A Labor plan to force companies to publicly disclose how much they pay women compared to men will be closely examined by the coalition.
Minister for Women Kelly O'Dwyer says the policy is an "interesting idea" but she isn't sure it would be effective and believes it may cause division.
"We think it's best though to unite people rather than divide them and we have to be very conscious of the regulatory burden that would be imposed on businesses," she told ABC radio on Monday.
The opposition on Sunday announced an election commitment to make Australian companies with more than 1000 employees disclose their gender pay gaps.
Similar public reporting is underway in Belgium and the United Kingdom.
Ms O'Dwyer says the government will be looking at the concept but its application internationally is in its early stages.
"Certainly this is something we will closely examine ... but it's interesting to note it's very early days in that reporting," she said.
The gender pay gap has hit a record low of 14.5 per cent under the coalition, according to existing reporting by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the minister said.
