How businesses can prepare for Gender Equality Targets Bill

With the Workplace Gender Equality Bill set to bring measurable improvements to gender equality within Australian workplaces, two lawyers provide insights into the implications of this bill on workplaces and offer guidance on the necessary preparations to comply with its provisions.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on HR Leader’s sister brand, Lawyers Weekly.

The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024 has the potential to substantially transform Australia’s workplace landscape, including the legal profession, as it seeks to mandate that large organisations undertake measurable actions and demonstrate improvements in promoting gender equality.

Speaking with Lawyers Weekly, Megan Cant, a partner at Holding Redlich, and Michael Hope, a senior associate at the same firm, discussed the implications of the new proposed bill on the legal profession, which would be “the first of its kind in the world”.

If enacted, the two lawyers explained, the bill would amend the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, requiring businesses with 500 or more employees to establish “specific gender equality targets”.

These businesses would be obligated to either “achieve these targets” or provide evidence of measurable “improvement over a three-year target cycle”.

Additionally, Cant and Hope indicated that the proposed legislation would necessitate businesses to publicly disclose their progress, thereby “ensur[ing] all employees in their workplace(s) have equal access to career opportunities and remuneration”.

Consequences for non-compliance

The lawyers from Holding Redlich emphasised that should the bill be enacted, it would empower the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) to “publicly name employees who fail to meet their target(s) or are unable to demonstrate improvement against baseline data”, unless a valid justification is provided.

A critical consideration for businesses opting not to comply with the proposed legislation, as indicated by Cant and Hope, is the potential negative impact on their “ability to secure government work”.

This is due to the WGEA’s ability to withhold compliance certificates from organisations that do not meet the necessary standards, and Australian government agencies give considerable weight to WGEA compliance certificates when evaluating service procurement.

Preparing for reform

Although the bill is still in its preliminary stages and may undergo amendments, the lawyers emphasised that it represents a “significant shift in workplace expectations and obligations”.

Cant and Hope stressed the need for businesses to allocate “sufficient resources” towards planning and complying with the WGEA’s reporting requirement. They also shared that these businesses must remain vigilant regarding further amendments to the WGEA reporting scheme, with this proactive approach enabling businesses to adapt swiftly once the legislative environment becomes more apparent.

“In particular, employers with 500 or more employees should monitor the bill’s progress closely in the first quarter of this year and can prepare by reviewing current gender equality practices and policies to identify areas for improvement,” they said.

The two lawyers further recommended that medium-sized businesses contemplating expansion should “keep an eye on the size of their workforce” to anticipate when relevant regulations may become applicable to them.