AHRI NSW
State President Quarterly Message
Q3 2026 Message
Dear AHRI NSW members,
Welcome to my first quarterly message as NSW State President.
Since stepping into the role in July, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many of you — at events, through our networks and most recently at AHRI’s National Convention & Exhibition in Brisbane. It has reinforced my optimism about our profession, but also my belief that what we do matters deeply, and we should continue to set a high bar for ourselves and the impact we can have.
Certification is a key component of that, so congratulations to our newly certified HR practitioners.
Empowering delegates to ROAR at AHRI's National Convention & Exhibition 2026
Earlier this month, more than 1,700 HR professionals, partners, sponsors, speakers and volunteers gathered in Brisbane for three days of learning and connection at AHRI’s National Convention & Exhibition 2026. We were pleased to see 273 delegates from NSW attend the event.
Centred around I Am HR, Hear Me ROAR, the Convention challenged our profession to step forward, challenge the status quo and be ambitious about our contribution. While it is impossible to capture every session and conversation, five themes consistently emerged:
- Courage: We need to design and co-create, not only react.
- Curiosity: We need to ask, listen and learn, rather than assume we already know the answers.
- Trust: Trust must be built and maintained continuously yet can be lost quickly.
- Capability: Building the capability of ourselves, our teams, our workforces is critical.
- Connection: Stronger connections across our organisations and profession help us achieve greater impact.
AHRI also announced its new HR Team Capability Assessment, launching in September 2026. It will enable HR leaders to benchmark team capability against the Australian HR profession and better target development where it matters most.
International HR Day & Volunteer of the Year
International HR Day was celebrated on 20 May, and it was wonderful to see so many of you come together across NSW. It was also an opportunity to recognise the people who give their time and energy to strengthening our professional community.
I would like to recognise Kath Harris FCPHR, named the 2025 NSW Volunteer of the Year, as well as Desleigh White FCPHR for her significant and ongoing contribution. I’d also like to thank all our volunteers who make AHRI’s networks and events possible.
That includes the NSW State Council and NSW Network Groups, whose continued energy, commitment and volunteerism help strengthen our member community across the state.
AHRI NSW Conference 2026 – HR+: Where Technology Scales and Humans Elevate
A huge thank you to the 245 people who joined us for HR+: Where Technology Scales and Humans Elevate.
Our NSW Conference explored productivity, labour-market trends, AI and workforce transformation, while asking how we keep human skills, judgement and connection at the centre.
For me, one of the highlights was the connection between sessions: seeing members meet, exchange ideas, challenge each other’s thinking, and build relationships that continue well beyond the day itself.
That sense of connection is something I want us to continue building across NSW.
A strong profession sets high standards, shares knowledge generously, challenges itself to improve and is ambitious about its impact.
Whether you’ve been part of AHRI for decades, are new to the profession, or are rejoining us, if you have an idea to explore, knowledge to share, a member to recognise, or an interest in volunteering, I’d love to hear from you.
As I said when stepping into this role, together we can achieve things we may never have thought possible on our own.
Thank you for your continued support of AHRI, our NSW community and our profession.
James Hancock FCPHR
AHRI NSW State President
NSW Newly Certified Members - Q3 2026
Congratulations to all newly certified AHRI members! We’re proud to celebrate your achievement.
Interested in becoming certified? Visit AHRI Certification to find out more.
Melanie Ferreira, CPHR
Charlie Middleton, CPHR
Melinda Allen, CPHR
Tabz Malik, CPHR
Kristina Faigl, CPHR
Katherine Ison, CPHR
David Watson, CPHR
Natalie Lubrano, CPHR
Nicole Young, CPHR
Gemma Hillis, CPHR
Zakariyya Kanafani, CPHR
Joshua Davies, CPHR
Jacob John, CPHR
Andrea Savva, CPHR
