AHRI NT Conference 2026
Program
9 September 2026
| DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Darwin |
#AHRI26NT
Human-centred HR for sustainable futures
Program at a glance
The AHRI NT Conference 2026 explores sustainable leadership, modern workforce challenges and the capabilities needed to build impactful HR careers. Grounded in a contemporary approach to HR, the program recognises that while the world of work continues to evolve, people remain central to organisational success.
8:15 AM
8:15 AM – 8:45 AM (30min)
Arrival tea and coffee
8:45 AM
8:45 AM – 9:05 AM (20min)
Opening comments
AHRI Update
9:05 AM
9:05 AM – 9:55 AM (50min)
Opening keynote - Messy to magic: Managing time, energy and personal impact
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Let’s challenge the idea that being busy equals being effective. Time pressure impacts behaviour, decision-making and professional development.
Learn how to take back control of your time through a mindful approach to projects, stronger boundaries and more intentional use of your energy. Discover practical strategies to reduce noise, focus on high-impact work and create space for growth, without adding more to your already full plate.
9:55 AM
9:55AM – 10:25AM (30min)
Morning tea, expo and networking
10:25 AM
10:25AM – 11:10AM (45min)
Session 2 - Positive duty in practice: How to comply with the positive duty to prevent sexual harassment at work
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This session will provide practical guidance on the steps you can take to ensure your organisation is taking a robust and defensible approach to complying with the positive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment. It will focus on the new regulatory powers, the critical role of legal compliance audits in protecting workers and demonstrating compliance with the law, and how to conduct legal compliance audits.
11:10 AM
11:10AM – 11:25AM (15min)
Networking Session - The Exchange: Connect
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Take time to connect HR professionals from across the Northern Territory through a series of guided table conversations designed to spark connection and curiosity.
Together, you’ll share the opportunities and challenges shaping your work and workplace, exchange experiences and perspectives, and set a personal intention for the day ahead.
Designed to help you get the most from the conference, this session will encourage purposeful conversations, broaden your perspective and help you identify what you want to take away from the day.
11:25 AM
11:25AM – 12:10PM (45min)
Session 3 - Further. Faster. High-performing teams through self-awareness and leadership
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The most important leadership question isn’t about strategy, structure, or systems – it’s: “What’s it like to be on the other side of me?”
Many leaders haven’t genuinely reflected on this, and the gap between intention and impact is where communication breaks down, influence weakens, and culture erodes.
Further. Faster. is built around the 5 Voices Framework. You’ll discover your natural voice, where it adds value, and where it can work against you under pressure. You’ll gain language for better conversations across differences, clarity on recurring communication challenges, and a practical personal growth plan.
Because better self-awareness isn’t a soft skill, it’s the foundation of every hard conversation you’ll ever need to have.
12:10 PM
12:10PM – 1:00PM (50min)
Lunch, expo and networking
1:00 PM
1:00PM – 1:45PM (45min)
Session 4 - Perception before proof: Social media, bias and procedural fairness
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In today’s high-visibility environment, perceptions can form well before facts are established, challenging HR professionals to uphold objectivity and fairness. Drawing on experience at Chief Executive Officer level and a real example, this session explores how social media narratives shape judgement, influence workplace decisions, and create lasting reputational impact. Participants will examine the risks of bias in recruitment, investigations, and employee management, and gain practical strategies to test assumptions, slow decision-making, and maintain procedural fairness. This session equips leaders to navigate complexity, strengthen critical thinking, and ensure decisions remain grounded in evidence, not narrative.
1:45 PM
1:45PM – 2:00PM (15min)
Networking Session - The Exchange: Reflect
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A great conference doesn’t end when the final speaker finishes. Take time to reflect on the conversations, ideas and insights that have shaped your day through a series of guided table discussions.
Revisit the intention you set earlier in the day, explore what challenged or inspired you, and identify what you’ll take forward into your own practice. Share your key takeaways, commit to one action for yourself, your team or your workplace, and leave with practical ideas, renewed connections and a clear next step.
After all, it’s what you do next that will make today’s experience truly worthwhile.
2:00 PM
2:00PM – 3:00PM (60min)
Session 5 - Panel - What do you wish you could ask your CEO?
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HR professionals often strive for a seat at the table, but what happens once you’re there?
This is your opportunity to ask the questions you’ve always wanted to ask a CEO and gain insight into leadership from the other side of the table.
Hear from a panel of Territory executives as they share candid perspectives on leadership, difficult decisions, organisational culture and the realities of leading in today’s complex workplaces.
More than just an executive panel, this session goes beyond titles to explore the people behind the role and what senior leaders value most in their partnership with HR.
Bring your curiosity and your questions for what promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking conversation.
3:00 PM
3:00PM – 3:30PM (30min)
Afternoon tea, expo and networking
3:30 PM
3:30PM – 4:20PM (50min)
Closing keynote - The new EQ: Leading with emotional intelligence in the age of AI
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Emotional intelligence just turned 35, but the world it was built for no longer exists. This high-energy, interactive keynote reframes EQ for the pressures leaders are actually facing: psychosocial risk, burnout, AI disruption, and the demand to lead with both performance and authenticity.
Drawing on original doctoral research and the EQ6 framework, Dr Nathan Jones introduces six practical emotional competencies that go beyond traditional EQ, and gives every participant their personalised Leading Colours to put to work immediately. Expect live technology, a mobile quiz, and a room that leaves with a shared language for emotion in the age of AI.
Emotional intelligence needs an upgrade. And in a world increasingly run by artificial intelligence, it might be the best edge we have left. It’s time to get better at being human. Are you ready?
4:20 PM
4:20PM – 4:30PM (10min)
Closing comments
4:30 PM
4:30PM – 5:30PM (60min)
Networking Function
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Wrap up the day with a relaxed networking drink – share highlights from the conference, enjoy great conversation, and make meaningful connections with peers and changemakers shaping the future of HR.
Meet the speakers
Anita Carver CPHR
NT State President
Australian HR Institute
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Anita Carver is a people and capability leader passionate about strengthening organisations through leadership development, workforce capability and cultures of learning.
At the Northern Land Council, Anita leads learning strategy and systems that support leadership capability, employee engagement and workforce development across one of Australia’s most complex and geographically dispersed operating environments. Her approach combines strategic insight with practical delivery, ensuring learning is embedded in the flow of work and accessible in the moments that matter most.
Anita believes the most effective learning happens every day through curiosity, collaboration and shared experience, and that development should be embedded in how people work, lead and collaborate.
Her career spans the public, private and for-purpose sectors, shaping a grounded and collaborative leadership style informed by real-world operational experience.
She holds a Master of Human Resource Management and Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University, along with qualifications in Training, Assessment, Leadership and Mentoring.
An AHRI Certified Practitioner (CPHR), Anita has served on the AHRI Northern Territory State Council since 2021 and was appointed NT State President in 2024, championing connection, capability and professional growth across the Territory.
Sarah Tedesco
General Manager, HR Standards and Capability
Australian HR Institute
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Sarah has over 25 years’ experience working in Australia and internationally across a range of industries in listed, public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Over her career Sarah has worked in organisational psychology, leadership development, talent management, learning, education, recruitment, employee welfare and wellness, and cultural transformation. Sarah has also held roles as a Chief Operations Officer and Operations and Corporate Services Director giving her broad business experience.
Having worked in a similar role in three other institutes – the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Actuaries Institute of Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, Sarah brings a deep understanding of member experience and the importance of providing relevant and insightful content and services.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology) and a Masters of Business (Sport Management).
Barbara Clifford
Director
The Hinwood Institute
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Jessica Nicholls
Partner
HWLE Lawyers
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Jessica Nicholls is a Partner in HWLE’s Workplace Relations & Safety group, specialising in employment, industrial relations and safety law. She advises on complex workplace disputes including general protections, unfair dismissal, discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying, safety prosecutions and underpayment claims. She also assists with enterprise bargaining, workplace investigations, employment contracts and policies, restructures and redundancies, and delivers tailored training. Jessica regularly appears before the Fair Work Commission and state and federal courts and tribunals, and is known for her pragmatic, solutions-focused approach.
Rohan Dredge
Founder
Zemora Group
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Rohan Dredge is a leadership development consultant who partners with executive teams to turn good leaders into high-performing, trusted leadership groups. He focuses on the moments that matter most: how leaders show up, communicate, make decisions, and lead under pressure.
Rohan designs and delivers leadership programs that lift the quality of conversations, sharpen feedback, and build teams that genuinely trust one another. With over 30 years of experience and a Masters in Educational Psychology, Rohan helps organisations bring their people strategy to life so that leaders, teams, and the business as a whole move further, faster, and with greater confidence.
Jennifer Marston
Chief Executive Officer
Victoria Daly Regional Council Northern Territory
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Jennifer Marston is the Chief Executive Officer of Victoria Daly Regional Council, leading complex, high-stakes operations across remote Northern Territory communities. With extensive experience navigating workforce challenges, governance, and board–level strategic risk, she brings practical insight into decision-making under pressure, with a strong focus on fairness, accountability, and evidence-based leadership.
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.
