A NEW AWEI | Australian Workplace Equality Index

Bronze Tier Status within the AWEI Foundation Submission

The Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) follows a 3-yearly cycle of local index review and international benchmarking. Upon review, new criteria are set with the intention of advancing LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion practice within Australia and aligning it with any new work being done internationally to ensure that Australian organisations continue to meet global standards of best practice. Within each new iteration, there is an expectation that entry points into the respective tiers will change, and overall scores decrease. This is a pattern we see with the release of every new iteration. It is important that the expectations of submitting organisations take this into account when aiming for a particular tier within a new iteration. It is important to note that the journey to maintain leading practice is not a 6-month journey; it’s a 3-year journey.

It is also important to note that for the fifth iteration, the methodology of determining recognition for Bronze, Silver and Gold tier entry levels has changed. Entry points to each of these tiers in previous iterations have been determined by ranking the scores of all participating organisations and calculating the top consecutive percentages. This meant that, as practices improved or shifted, the entry points would change from year to year.

Starting with the 5^th iteration of the AWEI, we will be introducing fixed entry points for each of the tiers making it easier to estimate, realistically, where your tier recognition may fall.

To achieve Bronze Tier Status within the AWEI Foundation Submission, participating organisations must obtain 80% of allocated points.

- - For Standard Employers (501 or more employees), this is 64 points out of 80 points.
  - For Small Employers (500 or less employees), this is 40 points out of 50 points.

The Foundation Submission covers the ‘foundational’ and baseline of LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts across an organisation. It contains criteria which are the building blocks for creating an inclusive culture within an organisation. Organisations may submit for Foundation level, and if they achieve the pass mark, they will be awarded Bronze Tier.

Foundation Submissions may be “fast-tracked” and submitted at any time between 1st June and 1st December. The submission will be marked, and results returned. If an organisation doesn’t reach the score required for Bronze Tier, they have the opportunity to resubmit at any time within this period. Once they have achieved Bronze Tier, they will maintain Bronze status throughout the entire iteration with no further Foundation Submission required.

Once an organisation has completed the work to achieve Bronze Tier, they may choose to progress to the Advanced level criteria. Organisations who achieve required scores may be awarded Silver or Gold Tier status within the annual Advanced Submission. Once this is achieved, organisations are eligible to submit an AWEI Advanced Submission in effort to obtain Silver, Gold or Platinum Tier Status within this benchmark. These winners are announced at the annual Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards in May.

Current Bronze Tier Employers (2023 – 2026)

*Organisations are listed alphabetically; and achievements will continue to be announced throughout the year.

This list includes organisations and employers who have completed their AWEI Foundation Submission by “fast-tracking” their results, and obtaining Bronze Tier Status between now and 1 December will be announced below.

The organisations noted below are in addition to the 148 organisations who obtained this Tier within the 2023 – 2024 Submission year. To view those current Bronze Tier Employers and other winners, head over to view the results of the 2024 Australian LGBTQ+ Inclusion Awards!

Standard Employers (501 employees or more)	Small Employers (500 employess or less)
IKEA Mirvac Murdoch University Transport Accident Commission	Bristol Myers Squibb

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For more information on the AWEI and Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards event, please contact the Pride in Diversity office on (02) 9206 2139 or at AWEI@prideindiversity.com.au.