From April 1 to May 31, HR teams across Australia are deep in one of the most intensive compliance periods of the year: WGEA reporting season.
For eligible companies with 100 or more employees, submitting gender equality data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) isn’t just an administrative task. It’s an annual legal requirement, a moment of heightened visibility, and, increasingly, a moment of public accountability.
This year, WGEA reporting takes on even greater significance. In a move toward transparency reverberating worldwide, the agency is now publishing employer-level gender pay gap data. That means HR leaders are no longer reporting solely for compliance—they’re reporting for public trust.
And while WGEA reporting may be uniquely Australian in name, the challenges and opportunities it raises are global.
WGEA reporting season: An annual HR compliance marathon
WGEA compliance has been a fixture of the Australian HR calendar since 2012. It applies to all private sector organizations with 100 or more employees and requires them to report on a broad range of gender equality indicators, including:
- Workforce composition
- Base and total remuneration by gender
- Promotions, appointments, and resignations
- Policies around flexible work and parental leave
This isn’t a check-the-box exercise. Reports must be prepared and lodged through the WGEA Employer Portal within a strict two-month window, and the company’s CEO must review and sign off on the data. HR teams often find themselves navigating complex data collection, formatting, and validation, especially if their people data lives in multiple systems or spreadsheets.
In 2025, the stakes are even higher. WGEA is now publicly publishing employer-level gender pay gap results, including base salary and total remuneration gaps. The result? Increased media scrutiny, employee interest, and boardroom visibility.
It’s no longer just about compliance—it’s about credibility.
Why WGEA is a model for transparency
Australia is setting a global precedent by mandating public reporting of gender pay data at the employer level. While other countries have taken steps in this direction, WGEA’s framework stands out in three key ways:
1. Mandatory participation
All private sector employers with 100+ people must comply—no opt-outs, no exceptions.
2. Public-facing data
Published gender pay gap data is accessible to the public, including employees, investors, and the media.
3. Cultural impact
These measures influence more than compliance—they shape brand perception, employee engagement, and executive accountability.
In short, WGEA shows how transparency can become a lever for lasting cultural change.
A global snapshot: How WGEA compares to other regions
Australia isn’t alone in the move toward greater transparency. Here’s how other major regions are approaching gender pay reporting:
UK
Since 2017, UK employers with 250+ employees must report gender pay gap data annually. While participation is mandatory, enforcement and follow-through have varied widely.
European Union
The EU’s Pay Transparency Directive came into force in 2023, with member states required to implement national laws by 2026. Key requirements include pay range disclosures in job postings, employee rights to request pay data, and structured pay audits for employers with significant gender gaps.
United States
While there is no federal law, state-level mandates are gaining momentum. In 2025, states like California, New York, Illinois, and Minnesota implemented laws requiring pay range disclosure in job ads and proactive equity measures.
Canada
The federal Pay Equity Act applies to employers with 10 or more employees in federally regulated sectors. These employers must develop and post pay equity plans, with annual reports due to the Pay Equity Commissioner starting in 2025.
Across the board, transparency is becoming a compliance norm, not a competitive differentiator. WGEA’s approach may be more comprehensive, but the direction of travel is the same: toward openness, accountability, and fairness.
Why transparency matters: DEI&B isn’t just about intentions
Public reporting is powerful. It forces organizations to move beyond good intentions and take measurable, visible action.
In HiBob’s latest research, many women professionals in Australia reported low trust in their employers’ commitment to closing pay gaps. A similar sentiment was reflected in HiBob’s 2025 UK Women Professionals report, which revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the pace of progress on pay equity.
Why? Because without transparency, progress is hard to see—and even harder to prove.
Publishing data doesn’t just increase scrutiny. It creates momentum. It invites dialogue. And it shows your people that you’re serious about change.
The admin load is real: Where HR teams need help
WGEA reporting isn’t just a strategic priority—it’s also a serious operational lift.
From gathering demographic and compensation data across business units, to segmenting it by job category, to uploading it into a government portal with very specific formatting rules, the burden on HR can be significant.
This is especially true for companies without centralized systems or data governance processes. And as more regions adopt similar requirements, HR teams globally can expect to face similar reporting crunch periods in the months and years ahead.
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How HR tech like Bob simplifies the process
This is where modern HR tech platforms like Bob can make a measurable difference.
With Bob, HR teams can:
- Automate data collection across demographics, compensation, and job categories
- Segment and analyze by gender, department, seniority, location, and more
- Visualize and export insights with dashboards and report templates
- Reduce manual errors and stay audit-ready with version tracking and approvals
Instead of spending weeks wrangling spreadsheets, HR can use Bob to generate accurate, actionable reports—and shift focus from data prep to equity strategy.
Bob helps organizations meet compliance requirements, but more importantly, it supports a culture of fairness that scales.
Let gender equity reporting be a wake-up call, not a warning
Australia’s WGEA model shows what’s possible when transparency meets accountability. It’s not without challenges, but it’s already making a difference.
For HR teams outside Australia, it offers a valuable glimpse into where global compliance is heading. By getting ahead of the curve, you can respond with confidence, not urgency.
Because compliance doesn’t have to be painful. And equity doesn’t have to be opaque.
With the right tools, the right mindset, and the right support, HR can lead the way to more transparent, more equitable workplaces, everywhere.
