On the 6th of May, the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 was announced by Brooke Van Velden. This is a new system to determine if there is pay discrimination due to gender. The changes included: 

• Raising the percentage of women in the work from 60% to 70%, with the percentage being the same for at least 10 years for the job to be considered female dominated
• Requiring the argument of women being undervalued in the role to have increased merit and evidence (criteria for application increased)
• Increased criteria for what jobs can be used as comparators
• Allowing employers to factor in the sustainability of their business when meeting their pay equity agreements (e.g increasing pay in installments)

The previous system, according to the Public Service Commission, allowed over 100,000 employees in publicly funded sectors such as librarians, mental health workers, and social workers to correct their pay. These unfair changes will make it increasingly difficult for future claims to be made by underpaid women. Some job roles such as secondary school teachers and probation officers are predominantly made up of women, however they do not quite reach the 70% threshold that these new changes require. As a result, there are now significant obstacles for women in these roles and many others to file any pay equity claims in the future. This amendment has also stopped 33 current claims that were in the process of being settled, requiring them to be refiled against the new criteria. This law change was very rushed and the public were not consulted beforehand.

If you believe in the fundamental right to disputing and correcting pay inequities in women dominant jobs, then please sign our petition!