Crowds chanting "enough is enough" stood on the front lawns of Parliament House in Canberra, within a few hundred metres of where political leaders can make the changes protesters are seeking.
Thousands joined rallies in major cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart on Monday.
March4Justice organiser Janine Hendry called for equality.
"We also need systematic change from our government, from our lawmakers and from our employers," she told the large crowd in Canberra.
Ms Hendry rejected Prime Minister Scott Morrison's offer to meet, instead asking him to visit the protesters.
He did not, but about 15 coalition MPs and senators went to hear speeches.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese attended the rally with a contingent of colleagues, along with the Greens and independents.
A sea of signs including "we are marching for everyone's daughters", "stop violence against women" and "it's time for men to change" were visible in the crowd.
Those signs could be cemented in the nation's history, with attendees encouraged to leave them at the National Library of Australia for a future exhibition.
People were also encouraged to head to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, to sign a book which will also feature in a public display.
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins had a hand in kick-starting the movement, after she went public with claims she had been raped by a colleague at Parliament House.
"For so long it felt like the people around me only cared because of where it happened and what it might mean for them," she told the crowd.
"It was so confusing because these people were my idols. I had dedicated my life to them. They were my social network, my colleagues and my family.
"And suddenly they treated me differently. I wasn't a person who had just gone through a life-hanging traumatic event, I was a political problem."
Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil had a clear message: "Enough is enough".
"We say to the men inside this place who are drunk on power, and those around the country who yield their power more privately - don't think you have or you will get away with it," she said.
The crowd is also calling for an independent inquiry into Attorney-General Christian Porter, who rejects allegations he raped a woman in 1988 when they were teenagers.
Licia Heath travelled from Sydney to attend the protest in Canberra.
She runs not-for-profit Women for Election that helps women run for public office.
Ms Heath doesn't expect the issue to disappear for the government.
"The public is on to it and they are not looking away," she told AAP.
"And that's when change happens. The behaviour's not new, what's new is the public's reaction."
