We are seeking feedback on a draft Gender Equity Charter for Australian Aviation to build inclusive, dynamic workplaces and help address key workforce shortages across the Australian aviation industry.
Why we want your input
The Aviation White Paper—Towards 2050 committed to establishing a Gender Equity Charter for the Australian aviation sector, in partnership with industry and unions. Your feedback will ensure the content of the Charter is fit-for-purpose and supports broad uptake of, and engagement with, the Charter by the sector.How you can voice your opinion
You can share your feedback by providing a submission and uploading it using the ‘Have your say’ button below. Submissions can also be provided by email to: DAP@infrastructure.gov.au. Questions that can help guide your response are included in the paper.What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your feedback will help inform the finalisation of the Gender Equity Charter for Australian Aviation, to be released after the close of this consultation period. This includes any requirements for signatories through ongoing delivery of the Gender Equity Charter, such as reporting and measuring progress.The Issue
The Australian Government's Aviation White Paper—Towards 2050, released in August 2024, identified that around two-thirds of people employed in the aviation sector in Australia are men. There is an even higher gender imbalance in many aviation technical and trade roles (with women representing 4% of workers in these roles), and the aviation industry also experiences a considerable gender pay gap of 37.2% in average total remuneration.
Through Initiative 20 of the Aviation White Paper, the Australian Government committed to establish a Gender Equity Charter for Australian Aviation, in partnership with industry and unions. The draft Gender Equity Charter seeks to increase employment targets for women in senior and operational aviation roles, reduce gender pay gaps, and improve policies and practices to support and promote inclusive workplace culture across the aviation sector.
Becoming a signatory to the Gender Equity Charter for Australian Aviation provides a strong, visible signal of industry‑wide leadership—building trust and momentum for improving gender equity across aviation. Long‑term, the Gender Equity Charter will build a larger, more diverse and resilient workforce, allowing the aviation sector to draw on the widest possible talent pool, improve retention rates and help address critical workforce shortages.
The draft Gender Equity Charter:
- ask signatories to report annually on their progress toward implementing positive workplace culture change, in meeting overall and specific targets for the employment of women, and in working toward eliminating the differentials in salary and employment conditions between women and men.
- enables organisations to implement policies and reporting commensurate with the size and capability of each signatory.
- notes that Charter membership may be a consideration in awarding some government aviation grants (consistent with the White Paper).
We are seeking feedback from the aviation sector, unions and other interested parties to inform finalisation of the content of the Gender Equity Charter, as well as views on ongoing requirements, and support, for signatories to promote uptake and implementation of the Gender Equity Charter across industry.
Relevant documentation
Participate
27 Feb 2026 17:00 AEDT
31 Mar 2026 17:00 AEDT
Open
days
remaining 29 of 32
We invite you to tell us your views on this topic.
Please include:
- contact name
- organisation name, if applicable
- contact details, including telephone number, postal and email addresses
- confirmation whether or not your submission can be made public—published—or kept confidential.
All submissions to be made public need to meet the Digital Service Standard for accessibility. Any submission that does not meet this standard may be modified before being made public.
If your submission is to be made public, please ensure you do not include any personal information that you don't want to be published.
If your submission is confidential, please ensure each page of the submission is marked as confidential.
Please click on the 'Have your say now' button below to upload your submission.
Alternatively please email your completed template submission to DAP@infrastructure.gov.au.
Privacy Collection Notice
Gender Equity Charter for Australian Aviation
Your submission, including any personal information supplied, is being collected by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (the department) in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988.
Use
The department may use your submission to inform the finalisation and ongoing implementation of the Gender Equity Charter for Australian Aviation.
Disclosure
The department may publish your submission as explained below. Otherwise your submission will not be disclosed unless authorised or required by law.
Contacting you
The department may use your contact information to make further contact with you about your submission and the consultation process.
Publication
Unless marked confidential (see below) submissions (including the author's name) may be published in part or full on the department's website or in any public response by the department. When publishing, the department will redact any personal contact details of the author.
Confidentiality
Confidential submissions will not be published and will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:
- in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister;
- where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia;
- where necessary in the public interest; or
- where authorised or required by law.
Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish you make a confidential submission, you must indicate this by ensuring your submission is clearly marked confidential. Even if a submission is not marked confidential, the department may choose not to publish it, or any part of it, in the department's discretion (for example where it includes personal information or opinions about a third party).
Access
The department will securely store your personal information and the department's privacy policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the department. Further information is available on our Privacy page.