Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 Submissions

The Australian Government announced in the Women’s Budget Statement 2021-22 a targeted review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.

On Wednesday 20 October 2021, the Minister for Women published a media release to announce the start of public consultation on the WGEA Review consultation.

The WGEA Review Team, based in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, received 155 submissions in response to the review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act consultation paper and Terms of Reference. Submissions closed on 24 November 2021. Public submissions are available below.

We have redacted personal information from submissions made anonymously where individuals could be reasonably identified.

The WGEA Review Report was completed in December 2021 and has been provided to the Minister for Women, as the Minister with portfolio responsibility for WGEA, and to the Minister for Women’s Economic Security.

Expert Advisers provided strategic guidance to assist the WGEA Review. The Expert Advisers were Pip Marlow, CEO of Salesforce ANZ & ASEAN, and Kerri Hartland, Principal Advisor at Proximity Advisory Services (and former secretary of the department formerly responsible for WGEA).

The WGEA Review Team are grateful for the assistance provided by the Expert Advisers and everyone who assisted the WGEA Review.

Disclaimer

The views or opinions expressed in submissions are those of the author.

The WGEA Review Team does not adopt or endorse any comments expressed. The Department is publishing the submissions to inform public debate and scrutiny of the conduct of the consultations.

The Commonwealth does not warrant the truth or accuracy of the content of any submission and no person should rely on the content of any submission without undertaking their own independent inquiries.

If a person has any concerns about the publication of a submission, they should contact us via wgeareview@pmc.gov.au. Where those concerns relate to an individual’s privacy, the Department’s Privacy Officer should be cc’d (privacy@pmc.gov.au).

The Department will investigate and, if appropriate, remove the content.

Privacy

To ensure that the privacy of individuals is protected in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, and that the Commonwealth complies with other legal obligations, some submissions may be published with certain details redacted or removed (for example, names, addresses and phone numbers). There may be some minor formatting changes as a result.

Further information about how the Department handles and protects personal information is contained in the Department's Privacy Policy.

Submission number Submitter (Individual/Organisation) Attachment
1 Workplace Gender Equality Agency Workplace Gender Equality Agency
10 Dae Bailey Dae Bailey
10 Flagships AU Flagships AU
100 Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association Shop Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA)
101 Anonymous Anonymous
102 Australian Financial Markets Association Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA)
103 Cultural Infusion Cultural Infusion
104 Future Super Group Future Super Group
105 Australian Council of Superannuation Investors Australian Council of Superannuation Investors
106 Per Capita Per Capita
107 The Australian Work + Family Policy Roundtable (W+FPR) The Australian Work + Family Policy Roundtable (W+FPR)
108 Law Firms Australia Law Firms Australia
109 Gender Equity Victoria Gender Equity Victoria
11 Robbie Lloyd Robbie Lloyd
110 RMIT University RMIT University
111 Women Barristers Association Victoria Women Barristers Association (Victoria)
112 50/50 by 2030 Foundation (University of Canberra) 50/50 by 2030 Foundation (University of Canberra)
113 Safe and Equal Safe and Equal
114 Life Course Centre Life Course Centre
115 Professor Marian Baird, Professor Rae Cooper and Dr Meraiah Foley (Women and Work Research Group, University of Sydney) Professor Marian Baird, Professor Rae Cooper and Dr Meraiah Foley (Women and Work Research Group, University of Sydney)
116 Minderoo Foundation Minderoo Foundation
117 Victorian Trades Hall Council Victorian Trades Hall Council
118 Anonymous Anonymous
119 Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Limited Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Limited
120 Carers NSW Carers NSW
122 Australian Lawyers for Human Rights Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
123 Anonymous Anonymous
124 Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
125 Dr Leonora Risse Dr Leonora Risse
126 Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group
127 Australian Retailers Association Australian Retailers Association
129 Australian Resources and Energy Group Australian Resources and Energy Group
130 Equality Rights Alliance Equality Rights Alliance
132 Anonymous Anonymous
133 Professor Susan Harris Rimmer, Professor Emeritus Glenda Strachan, and Professor Paula Brough (Griffith University) Professor Susan Harris Rimmer, Professor Emeritus Glenda Strachan, and Professor Paula Brough (Griffith University)
134 Anonymous Anonymous
135 KPMG KPMG
136 Anonymous Anonymous
137 Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI)
138 Harmony Alliance Harmony Alliance
139 AbbVie Pty Ltd AbbVie Pty Ltd
140 Women Lawyers' Association of NSW Women Lawyers' Association of NSW
141 Bryn Dickson Bryn Dickson
143 Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST)
145 Our Watch Our Watch
146 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
147 National Women’s Safety Alliance National Women’s Safety Alliance
148 Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) Minerals Council of Australia (MCA)
149 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
150 Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)