Law Council of Australia

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Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024

The Law Council is broadly supportive of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024 (the 2024 Bill), given that it is designed to implement a recommendation of the review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) by the Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet in November 2021
(PM&C Review).1

The Law Council acknowledges that targets are accepted as an effective measure to combat gender discrimination, and that only 34 per cent of employers with more than 500 employees have adopted three or more relevant targets (as would be required under this Bill) voluntarily.2

In terms of impact on legal practitioners and their clients, we are pleased to see that no new reporting requirements are being imposed, and that a more achievable threshold of ‘demonstrating improvement’ against targets – rather than simply meeting targets – is proposed.3

However, the Law Council and its Constituent Bodies do have some recommendations for change that would clarify some aspects of the 2024 Bill and facilitate employers’ compliance in practice, as set out below.

Read the full submission below.

1 Law Council, Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Submission, 24 November 2021): <https://lawcouncil.au/resources/submissions/review-of-the-workplace-gender-equality-act-2012>.
2 WGEA/Office for Women briefing on the 2024 Bill, 5 December 2024.
3 Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024, proposed s 17C(b).

Last Updated on 08/01/2025

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