Reporting changes

The information an employer is to provide when lodging their Gender Equality Report has been streamlined and simplified.

 Changes when confirming details:

• Industry codes – Employers will confirm one industry code per employing ABN. This ensures accurate categorisation and benchmarking for WGEA reports. Industry codes can be updated instantly via the Employer Portal.

• Primary ABN – Employers no longer need to confirm a primary ABN when preparing and lodging data for multiple employing entities in a single lodgement.

• Company email – Providing an additional contact email is now optional.

Some changes have been made to data collection for 2025. View the 2025 WGEA reporting templates for further details.

Changes to the Questionnaire include:

• Governing bodies – Question 1.1a – All voluntary questions have been removed.

• Action on pay equity – Question 2.2c – the list of actions has been condensed, with some options removed.

• Employee Consultation – Question 2.6 – Employers must confirm compliance with Notification and Access requirements, by confirming Public Report documents have been shared with employees, members, shareholders, and relevant employee organisations.

• Flexible working

  • Question 3.1a – The list of inclusions in a formal policy/strategy has been updated with new options. 

  • Question 3.2 – Flexible working options for managers and non-managers will no longer specify whether the options are formal or informal.

• Paid parental leave

  • Question 4.1 – The question format has been improved and updated in the Employer Portal.

  • Question 4.1c – Employers can now provide additional details on how employer funded paid parental leave is offered through a free text field.

  • Question 4.1d – Employers must now report both the lowest and highest weeks of employer funded paid parental leave available, reflecting different entitlements across employee groups.

  • Question 4.1h – The ‘Opt out’ approach question now includes additional guidance and a definition.

• Support for carers – Question 4.5 – Employers no longer need to specify whether support mechanisms are available at ‘some’ or ‘all’ worksites.

• Family and domestic violence – Question 5.1 – All voluntary questions have been removed.

• Diversity and inclusion – Question 6.1 – All voluntary aspects of this section have been removed.

Industry code

You will no longer be required to allocate the industry code confirmed for each organisation against the employee records entered on to the Profile. The ‘Industry’ column has been removed from the template.

Year of birth (age)

You will no longer be required to provide the year of birth for each employee.

Postcode (location)

Only physical locations controlled by the employer (i.e. not a remote workplace such as an employee’s home office) should be entered into this field, do not enter postcodes of any home offices for remote workers.

Industry code

You will no longer be required to allocate an industry sub-division code before uploading a file for each employing entity being reported in the submission.

Promotions - new mandatory question

Employers will report the number of employees who have been promoted from a non-manager position to a manager position, by gender and by employment status.

Public Report documents

Employers will now receive only two Public Report documents (PDF) that require CEO (or equivalent) review and approval. These Public Report documents also have Notification and Access requirements.

Corporate group reporting – timing changes

• Executive Summary reports for corporate groups will be available immediately after all lodgements have been completed.

• There will be no delay in receiving these reports.

For more information, refer to Public Report Documents & CEO Sign-off.

• Review the 2025 WGEA reporting templates.

• Ensure your organisation is aware of new mandatory questions.

• Login to the WGEA Employer Portal for further guidance.

For further information, refer to the WGEA Reporting Guide or contact us via a support request through the Employer Portal, or support@wgea.gov.au.