that provide employees with flexibility in terms of when, where, and how they work. Examples include part-time work, job sharing, working from home, and flexible start and finish times.
  • Full-time: an employee who works the standard number of hours considered full-time within their industry or organisation.

G - I

  • Gender composition: refers to the proportion of men, women and non-binary people in the workforce.
  • Gender Equality Indicators (GEIs): the Act defines six gender equality indicators that are used to measure progress towards gender equality in the workplace. These are:
    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 to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities
    5. consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace
    6. sex-based harassment and discrimination
  • Gender Equality Report (Report): a report lodged by relevant employers to WGEA comprised of the Questionnaire, Workforce Management Statistics and Workplace Profile.
  • Gender Equality Standards: The Act provides for the Minister to set gender equality standards relating to any or all of the gender equality indicators (GEIs), by way of a legislative instrument. These standards apply to relevant employers with 500 or more employees (designated relevant employers), who must have policies or strateigies in place to support each of the six GEIs. The specific requirements are detailed in the Workplace Gender Equality (Gender Equality Standards) Instrument 2023 and the Workplace Gender Equality (Matters in relation to Gender Equality Indicators) Instrument 2023).
  • Gender Pay Gap: the difference between women's and men's average weekly full-time equivalent earnings, expressed as a percentage of men's earnings.
  • Governing body: means the body, or group of members of the employer, with primary responsibility for the governance of the employer. 


 

  • Head of business: the CEO or equivalent of a subsidiary organisation within your corporate group, an employee who has strategic control and direction over a substantial part of the business, but whose responsibilities do not extend across an entire corporate group, such as the head of a brand within a group.


 

  • Industry: a group of businesses that produce similar goods or services. WGEA uses industry classifications to group employers for benchmarking and reporting purposes.

J - L

  • Joint venture: a business arrangement where two or more parties agree to pool their resources for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task. Section 13C of the Act outlines the specific conditions under which an unincorporated joint venture is required to report as if it were a separate entity.


 

  • Key Management Personnel (KMP): in line with Australian Accounting Standards Board AASB124, KMPs have the authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of an entity, directly or indirectly. This includes any director (executive or otherwise) of that entity. A defining feature of KMPs is their influence is at the entity level. KMPs are likely to direct the strategic function of their section and are often functional heads, such as head of operations or head of finance. They represent at least one of the major functions of an organisation and participate in organisation-wide decisions.


 

  • Late submissions: refers to reports lodged after the deadline without an approved extension.
  • Lodgement period: the two-month period in which the data must be lodged in WGEA’s Employer Portal. Private sector lodgement period is 1 April to 31 May. Public sector lodgement period is 1 September to 31 October.

M - O

  • Managers: refers to employees who have additional responsibilities that fit into one of WGEA’s 6 manager categories.
  • Manager categories: CEO - Chief Executive Officer or Agency/Department head (or equivalent)
    • HOB – Head of business (for use in corporate groups only)
    • KMP - Key Management Personnel
    • GM - Other executives and general managers
    • SM - Senior managers
    • OM - Other managers
    • OSM - Overseas reporting manage


 

  • Non-managers: employees who do not have managerial responsibilities.
  • Notification and access requirements: under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, employers must comply with the notification and access requirements by sharing the public reports with employees and employee organisations.


 

  • OSCA was released in late 2024 and is an update to the previous ANZSCO occupational codes In the 2025-26 reporting year, the occupational codes tab will be updated to OSCA. For 2024-25, you can continue using ANZSCO class codes, should you voluntarily wish to provide them.

P - R

  • Parent company:
  • Parental leave: leave taken by an employee in connection with the birth or adoption of a child.
  • Part-time: an employee who works fewer hours than the standard full-time hours in their industry or organisation.
  • Partnership: a business structure in which two or more individuals manage and operate the business.
  • Performance: in the context of gender equality, performance refers to an organisation's progress towards achieving its gender equality goals and targets.
  • Portal (or Employer Portal): refers to the online system used by employers to submit their gender equality reports to the WGEA.
  • Policy: a set of principles or guidelines that govern decision-making and actions within an organisation.
  • Procedure: a documented set of instructions that outline the steps to be followed in carrying out a specific task or process.
  • Promotion: a promotion is a permanent change when an employee:
    • advances or rises to a higher office or rank on an ongoing basis or fixed-term contract
    • is promoted from one managerial role to another
    • does not return to their previous role.

      A temporary change is not a promotion. For example, when an employee:

  • transfers to a position of equal rank, even if their duties increase
  • relocates to a higher role in an overseas office
  • is appointed to a higher role but is meant to return to their previous role
  • earns a salary raise.
     
  • Public data: Public data includes all non-confidential data that will be published by WGEA. This data is reported in the following documents, available in the 'Data and Insights' tab of the Employer Portal after being generated:
    • Public Report - Questionnaire
    • Public Report - Employee data tables

         Combined, these constitute your ‘public data’ or the 'public reports'.

  • Public sector or Commonwealth public sector: for reporting purposes, this refers to a Commonwealth company or Commonwealth entity.
  • Public sector reporting: The process by which public sector organisations report to the WGEA.


 

  • Questionnaire: a component of the report that requires employers to answer specific questions about their policies and practices related to gender equality.


 

  • Relevant employer: an employer who is required to report to the WGEA under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. These are employers with 100 or more employees (or as otherwise specified in the Act).
  • Remuneration: total payments made to an employee in return for their work, including base salary, bonuses, superannuation, and other benefits.
  • Reporting period: the data period of 12 months a relevant employer prepares a public report in respect of.
  • Reporting contact: an employee of a relevant employer who authorised to act on the employer’s behalf with WGEA.
  • Resignation: a voluntary resignation is when an employee gives up their employment voluntarily or ends their contract earlier than the contracted date. A voluntary resignation is not employer-initiated terminations or redundancies or retirement.
  • Review: the process of examining and assessing information. WGEA may review lodged reports to ensure data quality and compliance with the Act.

S - U

  • Scorecard: an annually published data report which provides an update of the state of workplace gender equality in Australia
  • Senior manager (SM): are responsible for one or more functions, departments or outcomes for an entity. They are more likely to take part in both the strategic and operational sides of management, including resourcing, budget and assets (capital expenditure). Some of their decisions need approval from a higher-level manager. 
  • Standalone organisation: refers to an organisation with a single (one) ABN.
  • Strategies: plans or methods for achieving a particular goal. In the context of gender equality, strategies refer to the actions an organisation will take to address gender equality issues and improve its performance.
  • Subsidiaries: companies that are part of a corporate group, owned or controlled by a head company.
  • Superannuation: contributions made by an employer to an employee's retirement fund.

 

  • Total remuneration: refers to the total of all payments and benefits an employee receives.
  • Training: activities designed to improve an employee's skills, knowledge, and performance.
  • Trust: a legal arrangement where one party (the trustee) holds and manages assets for the benefit of another party (the beneficiary).

W - Z

  • WGEA (Workplace Gender Equality Agency): the statutory agency established by the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 to promote and improve gender equality in Australian workplaces.
  • WGEA reporting: the process of relevant employers preparing and lodging gender equality data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
  • Workforce Management Statistics (WMS): a component of the WGEA reporting that requires employers to complete an Excel worksheet designed to collect information about employee movements, including appointments, promotions, resignations, and parental leave.
  • Workforce Profile (WPP): a component of the WGEA reporting that requires employers to complete an Excel worksheet designed to collect information about workforce composition, base salaries, and total remuneration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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