Welcome and acknowledgement of country

Keynote 1 | State of the sector

MORE TO COME

Keynote 2 | Higher education in transition: A data-driven look at Australia's new policy landscape

This session will provide a data-driven perspective on how current and future policy changes may impact universities' strategic planning and operational goals. Using publicly available data, we will explore key trends, potential challenges and opportunities for universities in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Please join us in the foyer to network with your colleagues and enjoy morning tea.

Keynote 3 | Case Study: Managing psychosocial risks and hazards

In 2020 Western Australia (WA) saw the introduction of legislative changes to address psychosocial risks and psychological safety in workplaces, ensuring mental health is prioritized alongside physical health. These regulations require a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to eliminate psychosocial risks, or to minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable.

It is important to note that while there have been recent more explicit changes to legislation with regards to the classification and management of psychosocial hazards, they are not necessarily new to workplaces. Prior to 2020 workplaces had been dealing with psychosocial risks in different ways.

In response to these changes Curtin have focussed on reporting avenues, triage, process and line manager upskilling to align with the requirements in the legislation and more importantly progress psychosocial hazard identification into a more proactive and preventative space.

In the session we will explore the journey undertaken at Curtin since the introduction of the legislation in particular the cross functional approach – health and safety and human resources and the role each area plays in regard to psychosocial reporting. This will include the process, opportunities and challenges of applying a health and safety lens to reported incidences that would traditionally be managed by human resources and look at how this change also impacts triage and the classification. We will then explore the current and emerging practices with regards to managing these hazards, including the role of the line manager and the benefits and pitfalls of cross functional advice.

Keynote 4 | Visa options for employing university staff in Australia

The Department of Home Affairs together with the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA) are pleased to present an information session on visa options for employing overseas workers in Australia. The presentation will provide information on the Migration Strategy and visa options to assist with navigating skills and labour force shortages where positions cannot be filled by Australian workers.

The NSW/ACT BIRO team specialises in Education sector to support Australia’s skilled workforce needs and economic development.

Keynote 5 | Academic and professional careers: Insights from the data

Through examining new data on casualisation, academic roles, and the professional staff workforce, this session discusses changing patterns of academic and professional careers at Australian universities.

This offers insights into some emerging issues, such as the challenge of supporting early career academics, as well as emerging risks, such as a growing mismatch between academic work done and the industrial settings.

Please join us to network with your colleagues and enjoy lunch.

Keynote 6 | Fairwork Ombudsman address

At a time of new and changing workplace laws, the Fair Work Ombudsman will discuss:

• assisting the workplace community through education and advice, and a tiered approach to enforcement
• achieving harmonious and compliant workplaces through collaboration and tripartism, and
• what this means for ongoing reform in the Higher Education Sector.

Keynote 7 | Achieving sustainable pay compliance: designing effective governance strategies and frameworks

With increasing public and regulator scrutiny on the governance of workplace relations compliance in the higher education sector, it is critical for universities to take action to ensure they have robust governance frameworks and strategies to achieve ongoing confidence in workplace relations compliance.

In the context of universities navigating the complexities of workplace relations compliance and budget constraints, Deloitte’s Workplace Integrity practice lead partner will provide insights on what good governance looks like and provide practical guidance for establishing strong governance frameworks to support sustainable workplace relations compliance.

Please join us in the foyer to network with your colleagues and enjoy afternoon tea.