AHRI SA Conference 2026
Program
27 – 28 October 2026
| Adelaide Convention Centre |
#AHRI26SA
The Work Ahead: HR Leading What’s Next
Program at a glance
As the world of work evolves at pace, HR is being called to do more than respond – to lead what’s next. The AHRI SA Conference explores how, from redesigning work in the age of AI to navigating psychosocial risk and IR reform, blending strategic insight with practical application across IR and HR streams.
8:30 AM
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM (30min)
Arrival tea and coffee
9:00 AM
9:00 AM – 9:25 AM (25min)
Opening comments
Liana Reinhardt FCPHR
SA State President
Australian HR Institute
AHRI Update
Sarah McCann-Bartlett MAHRI
Chief Executive Officer
Australian HR Institute
9:25 AM
9:25 AM – 10:15 AM (50min)
Opening keynote - The power of purpose, values and true organisational connection
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Wow. What a time to be in HR. Inflation, cost-of-living pressures, economic uncertainty and rapid change are reshaping work.
As organisations navigate this complex moment, the need to reconnect with what matters is more urgent than ever. In this practical and inspiring session, culture and brand expert Mark Puncher shares what Australian employees need and expect today. You’ll discover how organisations can re-engage and inspire their people, and what great culture and employer branding look like now.
You will leave with clear ideas, fresh energy, and a story you will not forget.
10:15 AM
10:15AM – 10:45AM (30min)
Morning tea, expo and networking
10:45 AM
10:45AM – 11:45AM (60min)
Session 2 - Interactive workshop - The new leadership paradigm: why the old rules no longer work
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As organisations navigate unprecedented change, many are experiencing the clash of the old and new leadership paradigms the erodes the employee experience. In this interactive session, Rebecca explores why leadership models built on hierarchy, control and certainty no longer meet the demands of today’s complex world.
Drawing on her New Leadership Paradigm and Leadership, Relit® frameworks, she challenges participants to rethink how leaders and workforce capabilities are developed to support the organisational support transformation required for the future of work. Through real-world insights and stories, participants will leave with practical strategies to build adaptable, human-centred leadership that drives lasting change.
11:45 AM
11:45AM – 12:30PM (45min)
Session 3 - Beyond the hero metric: Building collective capability and high-performance systems
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Shifting from individual heroics to sustainable high performance requires a fundamental capability uplift. Grounded in local benchmark trends, this session introduces the Performance Culture Quadrant to diagnose and bridge the structural gaps between employee engagement and execution. Dr Shanta Dey will explore how to move past lagging, single-axis metrics to build collective team capabilities and empower managers with precise, data-driven action strategies.
12:30 PM
12:30PM – 1:20PM (50min)
Lunch, expo and networking
1:20 PM
1:20PM – 2:20PM (60min)
Session 4 - Interactive workshop - From intention to impact: What inclusive leaders do differently
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Most leaders want to create inclusive workplaces – even so, many employees still hesitate to speak up, contribute fully or truly belong. In this engaging and interactive session, Sonali Dsilva shares her Inclusive Leadership Impact Model, revealing the everyday leadership behaviours that translate inclusive intentions into intentional leadership.
Discover the five essential elements that foster Inclusion, Psychological safety, Respect, Connection and Belonging, and learn practical strategies to create cultures where people and performance can thrive together. You’ll leave with fresh insights, an actionable framework and simple leadership practices you can apply immediately to build more inclusive, high-performing teams.
2:20 PM
2:20PM – 3:05PM (45min)
Session 5 - Why change succeeds or fails: The role of candour
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Good change is not change where nothing goes wrong. It is change where challenges are identified early enough to adapt, and that depends on whether anyone speaks up. Most transformation fails at the moment someone sees a problem and decides it is safer not to say so.
This session explores why the missing capability is not courage in your people. It is a leader’s capacity to create the conditions for candour. Interactive and practical, you’ll leave with experiments you can apply the very next week, starting with yourself.
Kylie Butler
Founder and Principal
Merian
3:05 PM
3:05PM – 3:30PM (25min)
Afternoon tea, expo and networking
3:30 PM
3:30PM – 4:20PM (50min)
Closing keynote - True colours: Leading with emotional intelligence in the age of AI
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Close out the day on a high. As HR navigates psychosocial risk, AI disruption, and burnout, this energising keynote reframes emotional intelligence for the pressures leaders are facing today. Drawing on original doctoral research, Dr Nathan Jones introduces EQ6: six colours, six emotional states, and six crucial human skills we need more than ever in the age of AI.
You’ll take part in a live mood check-in and interactive experience that turns your personal colours into a shared conversation across the room. Get ready for a brighter, more human way of seeing yourself, others, and the future of work.
4:20 PM
4:20PM – 4:30PM (10min)
Closing comments
4:30 PM
4:30PM – 5:30PM (60min)
Networking Function
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8:15 AM
8:15 AM – 8:45 AM (30min)
Arrival tea and coffee
8:45 AM
8:45 AM – 8:50 AM (5min)
Opening comments
8:50 AM
8:50 AM – 9:35 AM (45min)
Opening keynote - People, PR & problems: A live IR adventure
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Step into the chaos with People, PR & Problems: A Live IR Adventure, an interactive, choose your own experience inspired by the wildest workplace cases. A complaint lands, a relationship surfaces, reputations wobble, and HR is caught between process, people and PR. At each turning point, you decide what happens next, what’s disclosed, escalated or contained, while we unpack the real time legal, governance and risk consequences. Messy, engaging and safely fictionalised, this session brings humour, storytelling and sharp IR insight to the imperfect realities that shape outcomes.
9:35 AM
9:35AM – 10:05AM (30min)
Morning tea, expo and networking
10:05 AM
10:05AM – 10:50AM (45min)
Session 2 - Changing the rules of engagement: What the next era of ER/IR asks of HR
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Jonathon Woolfrey works the sharp end of ER/IR: the hard cases that land on HR’s desk, investigations, enterprise bargaining and beyond. He also hosts AHRI’s podcast ER/IR Unpacked podcast, and this year appeared for AHRI before the parliamentary inquiry into the National Employment Standards, where changes including 25 days of annual leave are on the table.
The rules of work are being continually rewritten, and Jonathon sees it from the case file through to committees and boardrooms. This session explores what is changing across ER/IR across ER/IR, what it means in practice and what the profession is doing about it, and why HR is in the perfect position to lead what comes next.
Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR
Managing Partner, Talenting and Host, AHRI’s ER/IR Unpacked Podcast
10:50 AM
10:50AM – 11:05AM (15min)
Facilitated networking
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11:05 AM
11:05AM – 11:55AM (50min)
Session 3 - Panel - Beyond the headlines: What's really happening in ER/IR?
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The ER/IR landscape continues to shift, with legislative reforms, workplace expectations and emerging issues creating new challenges and opportunities for HR professionals.
Join our panel of leading ER/IR legal experts for an engaging discussion on what is really happening beyond the headlines. Hear their perspectives on key developments across federal and state jurisdictions, emerging trends and the issues organisations should be watching as they navigate the future of work.
This session will provide practical insights and informed perspectives to help HR professionals stay ahead in an increasingly complex ER/IR environment.
11:55 AM
11:55AM – 12:45PM (50min)
Lunch, expo and networking
12:45 PM
12:45PM – 1:30PM (45min)
Session 4 - AI: The good, the bad and the ugly
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This session explores how AI intersects with investigations, governance and digital evidence in ways many HR professionals may not have encountered before. Through a journey of the three Cs: Curiosity (“AI is impressive”), Concern (“AI creates risks we hadn’t considered”) and Confidence (“There are practical ways HR can respond”), you’ll gain a practical understanding of the opportunities, risks and actions HR can take in response.
Jean-Pierre du Plessis
Principal and Owner
JP Forensics
1:30 PM
1:30PM – 2:15PM (45min)
Your next workload dispute has already started
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Workload is turning up in psych claims, bargaining and disputes, and most organisations can’t show what they did about it. Budgets shrank, headcount froze, the work kept coming, and somebody is absorbing the difference. This session looks at where overload hides, why it gets misread as a capability problem, and what it costs now that job demands have been a named work health safety hazard in South Australia.
Karlie Cremin
Chief Executive Officer
DLPA / Crestcom ANZ
2:15 PM
2:15PM – 2:45PM (30min)
Afternoon tea, expo and networking
2:45 PM
2:45PM – 3:35PM (50min)
Closing keynote - Lifting the lid on psychosocial hazards and claims
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New laws and technologies have increased scrutiny on HR and organisations, and “business as usual” tasks are under pressure and challenge like never before. Safety jargon, generative AI and upset humans can create a heady mix that throws up roadblocks to problem-solving, decision-making and change.
Join Will Snow as he steps back from the noise and confusion of this area of people and culture practice to give a clearer perspective on what your organisation needs to consider and do next.
3:35 PM
3:35PM – 3:45PM (10min)
Closing comments
3:45 PM
Conference close
Meet the speakers
Liana Reinhardt FCPHR
SA State President
Australian HR Institute
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Liana is currently the Chief Experience Officer at Credit Union SA, where she is responsible for delivering the member experience across the retail and lending channels. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Kudos Services, an employee-controlled mutual in the disability services sector.
Prior to her current role, Liana held positions in the not-for-profit, retail, and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industries. Her experience includes serving as National People Manager at Workskil Australia, Director of People and Development at Ralph Lauren, and holding various roles at Kellogg’s, including positions within the APAC supply chain.
Liana joined the AHRI South Australia State Council in 2021, became the State President in 2024, and joined the AHRI Board in 2025. She is an AHRI Fellow Certified HR Practitioner (FCPHR), a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAIDC), and holds a Graduate Certificate in Professional Education and Training, a Diploma of Management, a Diploma of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing, and is an Accredited Mental Health First Aider.
Liana lives in a neurodiverse household with experience of autism, and ADHD, which has driven her passion for disability inclusion and positive psychology practices.
Sarah McCann-Bartlett MAHRI
Chief Executive Officer
Australian HR Institute
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Sarah McCann-Bartlett commenced at AHRI as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in 2020. She has global experience in membership and trade bodies and has held senior roles across a variety of sectors in Australia, the UK and the USA.
Previously, Sarah held the roles of Director General of the British Constructional Steelwork Association, Deputy Commissioner of the Victorian Building and Plumbing Commissions, and President and Group Manager, Americas at the Woolmark Company.
Sarah holds Commerce and Arts degrees from the University of Melbourne, an MBA from Monash University, and postgraduate qualifications in marketing. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mark Puncher
Chief Executive Officer
Employer Branding Australia
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Mark Puncher is a dad, a CEO and a culture and brand expert whose mission is to help humans and work connect for good. Over the past 25 years, he has worked across marketing, talent and culture, with a strong focus on leadership. He has led teams and functions across Australia and the UK for organisations including Guardian News and Media, DMGT Group, Scout and Hanson Wade. Mark is deeply passionate about helping organisations succeed by aligning people, culture and brand. When he’s not doing that, his hobbies include organising playdates and trying to find food his kids will eat. You can find out more about Mark’s work and perspectives here.
Rebecca Christianson
Global executive coach, keynote speaker and leadership expert
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Rebecca Christianson is a global executive coach, keynote speaker and leadership expert, passionate about shaping the future of leadership and helping organisations deliver value in a complex world. Drawing on her psychology background and international people and culture senior leadership, and executive experience, she supports leaders to lead with authenticity, self-awareness, adaptability and impact through her Leadership Relit® framework.
Dr Shanta Dey
Senior People Scientist
Culture Amp
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Sonali Dsilva
Principal Consultant
Equality Consulting
Read bio
Sonali Dsilva is an Inclusive Leadership, Psychological Safety and DEI Strategist, and Founder at Equality Consulting. With more than 25 years’ experience, she partners with leaders to create inclusive cultures where people and performance can thrive. An engaging facilitator and recognised speaker, Sonali has facilitated more than 500 leadership programs globally and created frameworks that help organisations turn inclusion into tangible impact.
Dr Nathan Jones
Director
EQ6 Global
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Dr Nathan Jones is a keynote speaker and experimental psychologist shaping the future of emotional intelligence. His work offers practical wisdom on how leaders navigate emotion, make decisions under pressure, and build psychologically safe cultures at work and beyond. Holding a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Adelaide University, his doctoral research – The Colour of Emotion – proposed a data-driven approach to emotional intelligence designed for the digital age.
Over the past decade, Nathan’s work has been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC Radio, and SiriusXM across the USA. He has spoken at global events including SXSW, TEDx, and the World Congress on Positive Psychology.
Michael Kay
Partner and Practice Leader, Employment
Wallmans Lawyers
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Michael Kay leads Wallmans Lawyers’ award-winning Employment, Safety and Workers Compensation practice. A highly regarded and engaging presenter, he helps HR professionals understand complex workplace law through clear, practical guidance. With more than 20 years’ experience and multiple awards, Michael brings real-world insight into the workplace issues that matter most to employers and HR teams.
Jonathon Woolfrey
Managing Partner, Talenting and Host,
AHRI’s ER/IR Unpacked Podcast
Read bio
Jonathon Woolfrey is an experienced HR executive and non-executive director with a strong commitment to advancing evidence-based practice in human resources. He has held senior HR roles across state and Commonwealth governments, large not-for-profit organisations and private enterprise, and is currently the Managing Partner at Talenting. He also serves as a Commissioner and non-executive director for Catholic Education WA Limited.
Jonathon has served as an AHRI State Councillor in Western Australia since 2019, including as WA State President from 2020 to 2026. He was appointed to the AHRI Board as a State Director from 2021 to 2026 and chaired the AHRI ER/IR National Advisory Panel. In 2026, he became the host of AHRI’s ER/IR Unpacked podcast.
Sathish Dasan
Principal
Norman Waterhouse Lawyers
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Sathish leads the Firm’s Employment and Industrial Relations, Insurance, and Governance and Regulatory teams. Recognised in Doyle’s Guide as one of Australia’s leading lawyers for over 20 years, he provides practical, strategic advice to public and private sector clients and is a respected presenter and educator across his areas of expertise.
Bridget Nunn
Partner
Thomsons
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Bridget is a Partner at Thomsons with almost 20 years’ experience. She advises a wide range of clients in relation to employment, work health and safety law, workers compensation and modern slavery compliance. Her work includes advising on employment contracts and industrial instruments, as well as acting for employers in a range of employment and industrial disputes.
Jodie Bradbrook
Principal
Bradbrook Lawyers
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Jodie Bradbrook is the founder of Bradbrook Lawyers, a specialist workplace law firm providing pragmatic legal solutions to business, organisations of all sizes and senior executive employees. She established the firm in 2011 after recognising a need for workplace legal services to be streamlines and straightforward – helping clients maintain efficient operations, even in times of workplace unrest or uncertainty.
Will Snow CAHRI
Director
Snow Legal
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Will is a specialist employment lawyer who leads a team of specialist lawyers at Snow Legal. Based in Adelaide with a national focus across small and large businesses, organisations and not-for-profits, the team balances empathy with laser-sharp precision on legal boundaries – developed from their dedicated specialisation, big-firm and in-house experience, and collective decades supporting HR to make the tough calls.
Kylie Butler
Founder and Principal
Merian
Read bio
Kylie Butler surfaces the conversations most people believe can’t be had. She is the founder of Merian, a board and executive advisory practice. Kylie is a transformation executive with twenty years’ experience across defence, government and the not-for-profit sector.
She is also a speaker at RISE, a platform for women’s bold conversations. Her claim: organisations fail from conditions, not capability.
Stephany Dobbelstein
SA State Council
Australian HR Institute
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Stephany Dobbelstein is Director of P&C Consulting at Moore Australia (SA/NT) and has served as an AHRI SA Council Member for the past three years. She has more than 10 years’ experience across public practice, aged care, disability services and IT professional services, with a focus on practical HR management, employment relations and supporting leaders through complex people matters. Stephany has a keen interest in migration, with a particular interest in the connection between workforce planning, skilled migration and employment compliance. She is passionate about helping organisations build capable teams.
Jean-Pierre du Plessis
Principal and Owner
JP Forensics
Read bio
Jean-Pierre du Plessis is a certified EnCase and Fraud examiner. He started his own specialised forensic IT practice, operating as JP Forensics and in this role, he provides computer forensics, electronic discovery and fraud investigation services.
Karlie Cremin
Chief Executive Officer
DLPA / Crestcom ANZ
Read bio
Karlie Cremin is the CEO of DLPA and Crestcom Australia. Which are organisations dedicated to empowering leaders and teams to thrive through bespoke leadership development programs. With a career spanning construction, government, and not-for-profits, Karlie brings a wealth of experience in crafting adaptable strategies and business models that drive exceptional results.
Her passion for business sustainability and profitability is rooted in her belief that people are the key drivers of organisational performance. This insight led her to establish DLPA as a trusted partner in leadership development. Recognising that engaged and capable teams are essential to achieving strategic goals, Karlie champions initiatives that enhance workplace culture, drive meaningful growth, and equip leaders with the skills to succeed.
Karlie has worked extensively with businesses to craft strategies and business models that yield superior results. With experience ranging from construction to not for profits to government bodies and imports, Karlie has a broad range of skills and experience that assist any business she works with.
