National Convention & Exhibition 2026
BCEC Brisbane
4 - 6 August 2026
Deep-dives
Learn about practical solutions to critical workplace challenges facing Australian HR and business leaders.
Deep-dive 1
Tuesday 19 August
1.45 – 3.35
Work Different: 10 Truths for Winning in the People Age
In a world of shifts and shocks, businesses are on shaky ground: employee expectations are changing, exhaustion is high, and there’s a new kid on the block in the form of Gen AI. It’s time to throw out the old rulebook and work different. And, to survive and thrive, Agility is paramount. To augment agility, the pressure is on organizations to modernize their talent models, embrace skills as the new currency of work, and reassess their supply chains. With rapid advances in technology, AI is redefining how we work, amplifying human intelligence and making the sweet spot of human-machine teaming essential to productivity and sustainable growth.
Join this session to discover:
- The four global trends shaping the talent agenda and what moves the needle, from Mercer’s 2024-25 Global Talent Trends study
- How leading firms are leveraging the key Agility levers of Skills, AI and Talent Supply to successfully navigate perpetual change
- What the new ‘truths’ of work tell us about the path ahead
- The essential skills that business leaders and HR need to role model to effectively embrace the future of work
Deep-dive 2
Tuesday 19 August
1.45 – 3.35
The 7 principles of well-being
In the 7 Principles of Well-Being, Kemi invites the audience to explore their individual relationship to fulfilment, balance and success:
Are we successful if we are on our way to burn out?
Are we living if we are disconnected from ourselves and those around us?
In this session Kemi will:
- Define the 7 Principles of Well-Being and how they influence the way we work and live
- Talk through what it is to be a ‘well-being’
- Facilitate a coaching process which allows each individual to take action towards their definition of well-being.
Deep-dive 3
Tuesday 19 August
1.45 – 3.35
Breaking Up to Break Through: Transformations at work and in working life
We love to celebrate stories of breakthrough transformations: and are fascinated by bold leaders reshaping markets with inspiring visions. Yet beneath these glossy narratives lies a more complex truth: real transformation requires us to break up with what no longer serves us. Stories of confusion, loss, and grief often remain hidden, though research shows they’re fundamental to meaningful change.
This session will explore how organisational transformation is inherently personal. The systems and organisations around us can only evolve to the extent that we ourselves are willing to grow and change.
This reality shifts our view of leadership from purely business-focused to fundamentally human – acknowledging that meaningful transformation involves personal upheaval, changed relationships and implicit agreements, and requires internal work.
Drawing on psychology, sociology, and real-world cases, we’ll discover how breaking up with the past can lead to breakthroughs, and how leaders can create spaces where both endings and new beginnings are honoured and integrated – not just in our organisations, but in ourselves.
Following the keynote, join us for a deeper discussion about navigating the necessary losses in change, and explore leadership models that embrace both the strategic and deeply personal dimensions of transformation.
For senior executives, HR leaders, OD professionals, and change managers seeking to support authentic transformation in their organisations and themselves.
Deep-dive 4
Wednesday 20 August
11.00 – 12.45
Growth and Momentum: Moving beyond the deficit model of HR
The work HR practitioners do has the potential to grow individuals, teams, organisations, communities, and even societies at large. It’s both an honour and a privilege but it’s also an increasingly complex challenge.
Boards, CEOs and C-Suite executives, including HR Leaders all have a growing understanding of the potential of the HR profession, however all too often may see HR based on deficits and deficiencies – HR’s biggest opportunity right now, is to flip the switch from fixing broken and lamenting shortfalls, to play harder into growth and momentum.
This session will explore the pressure points and historic deficit models embedded in the HR profession – starting with DEI, Leadership, and Change – and look to ignite different thinking and alternative approaches that are restoring confidence and credibility and having measurable impact on individuals and organisations.
Join us at AHRI's National Convention and Exhibition
Proudly supported by our sponsors
AHRI acknowledges the support of our National Convention & Exhibition 2025 sponsors.
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