The Workplace Profile (WPP) is an Excel worksheet designed to collect information about workforce composition, base salaries, and total remuneration.
It provides a snapshot of an employer’s workforce from within the 12-month reporting period. This is not a total or average headcount number, but an actual count of all the employees who were employed as at your snapshot date.
Do not include on this worksheet:
- any employee that resigned before your snapshot date
- any employee that was hired after your snapshot date
Choosing a snapshot date
The Workplace Profile provides a snapshot of your organisation’s workforce on any one date during the 12-month reporting period (1 April of the previous year to 31 March of the year your submission is due).
You are free to choose any snapshot date within the reporting period for the submission of your Workplace Profile.
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we recommend that you try and keep the same snapshot date for your Workplace Profile year-to-year as this ensures your data and insights are taken at regular intervals.
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all employees reported in a single template must have their data prepared using the same snapshot date.
What snapshot date should I choose?
You can choose any date during this reporting period to complete your Workplace Profile. However, please note that the Questionnaire and Workforce Management Statistics must always relate to the full 12-month reporting period (ending 31 March of the year the report is due).
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the most common date chosen is 31 March as this means your entire submission relates to the same 12-month reporting period
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you can choose a date which is representative of your organisation’s normal workforce (for example - if your organisation has seasonal highs and lows).
Recommended 31 March snapshot date:
For the employees populated into the Workplace Profile you must identify the salary and remuneration paid to relevant employees in the 12 months before the chosen snapshot date.
Example of an employer choosing June 30 as their snapshot date:
- In this example the Workplace Profile would be populated with employees who were employed as at June 30
- For either template, you will need to identify the salary and remuneration in the 12 months before the chosen snapshot date (in this example, 1 July to 30 June).
In the Unit Level template, you must use the actual earnings of your organisation’s employees and calculate each to an annualised full-time equivalent amount, you then enter the final calculated amount into two columns (Base Salary and Total Remuneration).
In the STP/payroll template you must enter the actual earnings of your organisation’s employees into each payment column (along with the employee’s ordinary hours and start date) for the template to calculate each amount to an annualised full-time equivalent standard.
Which employees do I report data for?
On your Workplace Profile include any of the following types of employees who were employed as at your snapshot date:
- all employees who were employed by your organisation on the snapshot date, even if they have since left the organisation
- employees who were stood down in the 12 months preceding the snapshot date (i.e. employees who were technically 'employed' on the snapshot even if they were not working or being paid)
- all employees who work for you in Australia, regardless of whether they are Australian citizens or not
- foreign nationals or expatriates working in Australia, including those with global responsibilities, if the Australian organisation is their employer
- employees who have worked overseas for less than six months in a reporting period
- employees on parental leave (paid or unpaid) or on extended leave
- partners who hold an employment contract (who are reported as per their employed position only)
- casual or seasonal workers
- trainees
- apprentices and graduates.
Do not include:
- an employee who resigned or was terminated/dismissed before the snapshot date
- an employee who was hired after the snapshot date
- governing body members or directors who do not hold an employment contract - if they do, they must be reported as per their employed position with no reference to any income received as per their governing body duties.
- independent contractors
- employees of a labour hire company who have been assigned to work in your business
- employees of a global parent that is based overseas (and not employed by an Australian ABN)
- volunteers or unpaid visitors.
Do I report every employee employed in the 12-month period?
It is not intended that you populate the Workplace Profile with every employee who was employed by your organisation/group during the 12-month reporting period. Rather, it is a snapshot of your organisation’s employees taken from one day (which falls within the reporting period) with salary and remuneration calculated to a full-time equivalent and annualised standard.
What if my CEO or equivalent is based overseas or employed outside of our group?
Almost all employers reporting data will have a CEO or equivalent who is employed by one of the ABNs being reported in the submission, there are some examples where this may not be the case.
- If a profile template is uploaded without a CEO or HOB (head of business) a data quality warning will display - you will be required to enter a reason why no leadership was reported.
Accepted reasons for not reporting a CEO/equivalent include:
- When the CEO/equivalent is employed by a global entity outside of Australia and not employed by an onshore ABN
- The CEO/equivalent was reported in a different submission group
- The CEO/equivalent is employed by a separate organisation that does form a legal corporate group with the ABN(s) being reported in the submission
The templates
You have a choice of two different file formats to submit your organisation’s Workplace Profile data – the Unit Level template, and the STP template (Also referred to as the Payroll-Aligned template).
- We strongly recommend that you use the Unit Level file in the first instance, the STP template is designed for finance or payroll experts.
- There are several columns which are the same between both files however the salary/remuneration columns are unique to each.
Unit level file
This is the default file that is suitable for all users and contains the least amount of data entry.
- You are required to calculate each employee's base salary and total remuneration to the annualised and full-time equivalent amounts and enter these figures into the template.
- This file requires less data entry than the STP template.
STP/payroll file
This file is designed for payroll or finance specialists and requires you to provide the actual amounts paid to employees, split up into component parts (and whether the payment was pro-rata or a fixed amount).
- You are required to split up employee’s remuneration into component parts and also provide the employees ordinary hours and start date.
- The template includes automated remuneration calculations to annualised full-time equivalent amounts based on the employee start date and ordinary hours (FTE fraction).
Which file should you choose?
We strongly recommend that you prepare your data using the Unit level file in the first instance for several reasons:
Unit level file:
- users generally encounter fewer data entry and quality issues as there is less data entry required overall.
- you have control over the final salary/remuneration figures as they are final figures provided by you and not automatically calculated from the information on the file.
- as you are doing your own calculation you can account for unpaid leave or irregular working hours whereas the STP file will require you to adjust certain fields to ensure that the automatic calculation factors in periods of unpaid leave or irregular hours.
- you will only need to provide two figures for each employee – their full year/full-time equivalent base salary and total remuneration amount.
STP/payroll file:
- preparation requires an advanced knowledge of payment information, types, and terms
- you need to split up all payments made to the employee into their component parts, and by whether they were paid on a fixed/one off or pro-rata basis
- you need to provide additional data relating to the employees’ ordinary hours and start date, as well as information on what are the full-time ordinary hours and snapshot date
- the file uses the payments split up into component parts, and the additional information, to calculate any pro-rata payment up to the full year/full-time equivalent amounts
- the STP file calculates to one ‘full time standard’ – e.g. 38 hours/week. If your workplace has multiple ‘full time standards’ for different workforces, you must submit separate files for each cohort
Note - if you are unsure, you can test putting 5-10 employees in both files to gauge which is easiest for you to complete.
CEO or equivalent salary and remuneration
Submissions made from 2024 onwards require employers to provide the base salary and total remuneration amounts for their CEO/equivalent.
- prior to 2024, providing the CEO/equivalents remuneration was voluntary
- if provided, it was not used for the gender pay gap calculation
- going forward it is mandatory and will be included in the gender pay gap calculations
There are a number of scenarios where a CEO or equivalent may not be onshore and/or paid a salary. See below for guidance on how to report salary and remuneration for the CEO or equivalent.
Guidance on reporting total remuneration amount for a CEO/equivalent
| Scenario | Approach | Impact |
| The CEO/equivalent is not paid a salary - e.g. managing partners or owner/operators |
The CEO/equivalent will be paid or will draw an income or value for their work. This income is treated as their salary and remuneration.
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| The CEO/equivalent is paid a small amount - e.g. they are paid in stipends or other small amounts. |
If this is the income for the CEO/equivalent, this is what will be reported in the profile.
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The CEO is based overseas and may be paid in foreign income - e.g. globally based head offices where there is no onshore CEO/equivalent. |
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| The CEO is based onshore for 6 or more months and is paid in a foreign income. |
The exchange rate used for this conversion can either be the current date, the date of the end of the reporting period, or the date the payment(s) were made. |
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| The CEO/equivalent is directly employed by another company that is wholly and legally separate - i.e. the CEO is employed by another entity that does not form a corporate group with the organisation(s) being reported. |
If the CEO/equivalent is not directly employed by any entity in the corporate group:
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This table will be updated if WGEA is made aware of any other scenarios, please send an email to support@wgea.gov.au if you require advice.
Entering pay information
Below is an overview of different types of payments and where they are categorised in each Workplace Profile template. Please refer to the guide information regarding each column for definitions and guidance based on which file you are completing.
Notes for the Unit Level template
- Base salary amounts represent the payments for ordinary work (wages, salary payments), total remuneration represents the entire sum of payments made to an employee.
- You must enter the base salary and total remuneration for each employee expressed as their annualised and full-time equivalent earnings.
- You must use the actual earnings for each employee for the 12 months prior to your snapshot date as the basis for this calculation.
Notes for the STP/Payroll template
- If an organisation has groups of employees that work different full-time ordinary hours (such as your casual cohort), the organisation should upload a separate Workplace Profile for each group. This will ensure all remuneration is correctly converted to annualised, full-time equivalent amounts.
- You must enter the actual earnings of the employee in each category, the template uses the employees start date and ordinary hours figure to calculate their earnings into a full year/full time equivalent amounts.
Where does this payment go?
Refer to the below table for a quick reference of where each type of payment is allocated in both file types.
Table of payment types
| Payment type | Unit level file | STP/payroll file |
| Annual leave and leave loading |
Base salary* |
Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
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Carer and sick leave |
Base salary* | Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
| Employer funded parental leave | Base salary* | Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
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Penalty rates and shift loadings |
Base salary* | Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
| Salary sacrificed items | Base salary* | Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
| Wages/salary (fixed) | Base salary* | Base salary (fixed) and OTE (fixed) |
| Wages/salary (pro-rata) | Base salary* | Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
| Workers’ compensation payments | Base salary* | Base salary (pro-rata) and OTE (pro-rata) |
| Allowances (fixed amount) |
Total remuneration |
Allowances |
| Allowances (pro-rata) | Total remuneration | If attracts super = OTE (pro-rata) If no super = Allowances |
| Associated payments on overtime earnings (bonuses, penalty rates) | Total remuneration | Allowances |
| Back pay or lump sums | Total remuneration |
OTE (fixed) |
| Cashed out annual leave or long service leave | Total remuneration | OTE (pro-rata) |
| Car payments (company car) | Total remuneration | Allowances |
| Car reimbursements (personal car) | Total remuneration | Fringe Benefits |
| Discretionary payments (fixed) | Total remuneration | If attracts super = OTE (fixed) If no super = Allowances |
| Fringe benefits (long/short terms incentives) | Total remuneration | Fringe Benefits |
| Overtime worked outside of expected hours | Total remuneration | Allowances |
| Sales commission (pro-rata) | Total remuneration | OTE (pro-rata) |
| Sales commission (fixed) | Total remuneration | OTE (fixed) |
| Share allocations | Total remuneration | ESS |
| Superannuation | Total remuneration | Superannuation |
| Superannuation on fixed remuneration | Total remuneration | Superannuation |
| Temporary performance loading or higher duties allowance | Total remuneration | OTE (pro-rata) |
*Please note - All base salary amounts in the unit level file must be included in the total remuneration figure
** Company car payments - if the car is a tool of trade, it is not included, if the car is part of the employee's salary package it should be included on the profile.
Employees with no payment information
The data entered into the Workplace Profile for salary and remuneration should be based off what they actually earned in the 12 month period being reported. There are two types of employee who may not have any pay information to be used:
- employees on unpaid leave for 12 months, and
- employees who have started recently but were not yet paid.
If an employee was on unpaid leave for the 12 months of the reporting period or who started very recently and had not yet been paid, contractual earnings of the employee can be used instead to forecast a full year/full-time equivalent amount
- Any casual employee with no pay data to report should be omitted from the file.
- Refer to the payment table above to determine where different payments are to be categorised on the profile.
The advice below must only be used if the employee has no payment information for the 12 months being reported. Every other employee must be reported based on the template instructions.
Unit level file
You will need to provide a base salary and total remuneration amount that is based on the employee's contractual rate/figure.
- Provide a base salary amount based on contractual rates/figures that is equivalent to full year and full-time earnings
- Provide a total remuneration amount based on contractual rates/figures that is equivalent to full year and full-time earnings.
STP/Payroll file
This template calculates payments to a full year/full-time standard. If you provide figures which are based on an employees contractual full year/full-time equivalent earnings, you should put an ordinary hours figure that matches what is full-time on the Explanation tab, and then put an employee start date which is more than 12 months before your snapshot date.
Example - If an employee is on unpaid leave for 12 months and was contracted to earn 80,000 for full year/full-time work:
- 80,000 is added to Base Salary (pro-rata)
- the same 80,000 is added to OTE (pro-rata)
- Any other contractual amounts are entered (e.g. Super)
- Every empty salary/rem field gets '0'
- The ordinary hours of the employee are what is considered full-time
- The start date of the employee is more than 12 months before the snapshot date chosen
In short - if you have an employee that was on unpaid leave for 12 months, and you provide contractual figures instead - you must ensure that the template does not calculate the payments entered by indicating that this employee was full year/full-time (as this matches the pay info you have entered).