Workplace Profile

The Workplace Profile Excel spreadsheet is designed to collect information about workforce composition, salaries, and remuneration. 

It provides a snapshot of your organisation’s workforce on any one date during the 12-month reporting period (1 January to 31 December) of the year prior to reporting to WGEA. It does not reflect a total or average headcount number, but an actual count of all employees who were employed as at the snapshot date chosen.

Where workforce data is already captured by the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC), the APSC will provide some of this data directly to WGEA to remove duplication and simplify reporting for agencies. 

The entirety of the Workplace Profile section will be transferred to WGEA by the APSC if the employer opted for this when registering to report with WGEA. These employers will not need to fill in/submit the Workplace Profile.

For those employers that need to submit a Workplace Profile (their data was not transferred by the APSC), there is a choice of two different file types – the unit level template, and the STP template. 

WGEA strongly recommends using the Unit level template in the first instance, as the STP/payroll 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. Either file provides WGEA the exact same final dataset. 

Find the templates here.

For Commonwealth public sector employers having all Workforce Profile data transferred from the Australian Public Service Commission, 31 December is chosen as the snapshot date. 

For Commonwealth public sector employers who are completing this file will need to select a snapshot date.  

You are free to choose any snapshot date within the reporting period for the submission of your Workplace Profile. You are encouraged to choose a snapshot date of 31 December, for simplicity and alignment with the rest of the public sector.

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.  

All employees reported in a single template must have their data prepared using the same snapshot date.
 

Which employees should be included?

In 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 or they are the CEO  
• 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  
• Equity partners who receive part of their earnings as a salary  
• Casual or seasonal workers  
• Trainees  
• Apprentices and graduates

Do not include any of the below.

• An employee who resigned or was terminated/dismissed before the snapshot date 
• An employee who was hired after the snapshot date 
• Independent contractors 
• Employees of a labour hire company who have been assigned to work in your business 
• Volunteers or unpaid visitors 

What salary and remuneration data should be included?

You must include the salary and remuneration paid to relevant employees in the 12-months before the chosen snapshot date. 

For example, if you chose a snapshot date of 30 June, you would populate the Workplace Profile with data for employees who were employed as at 30 June. In this example, you would need to identify and include the salary and remuneration paid to these employees in the 12-months from 1 July to 30 June.  

In the Unit Level template, you calculate your employees' annualised, full-time equivalent earnings and enter this into two columns (Base Salary and Total Remuneration). 

In the STP/payroll template, you must enter your employees' actual earnings into each payment column, along with their ordinary hours and start dates. The template will then use these to calculate the annualised, full-time equivalent amounts. 

Below is an overview of different types of payments and how to categorise them in either the unit level or STP/payroll template. Please refer to this information, or the information in the first tab of the spreadsheet template, for definitions and guidance for each column. 

Note - All base salary amounts in the unit level file must be included in the total remuneration figure.