This page contains important changes to be aware of when lodging your Gender Equality Report.
Changes to the 2026 reporting program
Program name change
The next Gender Equality Reporting Program will be called 2026 Gender Equality Reporting and will be listed in the Employer Portal as '2025 - 26 Gender Equality Reporting'.
This name change reflects the year the lodgement is made.
Both private sector employers and Commonwealth public sector employers will report in the same program.
Changes for Commonwealth public sector employers
Lodgement period
From 2026 onwards, relevant Commonwealth public sector employers must lodge their reports between 1 April – 31 May, the lodgement period.
This changed lodgement period reflects the merging of the public and private sector Gender Equality Programs.
Changes to APSC data transfer
Employers of staff under the Public Service Act that previously used the APSC data transfer will no longer be able to use the APSC to transfer relevant data to WGEA.
Commonwealth public sector employers will report all their data directly to WGEA in the same way the private sector does. The process is outlined in reporting steps.
The APSC and WGEA have jointly developed a data mapping document to support APS agencies that previously used the APSC data transfer process to report to WGEA.
New Targets legislation
From 2026, employers who directly employ 500 or more employees in Australia are known as designated relevant employers (DREs). Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (the Act), DREs must:
select 3 gender equality targets
meet or demonstrate improvement against each target at the end of the 3-year target cycle.
For more information on the Gender Equality Targets requirements, refer to:
Workplace Profile (Unit level template) – improved template validation and pre upload checks
The Workplace Profile (Unit level) template has been updated to help employers identify and fix common data issues before uploading into the Employer Portal. The template now includes built-in validation and clearer summaries to support data quality and reduce avoidable upload issues.
What’s improved
- Real-time validation while you complete the file: the template flags potential data validation issues in column M of the Upload tab (so you can address issues earlier).
- A dedicated “Data validation” tab summarises validation results (errors/warnings) and explains what needs attention.
- Submission summaries to sense-check your data: you can review workforce remuneration and validation summaries in the Submission summary tab before upload.
Examples of checks included in the template (to help you self-correct before upload)
- Format/mandatory field checks:
- employing ABN must be 11 digits
- occupational Category must be 4 digits
- Year of Birth (YOB) must be a 4‑digit year
- postcode must be 4 digits
- other mandatory fields must be completed
- place an apostrophe to enter in leading 0's (i.e. '0800).
- Consistency checks:
- Manager occupation must align with Manager Category
- Casual employment status/type combinations
- Total Remuneration must not be less than Base Salary.
- Reasonableness warnings to prompt review:
- apprentice base salary below a threshold
- base salary checks against minimum wage indicators
- superannuation sufficiency prompts
- unusually high total remuneration prompts.
Reminder: use the template as provided to avoid file rejection, do not alter the template structure/formatting. When pasting data, use Paste Special values only.
Related resources Download the latest Workplace Profile templates (and the FTE calculator tool if required) from Reporting templates.
Transition from ANZSCO to OSCA codes
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has replaced the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) with the Occupation Standard Classification Australia (OSCA) to reflect significant changes in the Australian labour market. WGEA will transition to OSCA for the 2027 Gender Equality Reporting program. This guidance explains how employers should report occupations during the transition and how the change affects gender equality targets.
Guidance for Commonwealth public sector employers (2026 Gender Equality Reporting)
Employers must report using ANZSCO occupation codes during the 2026 lodgement period.
Employers that have adopted OSCA internally should use one of the following approaches:
- Option 1 (recommended): Use the correspondence tables to convert APS Job Families and OSCA codes to ANZSCO codes: APS Job Family Framework 2026 (with ANZSCO Codes)
- Option 2: Use the first digit of the OSCA occupation code and apply a “000” prefix (e.g., an OSCA code beginning in 1 would be reported as 0001). The first digit corresponds to the major group (e.g., Managers, Professions), which retains the same structure between ANZSCO and OSCA.
Implications for gender equality targets
WGEA’s transition from ANZSCO to OSCA will occur during the first 3-year targets cycle. Some targets require employers to improve their gender composition or gender pay gap based on manager or occupational categories.
Employers should consider the following when selecting these targets:
- Targets are based on ANZSCO major groups (e.g., Managers, Professionals). OSCA introduces changes to some lower-level occupations, but the overall major group structure remains consistent with ANZSCO.
- Most occupations remain in the same major group when mapped from ANZSCO to OSCA. However, a small number of occupations shift to a different major group under OSCA.
- Employers with a high proportion of employees in these reclassified occupations may find it more difficult to track progress consistently over time. These employers should select different targets for the first targets cycle.
Year of birth
'Year of birth' (in column 'I' of the Workplace Profile) is now a mandatory field. Employers must provide the year of birth for each employee as a 4-digit number.
.