About gender equality action plans

A gender equality action plan (GEAP) is a set of targets, strategies, and measures to promote and achieve gender equality in your organisation.

To promote gender equality in the workplace, your organisation needs to:

• understand the importance of gender equality
• use workforce and employee experience data to identify where change is needed
• plan and implement actions to make progress
• monitor progress to ensure your organisation is on track.

Who needs to do a GEAP

The Gender Equality Act 2020 requires around 300 Victorian public sector organisations, called 'duty holders' (or ‘defined entities’ in the Act) to develop and implement GEAPs. They include:

• public service bodies
• public entities
• special bodies
• local councils
• universities
• Court Services Victoria
• Office of Public Prosecutions.

Here is a list of duty holders.

When to do a GEAP

A gender equality action plan is completed by your organisation every four years. The cycle period is as follows:

• 2022 – 2026
• 2026 – 2030
• 2030 – 2034.
  

Here is further information about gender equality obligation timelines.

Once your organisation has completed a GEAP, you must submit it to us for compliance assessment. If your plan does not meet the requirements under the Act, the Commissioner will ask you to amend it.

Once your GEAP has been assessed as compliant with the Act, we will publish it on our insights portal. You must also publish your GEAP on your organisation’s website.

Why a GEAP is required

A gender equality action plan is an essential tool for any organisation committed to taking positive action towards achieving workplace gender equality.

A GEAP will help you plan, implement and measure progress towards workplace gender equality in your organisation. You will measure the successes of your GEAP through your workplace gender audit results every two years and report on this in your progress reports.

How to do a GEAP

Our gender equality action plan guide will help you develop your GEAP. (This guidance is issued under section 47 of the Act, which means certain organisations must have regard to it when complying with your obligations.)

A gender equality action plan has the following six steps.

1. Completing an audit analysis of gender equality in your workforce
2. Engaging in meaningful consultation with your governing bodies, employees, employee representatives and other relevant people to develop your plan
3. Developing a case for change including a vision statement and how existing strategies and measures relate to intersectionality
4. Developing strategies and measures based on your audit results from step one
5. Ensuring there is leadership and resourcing of your plan
6. Measuring progress against your plan every two years through a progress report submitted to the Commissioner.