Including Gender: An APS Guide to Gender Analysis and Gender Impact Assessment

Appendix A: Gender Impact Assessment criteria

All Cabinet Submissions and New Policy Proposals (NPPs) that meet one or more of the 4 criteria below require a Gender Impact Assessment.

Each department is responsible for self-assessing if a Gender Impact Assessment is required.

The criteria apply to all proposals to be considered by the Cabinet and its Committees.

1. Gender Equality: The proposal relates to gender inequality, discrimination, bias and/or gender‑based violence

This criteria captures proposals that directly or indirectly relate to gender inequality, discrimination, bias and/or gender-based violence. It also captures proposals that may directly or indirectly reinforce negative gender attitudes and stereotypes in systems, services and policies. The criteria applies to proposals that will significantly increase or limit:

  • access to resources for one gender compared with others (through income, payments, taxation, superannuation), and/or
  • access to opportunities for one gender compared with others (including education, training, work, health programs, leadership, public office).  

The criteria applies to proposals that directly or indirectly relate to gender-based violence, including sexual violence and harassment and domestic and family violence in the home, at school, at work, in the community and online. Policy makers should consider how to embed safety by design to prevent and stop gender-based violence being perpetrated through government services and systems. See Part 2.2 of this Guide for guidance on embedding safety by design in a proposal.

The criteria would likely apply to proposals that relate to the Working for Women foundation or priority areas:

  • gender attitudes or stereotypes
  • gender-based violence
  • unpaid and paid care
  • economic equality and security
  • health
  • leadership, representation and decision-making.

2. Cohorts: The proposal targets cohorts of people who can be typically disadvantaged

This criteria captures proposals that impact or interact with a cohort (or cohorts) of people on the basis that they may have specific needs or experience discrimination, marginalisation, vulnerability and/or disadvantage, and need targeted programs or support. These overlapping characteristics or circumstances often compound the level of gender inequality a person experiences.

Understanding how the intersections between a person’s multiple characteristics and circumstances impact their life course is critical for achieving gender equality.

These cohorts, depending on the nature of the proposal, may include but are not limited to:

  • First Nations peoples and communities
  • people who are culturally and/or racially diverse
  • people who are visa holders, or new residents/citizens
  • young people
  • older people
  • people living with disability
  • people who identify as LGBTQIA+
  • people living in regional or remote areas
  • people who experience socio-economic disadvantage.

Impacts on a cohort may include changes in access to programs and services, medical treatment or support, education and training, or employment opportunities. People from these cohorts may face compounding inequalities where inequalities intersect with gender.

3. Workforce: The proposal relates to a gender segregated industry, sector or occupation

This criteria applies where a proposal impacts or interacts with a gender segregated industry, sector or occupation. An industry, sector or occupation is gender segregated where one gender comprises 60% or more of the workforce1 . Refer to the Jobs and Skills Australia Gender Economic Equality Study for information on the gender divides in Australia’s education, training and skills systems.

Australian industries are generally classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). Australian occupations are generally classified according to the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA).

The features of a workforce include, but are not limited to:

  • paid work such as full-time, part-time and casual employees, apprenticeships and traineeships
  • unpaid work such as volunteering, internships and work experience placements
  • pathways to employment including education and training
  • government entities, companies, organisations, industry bodies, education and training organisations.

Impacts to a workforce, occupation or sector may include a policy, funding, legislation, program or service which affects changes to wages, types of work, programs and services, education, training, qualifications, standards, or number of employment opportunities.

4. Value: The actual or potential financial implications of the proposal is $250 million or more

This criteria applies to expenditure, savings, revenue, and balance sheet proposals (Cabinet Submissions and NPPs as per the definition in the Budget Process Operational Rules) with actual or potential financial implications of $250 million or more over the life of the proposal.

It captures proposals with an impact of $250 million or more with no exceptions. If the financial implication of a proposal is equal to or greater than $250 million, a Gender Impact Assessment is required. Where there are alternative cost options in the proposal, the value criteria applies if one of the options meets the $250 million threshold.

The value criteria applies to proposals regardless of whether the proposal has been offset, it does not have an impact on underlying cash, it is a balance sheet proposal, or if its net impact on underlying cash is less than $250 million taking into savings or efficiencies brought forward in the same proposal.

This criteria applies if the financial implications of the proposal are concentrated beyond the forward estimates and the proposal has an impact of $250 million or more. This includes where there are material changes in costs beyond the forward estimates, or the policy commences later in, or beyond, the forward estimates.

  1. Workplace Gender Equality Agency↩