Employers with 100 or more staff (with some exclusions) need to act now to ensure they are compliant and avoid accidentally finding themselves in breach of the legislation.

Victorian Chamber Workplace Relations Consultants can help you fulfil your obligations.

What is the reporting deadline?

Impacted employers must provide their submission and data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) between 1 April and 31 May 2024 for the 12 months to 31 March 2024.

What has changed?

In addition to the previous data reporting, employers now must report on the below for the period 1 April 2023-31 March 2024:

1. Employee’s year of birth
2. Employee’s primary work location and postcode
3. Remuneration of CEO, heads of business and casually employed managers
4. Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex or discrimination. Employers are expected to report on preventative and accountability measures, workplace policies, training and expectations communicated to employees about workplace conduct. Employers must also report on workplace health and safety risk management processes, support available to employees, and data collection processes on sexual harassment
5. Term limits for the chair and/or members of the governing body
6. Targets and action plans to address workplace gender equality
7. Which employees have access to employer-funded paid parental leave.

What should I check?

• Review your employment contracts and payroll system to ensure employee primary work locations and postcodes are recorded
• Review your sexual harassment and grievance policies. It is critical that your workplace policies are updated and you are applying your positive duty by conducting training, completing risk assessments and having a sexual harassment management plan in place. You must review support options available to employees impacted, assess how you are managing grievances and identify key learnings in the current reporting period
• Ensure executive remuneration and term limits for the chair and/or members of the governing body is available
• Conduct a gender equality audit to establish targets to address gender inequality and develop practical steps to generate diversity and inclusion in your workplace
• Review your parental leave policy to ensure employees with access to employer-funded paid parental leave are categorised by status (permanent/contract/fixed term and/or casual) and this is recorded in your payroll system
• Prepare reports on employees accessing family and domestic violence (FDV) leave (there is a new voluntary question in the submission), including how many employees have taken FDV leave in the current reporting period. You may also need to report how many days of FDV leave have been taken by employees in aggregate and how many employees took the maximum 10-day paid leave entitlement.

How can I get assistance?

There are several actions you can and should take to ensure you can demonstrate you are meeting your obligations, so you can provide clear responses in your submission to WGEA.

Our team has deep and relevant experience working with a broad range of employers, industries and environments, which allows us to expertly review and assess your current practices and provide informed and practical strategic advice for your context.

Consequences of non-compliance

From 1 April 2024, should you fail to submit adequate reporting by the deadline, following a 28-day extension, you may be non-compliant. This may mean WGEA:

• Does not include your data in its dataset, and you may not be provided with any benchmarking reports
• Names your business to the Minister and tabled in both Houses of Parliament
• Names your business publicly by electronic or other means.

Named employers may be ineligible to tender for contracts under Commonwealth and some state procurement frameworks, and may be ineligible for some Commonwealth grants or other financial help.

The changes are extensive and complex. To satisfy your gender equality reporting obligations in 2024, contact our Workplace Relations Advice Line on (03) 8662 5222. Our Workplace Relations Consultants can assist you to ensure you are fulfilling these obligations.