Impact report 2025-26

The Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands. Our office is based on the lands of the Wurundjeri people – the lands on which many of our team members also live and work from home. Other team members live and work on the lands of the Bunurong and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples.

We also acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Victoria and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We recognise the deep and enduring connection of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country and their continuing custodianship of the land, waterways, and seas.

We proudly recognise First Nations peoples as having the world’s oldest living cultures, and acknowledge that the heritage, traditions, and customs of Aboriginal communities throughout Victoria are vibrant, rich, and diverse.

We respect that Elders and other leaders of Aboriginal communities in Victoria are critical to redressing inequality and disadvantage and improving outcomes for Victorian women and people of all genders. Their leadership includes First Nations women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, non-binary, sistergirls, brotherboys, intersex and queer folk who drive gender equality across Victoria. We thank them and honour their important work.

As we reflect on previous government policies and practices, we acknowledge the continuing negative impacts on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, we recognise and embrace the opportunity to collaborate and work together with First Nations peoples, families, and communities, towards improved economic, social, and cultural outcomes.

Read more in the Commission’s Reconciliation Action Plan.

Gender equality is not only a matter of fairness. It is also essential for good governance and strong workplace performance. Public sector organisations deliver essential services and make decisions that affect communities across Victoria. They rely on capable, inclusive and high-performing workforces.

When workplaces provide fair pay, equitable opportunities for progression, safe environments free from sexual harassment, and better support for flexible work and caring responsibilities, staff are better able to contribute fully and perform at their best. In this way, advancing gender equality benefits public sector organisations directly while also improving the quality of services and outcomes they deliver for Victorians.

This report showcases the key activities we have delivered in 2025-26, as we work to drive impact as a best practice regulator. Our focus has been on supporting compliance, building the evidence base, and promoting gender equality in the public sector workforce and the wider Victorian community.

I’m particularly proud of the milestone we reached this year, with the submission and analysis of 2025 audit data. Building on 2021 and 2023 audits, we now have 3 sector-wide audits spanning 5 years. This data provides the most comprehensive longitudinal gender equality dataset for Victoria’s public sector. It provides the clearest picture yet of where progress is occurring and where stronger action is still needed. This data creates a new level of transparency and accountability across the public sector.

For the first time, we can see the scale and direction of change across the sector since the Gender Equality Act commenced.

The Gender Equality Act establishes a 4-year reporting and compliance cycle. Our work program, outputs and impact vary throughout this cycle. In 2025-26, the Commission had an increased focus on statutory compliance functions including obligation submissions and compliance checking.

This year, 3 separate reporting obligations were due to be submitted to me by duty holders (or ‘defined entities’). We received 2025 audit submissions in December 2025 from around 300 duty holders. In March 2026, we delivered compliance feedback on audits within our target timeframes. And in May 2026, we received progress reports and new 4-year gender equality action plans. Compliance feedback will be delivered for these 550 obligations in October 2026.

We dedicated significant resources to compliance assessment to ensure we could deliver quality, timely compliance assessments and feedback. The full impact of this work is expected to become evident in the next reporting cycle.

Artificial intelligence presents new opportunities for potential efficiencies in how we work. We have begun exploring AI tools and capabilities this year. I expect that this preliminary work will be a critical foundation for our future AI policy, tools and processes – which will be implemented with appropriate safeguards and transparency.

As an independent statutory officer funded through a department, I do not control resourcing of this office. In 2025-26 the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing reduced the Commission’s budget allocation substantially. The reduction required a restructure, taking my office down to 10.5 full-time equivalent staff. This had a large impact, especially as it followed the non-renewal of lapsing funding for GIA work in the previous year that had resulted in the loss of 3 positions. In December 2025 I wrote to department Secretaries setting out how a gendered lens should be applied to major organisational change. The Commission’s own restructure provides a practical illustration of why this matters. Where the gendered impacts of decisions affecting regulatory capacity are not explicitly assessed, those consequences may not be visible to decision-makers.

The functions of my office are conferred by the Gender Equality Act 2020. They are not reduced by a change in appropriation. In the same year that our capacity was significantly reduced, 3 separate reporting obligations fell due, enquiries from duty holders rose by more than 50%, and the first longitudinal dataset for Victoria’s public sector became available for analysis.

I have prioritised the Commission’s statutory compliance functions. Compliance assessment has been, and will continue to be, delivered on time and to standard. This was achieved by deferring other regulatory work, including the redevelopment of gender impact assessment guidance, work to make the dispute resolution function under the Act accessible and effective, our PhD Program, the development of further GIA case studies, and proactive media activity. I also visited far fewer duty holder organisations than in previous years. The risk is not that obligations went unassessed this year. It is that the regulatory mechanisms the Act provides beyond the reporting cycle are not being developed at the pace the sector needs. We have limited capacity to provide industry-specific gender impact assessment guidance, promote my dispute resolution function, or pursue gender equality levers in funding and procurement. I have raised the implications of this with the Minister and with the Secretary.

I thank the Commission’s staff, duty holders, researchers, partners and stakeholders for their work and commitment over the past year. Together, we are helping build a Victorian public sector that is more equal, more inclusive and better equipped to serve all Victorians.

Dr Niki Vincent
Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner

This year, duty holders were supported to meet a particularly demanding reporting cycle. The Commission maintained timely compliance assessment despite increased demand and reduced resources.

In 2025-26, the Commission:

• supported approximately 300 duty holders – covering more than 500,000 workers – to comply with their obligations under the Gender Equality Act
• received around 300 workplace gender audits, 270 progress reports, and 280 gender equality action plans from duty holders
• issued compliance feedback for 2025 audits within 4 months of submissions
• responded to more than 2600 enquiries, with 91% responded to within 5 days
• visited 37 duty holders, including 28 in regional and rural areas.

How we think about impact

The Commission’s impact is not measured only by the activities we deliver. As a regulator, our impact is ultimately reflected in stronger compliance with the Gender Equality Act, improved organisational capability and accountability, better evidence about gender inequality, and measurable progress in workplace gender equality over time. Many regulatory interventions take time to deliver measurable outcomes. Much of the work described in this report therefore lays the foundations for change that we expect to see in future reporting cycles.

State of gender equality in Victoria’s public sector

Our analysis of 2025 audit data, alongside data from 2021 and 2023, shows encouraging signs of structural progress in parts of the sector:

• More women were working in senior leadership in 2025 (up 4.2 percentage points since 2023).
• Gender pay gaps narrowed within many organisations, occupations, and in 7 of 11 industries.
• Since 2021, gender pay gaps narrowed for women with disability (down 4.7 percentage points, compared to men without disability), First Nations women (down 1.2 percentage points, compared to non-Indigenous men) and culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) women (down 1.2 percentage points, compared to non-CARM men).
• More men took up flexible work, reducing the gender gap in flexible work by 1.4 percentage points since 2021.
• Men’s uptake of parental leave improved across 6 out of 11 industries between 2023 and 2025.
• A higher proportion of women were working in traditionally men-concentrated occupations and industries in 2025 .
• Governing bodies remained gender balanced across the sector.

These improvements are significant, but they have not eliminated persistent structural inequalities across the sector, including the concentration of men in higher-paid industries, organisations and roles.

Progress is neither consistent nor fast enough. Structural gender inequality continues to shape workplace experiences and outcomes for Victorians every day. The Commissioner has identified priority areas that require urgent attention. These are:

• eliminating sexual harassment and improving formal reporting
• narrowing the gender pay gap
• improving uptake of flexible work and parental leave by men.

Detailed findings are available in our full report: State of gender equality in Victoria’s public sector 2026 - Progress, persistence and priorities under the Gender Equality Act.

Our team

The Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner is an independent statutory officer appointed under the Gender Equality Act 2020. The Commissioner is supported by the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector, which is funded through the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

The Commission’s work is delivered by a team spanning regulatory policy, research and evidence, data and analysis, engagement, and duty holder support.

In 2025-26, a reduction in the Commission’s budget allocation required a restructure. The Commission is now comprised of 10.5 full-time equivalent staff.

The Commission regulates approximately 300 defined entities employing around 500,000 public sector workers.

Staff build skills and knowledge through a range of professional development opportunities. This year, we have explored and leveraged contemporary tools and technologies to build effective processes and improve efficiencies in a number of key workstreams.

As a regulator, the Commission invests significant resources to support duty holders to comply. We do this by communicating regulatory information clearly, delivering timely feedback, and providing practical tools to assist duty holders. Compliance assessment has been a key feature of the Commission’s regulatory work this year.

Issuing compliance outcomes and feedback

Duty holders were required to submit an audit in December 2025, and gender equality action plans and progress reports in May 2026.

We issued tailored compliance outcome reports to all duty holders. These reports described compliance and data quality issues, outlined how organisations needed to address the issues, and provided advice on changes to audit requirements that will take effect in 2027. Our comprehensive feedback helps organisations build their understanding and supports continuous improvement.

We aim to issue compliance feedback within 5 months of obligation submissions. This ensures duty holders receive a timely response and can maintain momentum for their gender equality work. We met this target for 2025 audits. We assessed audits against data quality and compliance standards and provided tailored feedback to duty holders in March 2026.

Compliance assessment for 2026 gender equality action plans (GEAPs) and progress reports is underway. We expect to deliver feedback on these obligations in October 2026.

We will share insights on patterns of compliance across the public sector after GEAP and progress report compliance outcomes are finalised and communicated to duty holders.

Providing guidance and education

Regulatory priorities and actions

Ahead of the 2025-26 obligation reporting deadlines, the Commissioner shared her regulatory priorities and actions for these obligations in a public statement(opens in a new window).

The Commissioner applies a risk-based and outcomes-focused regulatory approach. This means she prioritises areas with:

• the biggest impact on gendered harms (avoidable social, economic, physical and psychological impacts that people experience because of gender inequalities), and
• the strongest opportunities for systemic improvement.

The Commissioner’s immediate regulatory priorities are:

• reducing gender pay gaps
• strengthening the prevention of – and the response to – workplace sexual harassment
• increasing men’s uptake of parental leave to support more equitable sharing of care.

Ensuring public sector organisations are appropriately using gender impact assessments to guide their public programs, policies and services also remains a priority.

The Commissioner’s statement also set out her enforcement approach for obligations submitted in the 2025-26 reporting cycle.

Capacity-building resources

To help duty holders prepare and submit these obligations, we delivered a range of resources and supports. This included:

• an induction webinar for new duty holders that attracted more than 380 registrations
• step-by-step instructional videos to help duty holders use obligation templates and the reporting platform, which attracted more than 1,300 views across 7 videos
• 26 online drop-in sessions focusing on reporting obligations, giving duty holders access to subject matter experts from across the Commission, which attracted a combined 735 attendances
• a new guidance note for using performance measures, Analysing your audit results(opens in a new window), which attracted more than 1,700 webpage views
• a new Performance Report on the Commission’s Reporting Platform to help duty holders analyse their audit data and use it for GEAP and progress reporting, used by almost 90% of duty holders
• compliance rubrics for GEAPs and progress reports, which attracted more than 260 webpage views.

Feedback from duty holders showed that the resources and support we provided were helpful. Overall, 82% of duty holders who completed our feedback survey were satisfied with the resources, guidance and support provided by the Commission. Our guidance documents were the most commonly used, and most helpful, resources. 92% of survey respondents found our audit guidance helpful, 86% found our GEAP guidance helpful, and 83% found our progress report guidance helpful.

Other resources rated most helpful by duty holders included the Data Quality Report on our reporting platform, obligation templates, the Analysing your audit results guide, and online drop-in sessions.

GIA factsheets for health and emergency services

To provide sector-specific guidance on gender impact assessments, we published gender impact assessment (GIA) factsheets for health organisations(opens in a new window) and those involved in emergency management(opens in a new window). We engaged GenderWorks to develop these in consultation with duty holders and peak bodies. The factsheets provide practical advice and build on our existing GIA toolkit.

Visiting duty holders

This year, Dr Vincent visited 37 duty holders, including 28 duty holder visits in regional and rural areas. She addressed governing bodies, leadership groups and staff cohorts to build a shared understanding of the Gender Equality Act and obligations.

These meetings are a key part of the Commission’s engagement and capacity-building efforts. They allow the Commissioner to speak directly with leaders and staff, tailoring key messages to each organisation, industry and region. Feedback from duty holders shows that these visits can be pivotal for securing leadership support and buy-in across staff groups.

By speaking directly with staff at duty holder organisations, the Commissioner also gains valuable insights into the different contexts and complexities public sector organisations navigate every day.

The number of Commissioner visits was lower in 2025-26 than previous years. This reflected necessary prioritisation, allowing Commission resources to be focused on the compliance-related priorities in this period.

Responding to enquiries and support requests

In 2025-26, Commission staff managed more than 2600 enquiries, an increase of more than 50% compared to the previous year. We maintained an average first response time of 2 days and an average satisfaction score of 4.6 out of 5.

Overall this year, 91% of cases received a first response within our target timeframe of 5 days. In late 2025 we implemented new tools to monitor response times. Following this, only 5 cases fell outside the 5-day first response target in the second half of the financial year.

Most enquiries related to our reporting platform and user accounts (43%). A further 39% related to audits, GEAPs and progress reports. This reflects duty holders’ focus on preparing and submitting obligations during this period.

Providing expert, timely and consistent advice to duty holders is a priority for the Commission. Email is our primary enquiry channel and, given current resources, this is a deliberate service model. Written enquiries can be directed to the appropriate subject matter expert and, where questions span data, policy and compliance, our responses draw on expertise from across the Commission. This helps ensure duty holders relying on our advice to meet their legal obligations receive responses that are accurate, consistent and on the record. While some duty holders would prefer access to a phone service, at our current size we have prioritised a model that enables us to maintain both the quality and timeliness of our regulatory advice, particularly during peak reporting periods.

Managing the duty holder lifecycle

This year saw a high volume of entity changes that affected organisations’ status and obligations under the Gender Equality Act. This was in part due to the Victorian Government’s response to the Independent Review of the Public Service. A range of duty holder organisations were affected by mergers, machinery of government changes, abolition or other entity changes.

Delivering timely information for duty holders navigating entity changes – particularly those becoming a duty holder for the first time – is important to support compliance. It ensures that organisations understand changes to their status and obligations under the Act.

Responding to disputes

The Gender Equality Act provides the Commissioner with certain powers to help resolve systemic workplace gender equality issues.

In 2025-26, the Commissioner received a number of enquiries relating to potential disputes. However, none of these matters progressed through the formal dispute resolution processes under the Act.

Engagement with duty holders, unions and other stakeholders indicates that the dispute resolution function is not yet sufficiently accessible or well understood to be used. Work to address this was deferred in 2025-26 while the Commission prioritised statutory compliance assessment. Until that work is completed, a mechanism the Act provides for resolving systemic issues remains largely unused.

With 3 sector-wide audits spanning 5 years, the Commission now has the most comprehensive and intersectional public sector gender equality dataset in Australia. It provides longitudinal evidence on where progress is happening – and where it is stalling – across the public sector.

Providing longitudinal, sector-wide data

The Commission uses data from audits to publish sector-wide and industry-specific insights. Following compliance and data quality reviews, audit data is also published on the Commission’s Insights Portal.

Data on the Insights Portal allows members of the public to view gender equality data for individual organisations as well as industries in the public sector. Gender equality action plans and progress reports are also published on the Insights Portal. Together, these publicly accessible materials bring to life the transparency that underpins the ambitious objectives of the Gender Equality Act.

Improving data quality

Under the Gender Equality Act, duty holders have reported audit data in 2021, 2023 and 2025. Over this period, organisations have reported more data with fewer errors as the data collection has matured.

The Commission has refined its compliance standard and strengthened reporting requirements over time to improve the quality of data available for each workplace gender equality indicator.

Improved data quality supports better transparency and accountability across the public sector. It enables the Commission to perform and support more detailed investigations and research into the state of gender equality in Victoria’s public sector.

Funding research

The Commission’s multi-year research project, Setting, implementing and achieving gender equality targets(opens in a new window), progressed throughout the year. The research looks at how gender equality targets can work in the Victorian public sector. Led by Professor Michelle Ryan from the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at ANU, the project will be completed by December 2026. Early findings were published this year. The research identifies four key supports targets need to succeed: good data systems, intersectional thinking, strong leadership, and staff engagement and communication.

Research funded by the Commission through our Inaugural Research Grants Round was published in University of Western Australia Law Review. The article, Equality procurement: The next frontier of discrimination law?(opens in a new window), evaluated how public procurement could be used to advance social and economic equality.

Sharing leading practice through case studies

The Commission publishes case studies to share good practice examples from duty holders, so that other organisations can learn from real-life stories. In 2025-26 we published 8 new case studies(opens in a new window) sharing examples from diverse duty holders. Case studies focused on gender impact assessments and approaches to addressing a range of workplace gender equality indicators, from flexible work arrangements to workplace segregation.

Informing research and policy-making

Our work is widely used to inform research, policy-making and evidence-based practice.

Dr Vincent and Commission staff Dr Jessica Megarry and Dr Kate Farhall wrote an article published in the Australian Journal of Human Rights in January 2026: Living up to the promise: the Gender Equality Act as Beth Gaze’s legacy in action(opens in a new window). The article highlighted the transformative potential of the Gender Equality Act. It referred to Gaze’s critiques of anti-discrimination legislation and her calls for reform.

Dr Vincent co-authored an article with Marianne Clausen, Amanda Le Couteur, Shona Crabb and Anna Chur-Hansen that was published in Australian Journal of Management. The article, ‘This is not necessarily a gender thing’: Gender-blind talk of organisational leaders(opens in a new window) explores how gender-blindness shows up in discussions of men’s flexible work.

Our research was cited in more than 15 publications this year, including a joint NGO submission to the UN and books published by Routledge, Springer and Elgar. A list of citations is provided in the appendix(opens in a new window).

The Commissioner plays a key role in raising awareness of gender inequality and engaging with duty holders to drive change. She works with stakeholders to advance shared goals and advocate for system-level change. Leveraging her unique position as Commissioner, she contributes to public conversations on gender equality through high-profile events, media and social media.

Providing expert advice on intersectional gender equality

The Commissioner’s role involves raising awareness about intersectional gender inequality in workplaces and the community. She engaged with a range of policy and legislative processes this year to advocate for fairer outcomes for everyone, regardless of gender.

Throughout the year, Dr Vincent provided strategic advice on gender equality and the Act to the Minister for Women. This portfolio was held by Minister Natalie Hutchins, Minister Mary-Anne Thomas and Minister Gabrielle Williams (from April 2026).

Independent review of the Gender Equality Act

Under the Gender Equality Act, a review of the Act’s first 4 years of operation must be conducted. In 2025, the Minister for Women initiated the review. Independent agency, Cube Group, was appointed to conduct the review. It aimed to assess how well the law has been put into action, how effective it has been, and what could make it stronger.

The Commission participated in consultation workshops with Cube Group. The Commissioner made a formal submission(opens in a new window) to the review. This submission highlighted the Act’s potential to drive lasting change. It showed how the Act has been rolled out and how organisations have worked to meet their obligations.

Commissioner submissions and advice

This year, the Commissioner also made submissions to provide independent, expert advice on a range of policy and legislative reviews. This included:

• Inquiry into the Adequacy of the Legislative Framework for the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission(opens in a new window). The submission noted that if the legislative framework did not consider gender, then IBAC cannot properly identify or address corrupt conduct – nor can it ensure its reporting and investigating processes are safe and accessible to all Victorians.
• 2025 Determination adjusting VPS executive remuneration bands(opens in a new window). The submission made recommendations to bring a gender lens in the Tribunal’s determinations. This can help close the gender pay gap in the Victorian Public Service.
• Proposed working from home legislation(opens in a new window). The submission supported the protection of working from home entitlements through legislation. It called for a gender impact assessment (GIA) on the proposed legislation.
• Review of the Jobs and Skills Australia Act 2022(opens in a new window). The submission made recommendations around embedding an intersectional gender lens in Jobs and Skills Australia’s work.

In December 2025, the Victorian Government published its response to the Independent Review of the Victorian Public Service (the Silver Review). The Government confirmed it would implement most of the Silver Review’s recommendations, including rebalancing Victorian Public Service roles. To ensure gendered impacts were considered in this process, the Commissioner wrote to department Secretaries and issued a statement (opens in a new window)outlining how a gendered lens should be applied to major organisational changes.

Dr Vincent also provided expert advice as a member on a number of committees. This includes:

• Steering Committee membership for Jobs and Skills Australia’s Gender Economic Equality Study
• Advisory Board Membership of the Centre for Workplace Excellence, University of South Australia
• membership of the Equal Workplaces Advisory Council
• ex-officio membership of the Our Equal State Reference Group.

Dr Vincent participated in judging panels for a number of awards, including:

• The Public Service Medal
• Emergency Services Foundation’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards
• The Mary Rogers Awards for women in local government

Providing thought leadership

International Women’s Day 2026

Each year, International Women’s Day draws attention to gender inequality. The 2026 theme, Balance the Scales, was a reminder that fairness does not happen by accident. Participation in society, in democracy, and in the economy depends on systems being designed to be fair. Scales reveal imbalance: they make the invisible visible.

Dr Vincent participated in 11 events for International Women’s Day 2026. These included keynote speeches and panels run by a range of duty holders and peak bodies. Through these events, Dr Vincent contributed to wide-reaching conversations about intersectional gender inequality – and what needs to be done to address it.

Women Deliver 2026

In April 2026, Dr Vincent, Commission Director Alice Dunt, and Manager Policy Evidence and Regulation, Dr Kate Farhall, attended Women Deliver 2026. This international conference brought together around 6,000 delegates to advance gender equality.

Gender Equity Victoria hosted a shared exhibition space that included information about the Commission’s unique regulatory role.

Ahead of the event, Dr Vincent joined a roundtable with Her Excellency Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group. This meeting, hosted by UN Global Compact Network Australia, explored leadership, power and collective courage.

Media commentary

Drawing on her expertise and lived experience, Dr Vincent engaged with a range of media outlets to contribute to public conversations around gender equality.

Reflecting our focus on compliance assessment and reporting this year, media activity was lower than in previous years.

Some media coverage was secured this year, including:

• 3 op-eds in Women’s Agenda and one in The Mandarin, addressing a range of topics such as backlash, women’s health, and gender quotas
• an interview in Geelong Advertiser about the barriers for women standing for local council
• a quote in a News.com article about double standards imposed on women in politics
• photos and media mentions in regional media outlets relating to duty holder visits.

Reaching more people online

We share information with a broad audience through our digital channels to promote gender equality and raise awareness of the Gender Equality Act.

Our website is a key platform for sharing guidance, insights, news and real-life examples of gender equality in practice. This year, around 53,000 people visited our website. The website received more than 116,000 total sessions – an average of 316 per day – which is up 8.3% from the previous year. The most visited web pages related to our guidance and obligation submissions.

We use LinkedIn to raise awareness of gender equality issues and share useful, engaging content with gender equality professionals and the wider Victorian community. This year our followers increased by more than 2,000 to over 11,000, and our posts were seen more than 422,000 times. With more than 7,000 likes, shares and comments, we’re continuing to drive conversations on gender equality in Victoria and beyond.

We share regular updates with around 2,600 subscribers through our monthly newsletter. It brings together the most important gender equality news and resources in one place. Due to reduced resources in 2026, we reduced the frequency of our newsletter, publishing one edition every 2 months.

In 2026-27 the Commission will continue to deliver on its key regulatory functions and promote gender equality in Victoria’s public sector and beyond.

We will:

• issue compliance feedback on 2026 progress reports and gender equality action plans, and begin compliance action with some duty holders to address the greatest risks of gendered harm
• publish organisation-level 2025 audit data, via an updated report on our public Insights Portal
• publish guidance for 2027 audits and 2028 progress reports
• support duty holders through education and capacity-building activities
• publish an updated gender impact assessment toolkit and template
• share the outcomes of our current multi-year research project on using targets to drive workplace gender equality
• support the government to develop a new state gender equality action plan
• work with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to implement actions supported in the government’s response to the review of the Gender Equality Act
• continue to engage with duty holders and the broader Victorian community through Commissioner visits, communications activities and high-profile events.

This program of work reflects the Commission’s statutory functions and current priorities. Due to our current resource levels, some work to strengthen the operation of other mechanisms under the Act will not progress.

We will continue to deliver core compliance functions as our highest priority.

List of citations

This year, our resources, publications and funded research projects have informed a wide range of policy papers, book chapters and journal articles.

Books and reports

• The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Equal Identities Report(opens in a new window) cited our publication, Applying intersectionality.
• The Joint NGO Report on behalf of the Australian NGO Coalition(opens in a new window), submitted to the UN, cited our Intersectionality at work report.
• The book chapter, ‘Workforce Challenges and Opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in Contemporary Australia’ in Gender and leadership – Shattering the status quo(opens in a new window) cited our Intersectionality at work report.
• The book chapter, ‘Broadening the focus on women’s economic empowerment in Australia(opens in a new window)‘ in Women’s Economic Empowerment and the State, cited our Intersectionality at work report.
• The book chapter, Elevating Indigenous Leadership and Employment Futures Within Australia(opens in a new window), in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Leadership and Organizational Change cited research funded by the Commission, ‘Make us count: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Victorian Public Sector’.
• Non-Aboriginal Adults’ Understanding of Daily Racism, Microaggressions and Allyship when working with Aboriginal Teenagers(opens in a new window), a report from Phase 1 of the ‘Racism and Allyship in Aboriginal Youth Spaces (RAAYS): Non-Aboriginal Adult Allyship Study 2025’ cited research funded by the Commission, ‘Make us count: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Victorian Public Sector’.
• A whitepaper published by People Measures, Gender Equity: Male Leaders Matter(opens in a new window), cited our publication, Applying intersectionality.

Policy papers and submissions

• Women’s Health in the South East’s submission to the Inquiry into student pathways to in-demand industries(opens in a new window), referenced our Intersectionality at work report.
• A research paper for the University of Sydney Policy Reform Project, Research Paper for First Nations Economics: What Policies Are Needed to Support the Economic Participation of First Nations Women in Entrepreneurship and Leadership Roles?(opens in a new window) cited our Intersectionality at work report.

Journal articles

• An article in Australian Planner, A stocktake of current status, trends and observations in the Victorian councils Gender Equality Progress Reports from 2021 to 2023(opens in a new window), drew on a range of our publications, including our research into GIAs in rural and regional councils and hospitals, and insights publications.
• A journal article in Implementation Science Communications, Implementing systems- and organisational-level change to advance gender equality in healthcare leadership: a mixed-methods implementation protocol(opens in a new window), referenced our workplace gender equality indicators web content.
• An article in Journal of Sociology, Performing Equity, Preserving Power: The Double Bind for Aboriginal Australian Women in Public Sector Workplaces(opens in a new window) cited research funded by the Commission, ‘Make us count: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Victorian Public Sector’.
• An article in Journal of Sport and Social Issues, "We’re Putting All Our Eggs in the Gender Basket": Examining the Absence of Intersectionality Within Community Sport Gender Equity(opens in a new window) cited our publication, Applying intersectionality.
• A Monash University journal contribution, Avoidance, Withdrawal and Equality Law: Fundamental Challenges to the Legal Framework(opens in a new window), cited our audit guidance and Baseline Report.
• An article in Australian Feminist Studies, Persistent Issues and Effective Approaches to Addressing Work-Related Gendered Violence in Australia: A Scoping Review(opens in a new window) cited our Baseline report.
• An article in Journal of law and medicine, The Ageing Surgeon: Unmasking Impairment(opens in a new window), cited our Intersectionality at work report.
• Journal article in PLOS ONE, Platform workers not by chance: Exploring the digital labour markets in Italy with machine learning and explainable AI(opens in a new window) cited our publication, Applying intersectionality.