The Education and Workforce Committee has reported back on the Equal Pay Amendment Bill, recommending that the Bill be passed with some amendments.  The long-awaited Bill aims to address gender pay equity arising from the historical and systemic undervaluation of ‘women’s work’ in our society.

Key changes to the Bill recommended by the Select Committee include the following:

  • Providing a benchmark for determining a “predominantly female” workforce as being one that is, or historically was, approximately 60% or more female.
  • Removing the requirement to undergo facilitation before seeking a determination in disputes, to maintain a low threshold to commence bargaining and provide the Courts with greater discretion.

The Bill still needs to pass through the Committee of the Whole House and third reading stages before it can become law. However, the Government advised that the Bill is expected to be passed into law later this year.  As Hon Julie Anne Genter referred to n her press release on 21 August 2019:

The Government is committed to passing high quality equal pay legislation this term. We are currently working on improvements to the proposed legislation, which is in Select Committee having already passed its first reading.

This Bill has been a long time coming so we’re excited to see that progress is starting to happen!