The Commonwealth public sector data release FAQs includes answers to common questions WGEA has received regarding the publication of employer data.
Commonwealth public sector agencies reported to WGEA for the first time in 2023, following legislative changes.
Specifically, changes to the Anti‑Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act in 2022 resulted in an amendment to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (WGE Act) to require Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees to report to WGEA.
Key dates
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2021 |
WGEA tests a limited pilot program with 5 Commonwealth and 3 State/Territory agencies |
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July-November 2022 |
Commonwealth public sector employers voluntarily submit gender equality reports to WGEA with data from 2021 |
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December 2022 |
Parliament amends law to require Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees to report to WGEA |
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July 2023 |
WGEA releases aggregate results of voluntary reporting program in the Commonwealth Gender Equality Snapshot |
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1 September – 31 October 2023 |
Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees submit gender equality reports to WGEA for the first time (data relates to 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2022) |
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May 2024 |
Executive Summary and Industry Benchmark reports available from WGEA’s Reporting Portal |
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June 2024 |
WGEA releases the Commonwealth Public Sector Scorecard: Results from 2022 reporting and updates Data Explorer with new employer pages |
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1 September – 31 October 2024 |
Commonwealth public sector 2024 gender equality reporting submission period (employers report information relating to the period of 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2023) |
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Early 2025 |
WGEA’s second Commonwealth Public Sector Scorecard: Results from 2023 reporting released |
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Early 2025 |
WGEA publishes gender pay gaps for Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees |
Background
The first year of reporting for Commonwealth public sector employers built on feedback from a limited pilot (2021) and voluntary reporting program (2022) to improve the reporting process, platform and guidance for the public sector.
Following legislative changes, Commonwealth public sector reporting commenced on 1 September 2023 and closed on 31 October 2023. In this first round, relevant employers reported data relating to 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. All employers reported through the WGEA Reporting Portal.
In May 2023, Commonwealth public sector employers were able to access their first WGEA Executive Summary and Industry Benchmark Report. Read more about these reports below.
WGEA will publish analysis of this first round of reporting in the Commonwealth Public Sector Scorecard: Results from 2022 reporting in June 2024. The Agency will also add the 2022 employer data to the Data Explorer at this time.
WGEA will not publish employer gender pay gaps from Commonwealth public sector reporting, related to 2022 data. Legislation requires WGEA to publish the first Commonwealth public sector employer gender pay gaps from reporting, related to data from the period 1 January to 31 December, 2023. This means Commonwealth public sector employer gender pay gaps will be published for the first time in early 2025.
Who is a ‘relevant employer’?
Under the legislation, ‘relevant employers’ must report information on 6 Gender Equality Indicators to WGEA.
For the Commonwealth public sector, the legislation defined a relevant employer according to the categories under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act (PGPA Act).
This includes the following employer types:
Corporate Entity: A Corporate Entity is a body corporate that has a separate legal personality from the Commonwealth and can act in its own right exercising certain legal rights such as entering into contracts and owning property.
Non-corporate entity: Non-corporate Commonwealth entities are legally and financially part of the Commonwealth.
Company: Commonwealth companies are companies that are established under the Commonwealth under the Corporations Act 2001 and are wholly controlled by the Commonwealth.
The PGPA flip chart provides a handy list of these employers.
As with the private sector, a relevant employer also has 100 or more employees. Commonwealth public sector employers with fewer than 100 employees are not required to report to WGEA at this time.
How does WGEA collect employer information?
In order to reduce the reporting burden, WGEA collaborated with the APSC to share PS Act workforce data, where it is already collected. 65% of employers used the APSC data transfer when preparing their report.
The data included:
- workforce composition
- full-time and part-time employee remuneration and employee movements (promotions, resignations and appointments)
These employers also submitted additional data directly to WGEA on:
- uptake of parental leave
- resignations while on parental leave
- policies, strategies and actions related to each of the 6 Gender Equality Indicators.
Non-APS entities submitted reports directly to WGEA, in line with the private sector reporting process.
Where an employer hired employees under both the Public Service Act 1999 and other employment conditions, WGEA collected the remuneration data for employees hired under Public Service Act 1999 from the APSC and data on employees hired under other conditions directly from the employer.
What reports does WGEA provide to an employer?
Employers received an overview of their gender equality performance in their Executive Summary and their performance benchmarked against a comparable industry peer group in their Industry Benchmark Report. These reports are required to be presented to their governing body.
What’s included in the Commonwealth Public Sector Scorecard?
WGEA will publish a Commonwealth Public Sector Scorecard: Results from 2022 reporting in June. The data in this report relates to the period 1 January – 31 December 2022.
Like the Private Sector Scorecard, it will show aggregate employer information across 6 Gender Equality Indicators.
It will include information on:
- workforce composition
- gender composition of governing bodies
- the gender pay gap
- flexible work and parental leave
- employee consultation
- actions to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination
How will employer data be released on the Data Explorer?
WGEA will publish Commonwealth public sector employer data as employer pages on the WGEA Data Explorer. The Agency will release this update at the same time as the Commonwealth Public Sector Scorecard.
Are State and Territory governments included in WGEA’s results?
State and Territory public sector employers are not required to report to WGEA.
In December 2021, National Cabinet made an in-principle agreement for jurisdictions to report public sector workforce data to WGEA. WGEA continues to work with States and Territories on an approach to gender equality data collection and reporting to WGEA.
What gender and diversity information is required to be reported to WGEA?
The WGE Act requires reporting to WGEA on women and men only.
Recommendation 7.2 of the Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act (the Review) recommended changes to enable WGEA to collect data on non-binary employees. Further, Recommendation 6 of the Review recommended investigating the best way to collect data on other aspects of identity, including on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, cultural and linguistic diversity, and disability. WGEA has recently conducted consultations on these recommendations.
Why is WGEA publishing Commonwealth public sector information separately to the private sector?
Private sector and Commonwealth public sector employers report to WGEA at different times of the year. Private sector employers submit their gender equality reports to WGEA between 1 April and 31 May each year. They provide information about their workforce covering the period between 31 March and 1 April of the year just passed.
Commonwealth public sector employers currently submit their gender equality reports to WGEA between 1 September and 31 October. They provide information about their workforce relating to the previous calendar year between 1 January and 31 December.
WGEA data vs APSC data: what is the difference?
The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) also collects data from Commonwealth public sector employers related to employee’s remuneration. Many Commonwealth public sector employers will be used to seeing the APSC information in their annual APS Remuneration Report . While WGEA collaborates with the APSC, employers should note some key differences between the two data sets.
Relevant employers
The APSC definition of an employer refers to employers of staff under the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act). WGEA’s definition under the PGPA Act is more comprehensive as it includes Corporate and Non-corporate entities as well as Commonwealth Companies and employees covered by workplace agreements other than the PSA Act.
The following table shows how the APS classification matches to the WGEA manager categories.
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APS Classification |
WGEA Manager Category |
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APS Trainee APS Graduate |
Non-manager |
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APS Level 1 APS Level 2 APS Level 3 APS Level 4 APS Level 5 APS Level 6 |
Non-manager |
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Executive Level 1 |
Other managers |
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Executive Level 2 |
Senior managers |
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Senior Executive Band 1 (or equivalent) |
Executive and general managers |
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Senior Executive Band 2 (or equivalent) |
Key management personnel |
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Senior Executive Band 3 (or equivalent) |
Key management personnel |
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Agency Head |
Chief Executive Officer or equivalent |
6 Gender Equality Indicators
Commonwealth public sector employers report to WGEA on 6 Gender Equality Indicators. This means WGEA has broader information on employer policies, strategies, and actions to address workplace gender equality.
Timeframes
Employers provide information to WGEA and the APSC at different times. WGEA’s first data release will relate to the 2022 calendar year.
The gender pay gap
The gender pay gap is the difference in average or median earnings between women and men in the workforce. While the methodology for calculating the gender pay gap is the same, the results for the gender pay gap for WGEA and the APSC are different. These differences occur due to differences in the data each agency includes or excludes.
WGEA’s Commonwealth public sector gender pay gap:
- covers remuneration for Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees as defined under the PGPA act
- uses total remuneration, including salaries, superannuation, overtime, bonuses and other additional payments
- includes full-time, part-time and some casual employee remuneration. Non-full-time roles are converted into annualised full-time equivalent earnings
- excludes remuneration of CEOs, Heads of Business, Casual Managers and employees who are furloughed, and casual employees from PS Act agencies due to how remuneration data is currently reported to the APSC
- excludes employees from three Commonwealth public sector security agencies exempted from reporting Workplace data to WGEA for security reasons
The APSC gender pay gap:
- includes remuneration for Commonwealth public sector employees covered under the PS Act.
- is base salary remuneration only
- includes full-time and part-time earnings annualised to full time equivalent earnings
- excludes remuneration of CEOs and casual employees
In addition, as seen above, employer reports submitted to the APSC and WGEA cover different time periods.