This law is about making sure men and women get paid the same amount of money for doing the same job. You might be wondering why this is important, and it's because everyone deserves to be treated fairly, no matter if they are a man or a woman. The law wants to stop people from being discriminated against because of their sex.
The law is trying to fix a problem where men and women are not being paid equally for the same work. You can think of it like this: if you and your friend are doing the same job, you should both get paid the same amount of money. The law is trying to make sure this happens for all men and women in paid employment.
The law also wants to prevent discrimination from happening in the first place. This means that employers should not pay men and women different amounts of money for the same job, and they should make sure everyone is treated fairly. You can learn more about how this law works by reading the other parts of the legislation, such as the sections that talk about what happens if someone is not following the law.
"A law from 1972 to ensure people get paid fairly, called the Equal Pay Act 1972."
Equal Pay Act 1972
Reprint as at:
2025-05-14
Assent:
1972-10-20
Commencement:
20 October 1972
The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.
Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.
This Act is administered by the
Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.
An Act to make provision for the removal and prevention of discrimination, based on the sex of the employees, in the rates of remuneration of males and females in paid employment, and for matters incidental thereto
