Women’s equality and safety: Social procurement guide

Overview

Gender equality means people have equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities, regardless of gender. Women’s fair participation in political, economic and public life is important for all Victorians.

Women’s equality and safety objective is one of 7 social procurement objectives in the Social Procurement Framework.

The outcome for this objective is:

Gender equality within Victorian Government suppliers.

Procurement activities for delivering this objective

When this objective is included in a procurement, buyers request suppliers to provide evidence of policies, procedures and practices that support gender equality and women’s safety.

How to identify gender equality policies in the workplace composition

A workplace composition helps to understand the profile of a business. It looks at:

gender ratios across different roles, such as:
- administration
- management
- leadership
- executive
gender equality policies, procedures and practices

The Invitation to Supply Model Clauses (Part D – Offer Response Schedule 2.3)(opens in a new window) has a workforce composition table and questions, such as:

does the supplier have a gender equality strategy? If not, why not? Are they planning to develop one?
are there policies or processes in place to support equal workforce participation? For example, do they have flexible work practices?
has the supplier received any notices of non-compliance under relevant gender equality legislation?
is the supplier a relevant employer (generally those with 100 or more employees) for the purposes of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012?
can the supplier provide a letter of compliance or certificate issued by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, certifying that the supplier is compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012?

The National Employment Standards were updated in 2023 to provide all employees with access to paid Family Violence Leave. This includes part-time and casual employees. Therefore, buyers’ adoption of family violence leave is no longer an outcome for this objective.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency is an Australian government agency responsible for promoting and improving gender equality in Australian workplaces.

Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 relevant employers with 100 or more employees in Australia must report annually to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency also verifies gender-equitable suppliers through its Workplace Gender Equality Citation (citation) program.

Suppliers that obtain the citation have demonstrated outstanding capability and achievement in the critical areas of workplace gender equality including:

Gender balance in senior roles
Closing the gender pay gap
Part-time work and paid parental leave.

The citation is optional and open to relevant employers across many industries including professional services, medical, construction and fleet management.

A full list of citation holders is found on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency website(opens in a new window).

Procurement activities by threshold

Buyers must always follow local Agency procurement processes.

See Social procurement toolkit(opens in a new window) for further guidance and instructions.

Also see Social procurement requirements and expectations for ideas about recommended actions based on value thresholds. Value thresholds are exclusive of GST.

Consider requesting suppliers to provide evidence of existing gender equality policies, strategies, procedures and practices, or to make a commitment to develop and implement gender equality policies, strategies, procedures and practices during the term of the contract. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency offers guides, tools, templates, and case studies to assist suppliers. This includes:
- a workplace gender equality action planning playbook(opens in a new window); and
- a target setting calculator to help organisations set and meet gender diversity targets.
Consider requesting suppliers to provide evidence on one or more of the below to assess its current gender equality practices and indicators:
- the Workplace Gender Equality Citation offered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. A full list of citation holders can be found on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency website; or
- evidence on one or more of the below to assess its current gender equality practices and indicators:
  - existing gender equality policies, procedures and practices (or developed as part of the response)
  - existing gender equality indicators, such as current gender ratios in different roles and/or current gender pay gap/s. For high value procurements, this may include targets to improve gender equality indicators
  - previous letters of compliance issued by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, where relevant, certifying that the supplier is compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. Buyers may also request a copy of the most recent Workplace Gender Equality Agency reporting with the tender submission
  - confirmation that the supplier has not received any notices of non-compliance under relevant gender equality legislation, where relevant. Buyers may also check the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s register for the list of employers named as non-compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012(opens in a new window)
  - a gender equality strategy (existing or developed as part of the response).
Consider requesting suppliers:
- develop a one-page strategy to improve gender equality, which may include a Workplace Gender Equality Agency(opens in a new window) report (see below). Suppliers can use the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s diagnostic tool(opens in a new window) to analyse the status of gender equality and pinpoint gender equality gaps within their organisation. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency also offers guides, tools, templates, and case studies to assist suppliers. This includes:
  - a workplace gender equality action planning playbook(opens in a new window); and
  - a target setting calculator(opens in a new window) to help organisations set and meet gender diversity targets.
- apply for a Workplace Gender Equality Citatio(opens in a new window)n offered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, if eligible.
Buyers may also seek commitments from suppliers to improve and support better outcomes for gender equality.
For this value threshold, the Building Equality Policy applies to all construction activity. For further information, see the Building Equality Policy guidance(opens in a new window).
For goods and services procurement, consider requesting suppliers to provide evidence of one or more of the procurement activities listed for the threshold $1 to $20 million (regional) or $3 to $20 million (metro or State-wide):
- if relevant, evidence of the Workplace Gender Equality Citation(opens in a new window) offered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency; or
- evidence on one or more of the following to assess its current gender equality practices and indicators:
  - existing gender equality indicators for the supplier, such as current gender ratios in different roles and/or current gender pay gap/s. For high value procurements, this may include targets to improve gender equality indicators
  - previous letters of compliance issued by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, where relevant, certifying that the supplier is compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. Buyers may also request a copy of the most recent Workplace Gender Equality Agency reporting with the tender submission
  - confirmation that the supplier has not received any notices of non-compliance under relevant gender equality legislation, where relevant. Buyers may also check the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s register for the list of employers named as non-compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012(opens in a new window)
  - a gender equality strategy (existing, or developed as part of the response).
Also, consider requesting suppliers:
- develop a one-page strategy to improve gender equality which may include a Workplace Gender Equality Agency report (see below). For procurements of this value, this strategy should include targets to be achieved during the term of the procurement. These may include:
  - numbers or percentage of women in leadership and/or management positions
  - numbers or percentage of women in non-traditional roles
  - number of labour hours performed by women
- use the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s diagnostic tool(opens in a new window) to analyse the status of gender equality and pinpoint gender equality gaps within their organisation. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency also offers guides, tools, templates, and case studies to assist suppliers. This includes:
  - a workplace gender equality action planning playbook(opens in a new window); and
  - a target setting calculator(opens in a new window) to help organisations set and meet gender diversity targets.
- apply for a Workplace Gender Equality Citatio(opens in a new window)n offered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, if eligible.
Buyers may also seek commitments from suppliers to improve and support better outcomes for gender equality.

Once the social procurement commitments are agreed and contract is executed, the procuring agency and supplier will need to meet their respective obligations as effectively and efficiently as possible.

General guidance is available to help buyers manage and report on social procurement commitments agreed to in contracts. Please refer to the manage social procurement commitments guide for more information.

During the contract term, Buyers should also consider:

encourage suppliers to use the guidance, tools, and templates offered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency to help them meet their contract commitments.
requesting suppliers to provide any additional letters of compliance issued by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency throughout the contract term.
requesting suppliers to notify them of any substantial changes to their gender equality policies, procedures and practices during the contract term.

Initiatives to support gender equality

The Victorian Government has a number of initiatives to support gender equality and women’s safety. Buyers should be aware of these and may reference them in Invitation to Supply documentation where appropriate.

Identify gender-equitable suppliers on Digital Marketplace

Suppliers with a Workplace Gender Equality Citation are highlighted by a ‘WGEA Citation’ in the Digital Marketplace, making them easy to find. For more information about this initiative, visit Identify verified gender‑equitable suppliers.

Our equal state: Victoria’s gender equality strategy and action plan

Our equal state is Victoria’s first state gender equality action plan, as required under the Gender Equality Act 2020.

The Gender Equality Act 2020 is the first of its kind in Australia and it is recognised globally as leading workplace gender equality legislation.

Access the Our gender equality strategy(opens in a new window) and learn more about progress on delivering the action plan.

Office for women

The Office for Women manages policies and programs that advance gender equality and improve women’s safety in Victoria. Read more about these initiatives(opens in a new window) led by the Office for Women.

Support

For more information about social procurement, please contact Buying for Victoria(opens in a new window).

Updated 12 March 2026