WGEA Reporting 2026
On 3 March 2026, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published gender pay gap results for 10,500 Australian employers — covering nearly 5.9 million workers. For the third consecutive year, Australians can look up their own employer’s data. And for the first time, Commonwealth public sector results were released alongside the private sector.
The headline? Progress is being made. But the pace of that progress is worth examining honestly.
What the Numbers Say
The national gender pay gap (based on ABS data) now sits at 11.5% — meaning for every dollar a man earns on average, a woman earns 88 cents. That translates to $247.20 less per week, or $12,854 less per year.
The WGEA employer census tells a broader story. When total remuneration is included — base salary, bonuses, overtime and superannuation — the private sector average gap rises to 21.1%. For every dollar a man earns in total remuneration, a woman earns 79 cents. That difference adds up to $28,356 per year.
Some other figures from the 2026 report worth reflecting on:
- Men are 1.8 times more likely than women to be in the highest earning quartile, on an average salary of $221,000
- Women are 1.4 times more likely than men to be in the lowest earning quartile, on an average salary of approximately $60,000
- Only 22.5% of employers have a gender pay gap within the target range of +/- 5% — up from 21.4% the prior year
- In Financial and Insurance Services, Construction, Mining and Utilities, 4 in 5 workplaces have gender pay gaps above the national benchmark
- The public sector performs considerably better — an average total remuneration gap of 6.4%, compared to 21.1% in the private sector
- At the current rate of progress, KPMG’s She’s Price(d)less report estimates the gap will not close for more than 25 years
Our View
What’s still striking about this data — and what the numbers alone don’t fully capture — is the human reality behind them. When you speak with almost any C-suite executive or HR leader in Australia today, they will tell you they believe this gap is wrong and should change. There is no shortage of stated intent. However, when organisations with less positive WGEA results are asked what they are doing about it, a common answer is some form of “we’re reviewing our remuneration practices.” Rarely is there a concrete action plan with specific targets, timelines and accountability mechanisms attached to it. The intention is genuine. The follow-through is often vague.
What we have seen in ESG reporting more broadly is a pattern that is playing out with regards to WGEA reporting too. In the early years of legislated reporting, organisations engage deeply — there is high effort, genuine stakeholder involvement and real focus on what the data means. As reporting matures into years four and five, it integrates into business-as-usual. That integration is positive in some ways — it means the process is understood and embedded, but it can also mean the care factor for the report’s contents begins to diminish. Less innovation. Less urgency. More compliance, less action.
The risk with WGEA reporting is that it follows this same arc — becoming a well-managed annual process that no longer drives the change and the conversations it was designed to prompt.
What Good Action Looks Like
For organisations that want to move beyond the vague remuneration review, the research is reasonably clear on what works:
- Conduct a genuine pay equity audit — not just a gap calculation, but an analysis of why the gap exists at each level and in each role type
- Set specific, time-bound targets — WGEA’s new gender equality targets legislation (for employers with 500+ employees) now requires this from 1 April 2026. Treat targets as performance metrics, not aspirations
- Address discretionary payments — bonuses, overtime and allowances are a key driver of the total remuneration gap and are often where gender bias operates most invisibly
- Link accountability to leadership — organisations that connect gender pay gap metrics to executive remuneration tend to show more consistent progress
- Make the data visible internally — sharing pay gap data with employees, not just regulators, changes the internal conversation
Sources
- WGEA, Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report 2024–25, published 3 March 2026, wgea.gov.au
- WGEA, Media Release: Is Your Workplace Equal? New Gender Pay Gaps Released for 5.9 Million Australians, 3 March 2026
- WGEA, ABS Gender Pay Gap Data, updated February 2026 (based on ABS Average Weekly Earnings, November 2025)
- KPMG Australia, Diversity Council Australia and WGEA, She’s Price(d)less: The Fifth Edition, January 2026
- Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth), as amended by the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Act 2023
- WGEA, Gender Equality Targets: Employer guidance and FAQ, 2026
- ABS, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, November 2025 (released February 2026)
Anabranch ESG Advisory provides independent advice on ESG strategy, climate disclosure, and sustainability reporting. The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute legal or financial advice.