That for the removal of any doubt, the definition of equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value in the Fair Work Act 2009 be supplemented with a signpost note confirming that the concept of equal remuneration includes the valuation of dissimilar work of equal or comparable value.

That the Fair Work Act 2009 be amended to broaden the definition of remuneration to include direct or indirect payments, whether in cash or in kind.

That the section 3 of the Fair Work Act 2009 be amended to state that equal remuneration for men and women employees for work of equal or comparable value is an explicit object of the Act.

That the President of Fair Work Australia, by promulgation, enunciate an equal remuneration principle and set out how this principle is to be applied (e.g. work evaluation, comparisons across industries including similar and dissimilar work) in all contexts.

That the Government establish a discretionary fund to be administered by the Attorney General for the provision of funding on application for the pursuit of cases in relation to remuneration orders.

That Fair Work Australia investigates the feasibility of advisory classification and remuneration benchmarks to provide advice to employees and employers.

That  s. 156(4) be amended to include:

(d) evidence that the work, skill and responsibility required or the conditions under which the work is done have been historically undervalued on a gender basis.

That s. 157 be amended to ensure consistency with s. 156 and include a definition of ‘work value reasons’ defined as:

… reasons justifying the amount that employees should be paid for doing a particular kind of work, being reasons related to any of the following:

(a) the nature of the work;

(b) the level of skill or responsibility involved in doing the work;

(c) the conditions under which the work is done [S 156(4)].

(d) evidence that the work, skill and responsibility required or the conditions under which the work is done have been historically undervalued.

That the Government:

n            elevate pay equity to be a clear objective of modern awards;

n            expand scope of variation and amendment of awards on work value grounds to explicitly include pay equity, applying a gender neutral work valuation’ require Fair Work Australia to be satisfied that the award satisfies pay equity criteria.

That s. 134 of the Fair Work Act 2009 be amended so as to require that an award must provide for equal remuneration for men and women employees for work of equal or comparable value.

That the Australian Industrial Relations Commission report to the Committee prior to the finalisation of the awards in the awards modernisation process in relation to how pay equity principles have been achieved.

That Fair Work Australia report to the Parliament within the annual reporting process on any changes to the awards after 1 January 2010 that may have the potential to impact on pay equity.

That s. 65 of the Fair Work Act be amended to require that individual flexibility arrangements are lodged with Fair Work Australia.

That the National Employment Standards Division 3 (13) in relation to requests for flexible working arrangements be amended to include all employees.

That the Fair Work Act 2009 be amended:

n            to impose a legal obligation on the parties in a negotiation of a single or multi enterprise agreement that the negotiation and the agreement must include bargaining to achieve pay equity as defined by the Act; and

n            to require that Fair Work Australia must not approve an enterprise agreement unless the agreement is necessary to achieve pay equity or implements pay equity.

That Fair Work Australia ensure that where a significant proportion of an organisation’s employees are from a non-English speaking background, that the explanation of the terms of an employment agreement have been explained in the employee’s own language.

That the Australian Government place on the COAG agenda the consideration of the introduction of complementary legislation in relation to all equal remuneration matters dealt with by Fair Work Australia in each jurisdiction.

That section 582 of Fair Work Act 2009 be amended to require the President of Fair Work Australia to state explicitly the appropriate equal remuneration principle and to give detailed direction on how equal remuneration is to be handled.

That the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 be amended  to enable the Sex Discrimination Commissioner to commence self initiated complaints for alleged breaches of the Sex Discrimination Act, without requiring individual complaint and including the ability to enter negotiations, reach settlements, agree enforceable undertakings and issue compliance notices.

That the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 be amended to enable the Australian Human Rights Commission to commence legal action in the Federal Magistrates Court or Federal Court for a breach of the Sex Discrimination Act.

That the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 be amended to make it mandatory for employers who are repeat offenders discriminating on the basis of pregnancy or carer’s responsibility to be required to attend counselling or an approved training course.

That a Deputy President be assigned responsibility for the administration, conduct and strategic output in relation to the activities of the Pay Equity Unit.

That the Deputy President appoint an Advisory Board comprising relevant government agencies, union, employer and employee representatives to provide input into strategic policy development.

That all federal public sector organisations be required to report biennially to the Pay Equity Unit within Fair Work Australia on the implementation of a diversity plan to increase pay equity.

That all federal public sector organisations be required to report biennially to the Pay Equity Unit within Fair Work Australia on the implementation of a gender equity duty in relation to employees and in service provision.

That all organisations with 100 or more employees be required to report biennially to the Pay Equity Unit within Fair Work Australia on the implementation of a diversity plan to increase pay equity.

That the Pay Equity Act include a schedule for the amendment of the Taxation Administration Act 1953, specifying that the Commissioner be enabled to disclose aggregate wages and salary and other relevant information acquired under the taxation law to a Pay Equity Unit officer if the Commissioner is satisfied that the request is relevant and necessary to the work of the Unit.

That the proposed Pay Equity Act include a provision making it mandatory for small and medium businesses to be required to submit an audit report in response to a specific request from the Pay Equity Unit.

That the Employer of Choice for Women Awards be extended to medium and small business categories.

That the Deputy President of Fair Work Australia responsible for the Pay Equity Unit be required to seek advice through the appointment of an advisory board comprising unions, employers and employer groups and other stakeholders to provide strategic input in relation to industry specific strategies.

That the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 be repealed and the functions of the office be incorporated in the proposed Pay Equity Act.

That the Government require the Procurement Coordinator monitor the application of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines by agencies to ensure that firms that are not compliant with relevant pay equity principles are not eligible for Commonwealth contracts.

That the Procurement Coordinator investigate, as a matter of urgency, the adequacy of practical implementation of the Procurement Guidelines to ensure that the outcome meets relevant pay equity principles.

That Government ensure that industry assistance is only provided to firms that are compliant with pay equity principles and that the outcome of the assisted program is compliant with the pay equity principles.

That the Government revise the current list of industry assistance programs to ensure that a compliance requirement with pay equity principles is applied to all appropriate funding allocations.

That the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 be amended to remove the exemption from the payment of the 9 per cent charge for employees who earn less than $450 per month and that the required superannuation contributions be paid for all employees into a designated or approved superannuation fund of their choice

That the Government broaden the scope of the Superannuation Co-contribution scheme to include all low income earners.

That the Government establish a superannuation fund or modify Ausfund to be an available fund for the receipt of monies on behalf of these employees who earn less than $450 with any employer to reduce the likelihood of multiple administration costs charged to workers with multiple employers.

That the Government provide a long service leave scheme providing portability of service for workers, together with an equitable application of long service leave contributions by employers in appropriate industries.

That the Office for Women be located within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

That all relevant Cabinet submissions be accompanied by an analysis of the potential impact of the proposal on pay equity in Australia.

That the Minister for the Status of Women provide an annual statement to Parliament on Australia’s progress in improving women’s economic and financial independence which includes an analysis of the pay equity situation in Australia.

That the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet amend the ‘Requirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA ACT bodies’, Section 12 (3) Management of Human Resources (b),  the word ‘gender’ to read ‘gender including pay equity issues’ for the preparation of annual report to Parliament.

That the Australian Public Service Commission be required to report on gender pay gap in the Australian Public Service in the annual State of the Service reports.

That the government incorporate in the current review of the Australian Public Service the adequacy of the current collective agreement wage setting processes to meet pay equity principles required under Australia’s international obligations.

That all government agencies and authorities be required to implement a gender equality scheme and to report on policies and practices in the delivery of services.

That the Pay Equity Unit consider and respond to the findings and recommendations of the Women in Social and Economic Research 2006 report Women’s pay and conditions in an era of changing workplace regulations: Towards a “Women’s Employment Status Key Indicators” (WESKI) database.

That the Australian Bureau of Statistics, where possible, review all existing surveys and data, relevant to pay equity, for evidence of any trends over time in pay inequity and issues affecting female participation in the workforce.

That the Australian Bureau of Statistics amend data surveys as follows:

n            Survey of Average Weekly Earnings (cat no. 6302.0)

seek further detail of different occupation or occupational categories; disaggregate data to managerial and non-managerial employee level.

That the Australian Bureau of Statistics, where possible, introduce gender disaggregation into all surveys that relate to pay equity issues.

That a National Pay Equity Workplace Survey be developed and conducted biennially by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in partnership with the Pay Equity Unit.

The survey should cover, but not be limited to:

n            average hourly and weekly wage rates for employees in non-managerial and non-professional occupations;

n            provisions for the adjustment of wages rates during the life of the agreement;

n            compensatory wage payments for the absorption of penalty rates and/or other employment conditions;

n            the inclusion of non wage benefits such as bonus payments;

n            the incidence of trading off provisions, such as annual leave for wage payments;

n            the incidence of averaging ordinary working hours across several weeks or months and common averaging periods used for this purpose;

n            ordinary working hours, including the incidence of ordinary working hours of more than forty per week;

n            the availability of flexible start and finish times and breaks;

n            developments or changes in the standards of family-friendly provisions such as access to paid family or parental leave;

n            the availability of other forms of leave such as annual leave, unpaid leave and long service leave; and

n            access to family friendly employment benefits such as employer provided or subsidized childcare.

That the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs consult with:

n            Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne;

n            Australian Council for Educational Research;

n            Australian Institute of Family Studies, and

n            the Pay Equity Unit,

in relation to possible improvements to Household Income and Labour Dynamics Australia survey to encompass pay equity considerations.

That a working group consisting of Commonwealth departments and agencies, as well as relevant stakeholders be established within the Pay Equity Unit to progress greater comparability of data collections.

That the Government as a matter of priority collect relevant information of workforce participation of Indigenous women to provide a basis for pay equity analysis and inform future policy direction.

That the Government as a matter of priority collect relevant information of workforce participation of women to with disabilities provide a basis for pay equity analysis and inform future policy direction.

That the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship review the adequacy of English language tuition and the need to reinstate these programs.

That the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship investigate options for the improvement of current processes for the accreditation of overseas migrants.

That the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations seek cooperation from the State and Territory Governments to develop opportunities for the provision of work experience in government departments or instrumentalities for migrant women

That the Government ensure that CALD women receive the appropriate information about all employment related initiatives such as paid maternity leave.

That the Government review existing policies to encourage and assist employers in the provision of child care facilities.

That the Government assign the responsibility out of school care to a specific portfolio to provide a focus for policy development and consideration and cooperation with the States and Territories.

That the Minister raise with the Ministerial Council of Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs a matter relating to review of curriculum and careers advice/course selection processes in all educational institutions for gender stereotyping.