WGEA will publish employer gender pay gaps by median as well as the gender composition and average remuneration per pay quartile.

The change is due to amendments to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 passed by Federal Parliament in March 2023, aimed at closing the gender pay gap.

In 2023, the average gender pay gap was 21.7 per cent, meaning that women in Australia are earning on average $26,393 less than men a year.

The gender pay gap is the difference in average earnings between women and men in the workforce and does not refer to ‘equal pay’, i.e. whether men and women are paid equally for the same or comparable jobs.

Each employer can provide an employer statement that gives context to their gender pay gap results.

WGEA will publish the first set of private sector employer gender pay gaps on 27 February 2024. This will cover reporting from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

As private and public sector organisations follow different reporting timelines, the first release of Commonwealth public sector gender pay gaps will be published in late 2024 or early 2025. Data for these organisations will be based on 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2023 reporting.

Employer gender pay gaps and employer statements will be available on individual employer pages on WGEA’s Data Explorer. Employers can access a Gender Pay Gap Employer Statement Guide to help write their statements.

For all your workplace relations, equality and diversity enquiries contact the Victorian Chamber’s Workplace Relations Consultants or call (03) 8662 5222.