Sports minister Sussan Ley on Wednesday announced that the government would withdraw funding from 30 major sporting organisations if they did not treat their male and female athletes equally.

She said there was "no defensible reason" why men and women should travel in different classes or stay in different standard accommodation when they went to world cups or championships.

The country's best female soccer players also welcomed the new rule, saying it was long overdue.

There was public uproar when in 2012 Basketball Australia flew their men's team to the London Olympics in business class and put their women's team in economy.

When Opals coach Brendan Joyce took on the job in 2013, he met with senior players who were disgruntled by the incident.

The policy was changed by then BA head Kristina Keneally to mean both the men and women could fly business class on long flights, and Joyce said it had made a real difference.

For example, the Opals went on a European tour in 2014, returned to Australia and then flew to Turkey soon after for the world championships.

"If we hadn't travelled business class, there is no doubt our recovery would not have been as good as it had been," he said.

"They're professional athletes, they're tall, it's what they need."

Australian women's soccer team the Matildas took industrial action against Football Federation Australia over their pay and conditions.

They said they were regularly offered significantly worse travel arrangements than the Socceroos, including taking longer flights with more stopovers in order to save money.

The soccer players' union welcomed Ley's announcement, saying the change was long overdue.

Professional Football Association player relations executive Kathryn Gill said it was an important step forward in addressing the issue of gender equality in sport.

"It is simply unacceptable that the country's elite female athletes have consistently been denied the same travel conditions as our male athletes when competing for their nation," she said.

"The Matildas, through the PFA, have long campaigned for improved workplace conditions. The introduction of these measures will ensure that players are provided with a high performance workplace that is fundamental for even greater success on the world stage.

"Our female members through the recent collective bargaining negotiations showed their willingness to play a major role in promoting gender equality in Australian society and remain determined to the light the way forward."