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About EOWA: Contains information on the Agency's role, the Act and our vision and mission statements. This section also contains the Director's profile and employment opportunites at the Agency.
About Equal Opportunity: Contains information on the importance of Equal Opportunity in the workplace and how it can benefit both your business and employees.
Developing a Workplace Program and Reporting: Includes all you need to know about reporting and compliance including developing workplace programs, submitting a compliance report and applying to be waived from reporting.
Case Studies: Diverse examples of the leading-edge practices being implemented by other organisations. Read about how these practices have benefited both business and workplace culture.
Partnerships and Events: Find out about upcoming EOWA events. Also download our calendar of other organisations' events, or tell us about an event your organisation is planning.
EOWA Employer of Choice for Women: Find out more about the initiatives these women-friendly organisations have put in place, or download information on applying for your organisation to become an Employer of Choice for Women. This section also contains useful resources for working women.
Research and Resources: This section houses the vast range of quality research and resources that have been produced by EOWA. Includes the EOWA Census, Annual Surveys, Publications and Employment Matter Guidelines and Resources.
Consultancy and Workshops: Download information on the various workshops and consultancy services provided by EOWA, including dates, times, locations and a registration form.
Media Centre: Contains media contact details and all EOWA Media Releases since December 1998.
Contact Us: Find our contact details including phone and fax numbers, physical and postal addresses and report submission contacts.
 Home : About EOWA : Overview of the Act

Overview
The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 aims to:

  • Promote merit in employment;
  • Promote equal employment opportunity and eliminate discrimination; and
  • Encourage consultation between employers and employees on these issues.

The Legislation
The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (Cth) came into effect on 1 January 2000, renaming and updating the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986.

The Act requires:

  • Private sector companies
  • Not-for-profit/Community organisations
  • Non-government schools
  • Unions
  • Group training companies, and
  • Higher education institutions

with 100 or more people to establish a workplace program to remove the barriers to women entering and advancing in their organisation.

To view the legislation in full, see The Act. Please note: the Act is currently under review. To read more about the review please click here.

For information on how the Act was reviewed previously in 1998, please click here. 
 
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Did you know . . .

There were four additional women holding board seats in 2010 (93 individual women on boards, up from 89 in 2009) compared with 29 additional men.
Quote

“Nothing is so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.”

... Aristotle