Leading into 2027: Building a Workplace People Choose

📅 Date: [Insert date]
⏰ Time: [Insert time]
📍 Venue: Level 9, 99 Gawler Place, Adelaide SA 5000
🥐 Catering: Coffee/tea & light lunch provided

As South Australian employers prepare for 2027, the challenge is no longer simply finding people. Organisations must build workplaces where talented employees can perform, develop, contribute and choose to stay.

The people2people 2026 Employment and Salary Report found that 82% of employers planned to recruit during 2026. In South Australia, 34% of hiring was driven by the need to replace departing employees, while limited career progression was identified as the state’s leading reason for employees leaving. At the same time, employers are being asked to improve productivity, introduce new technology, strengthen leadership capability and manage growing expectations around psychological health and safety.

Hosted by Peta Seaman, Managing Director South Australia at people2people and Edge Recruitment, this panel will bring together three complementary perspectives:

Sarah Stone, capability and future-of-work strategist and Co-Founder of linkABLE and ThriveABLE AI
Dr Ruth Sims, followership and leadership expert, advisor and facilitator
Dr Tessa Bailey, CEO and Principal Psychologist at The OPUS Centre

Together, they will explore what becoming an employer of choice will actually require in 2027—from developing future-ready capability and responsible AI adoption to creating healthier work systems and building teams in which leadership and followership are shared responsibilities.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding the employment and workforce trends likely to shape the South Australian market in 2027
• Identifying where employer expectations differ from what employees actually value
• Building leadership and followership capability across every level of an organisation
• Preparing employees for AI and workplace change without creating uncertainty, disengagement or change fatigue
• Moving from reactive wellbeing initiatives to systems that actively manage psychosocial hazards
• Strengthening career development, trust, communication and employee voice
• Translating an employer brand into an employee experience that attracts and retains quality people
• Identifying the practical workforce priorities leaders should act on before 2027 begins

NEW EVENT

📅 Date: Tuesday, 2 June 2026
⏰ Time: 12.30PM–1.30PM
📍 Venue: Level 9, 99 Gawler Place, Adelaide SA 5000
🥐 Catering: Coffee/tea & light lunch provided

Employment law is shifting again, and for South Australian business leaders, the risk is not just missing the headlines but missing what the changes mean in practice. From psychosocial hazards and labour hire reforms through to payroll remediation, record-keeping, and major court decisions, the compliance burden is getting broader and less forgiving.

Join Emma Avey, Senior Associate at Piper Alderman, for a practical session focused on the key employment law and legislative developments South Australian employers need to understand in 2026. With broad experience across employment and industrial relations matters, Emma will unpack what has changed, where businesses may be exposed, and what leaders should be reviewing now.

Key Takeaways:

• Considering key changes to employment law legislation including:
a) Updates to the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA), and SafeWork SA’s newly introduced Code of Practice for Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work
b) The expanded scope of South Australia’s labour hire licensing laws, and what these changes mean for business leaders
c) Navigating the new portable long service leave scheme for the community services sector
• Unpacking the consequences of the Federal Court's decision involving Coles and Woolworths, including implications for the use of set-off clauses and record-keeping requirements
• Considering the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Payroll Remediation Program Guide and its practical application
• Understanding the key lessons from the High Court’s decision in Elisha v Vision Australia
• Other important case law and legislative updates for South Australian business leaders

Emma Avey

Emma joined Piper Alderman as a Senior Associate in 2025. Emma approaches all legal issues with a commercial mindset, ensuring that she provides practical advice to her clients. As well as her legal qualifications, Emma holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) with Distinction which assists her in bringing a degree of commerciality to her legal advice.

She has experience in many areas of employment and industrial relations including, but not limited to, enterprise bargaining, industrial instrument interpretation, employee management and disciplinary advice, transfer of business advice, contract and policy drafting and interpretation, restraint of trade advice and litigation, employment disputes, sexual harassment, bullying, and apprentice and trainee advice. Emma is also regularly involved in delivering workplace training to her clients and their employees.

Emma has been recognised by Doyle’s Guide as an Employment and WHS Law Rising Star in 2023, 2024 and 2026, and has been a finalist for the Law Society of South Australia’s Young Lawyer / Emerging Lawyer of the Year Award in both 2023 and 2024.

2025 Employment & Salary Report

Stay ahead of your market across Australia

Take a closer look at what’s driving hiring in your industry, from shifting employer priorities to the roles most in demand. This comprehensive report reveals the key trends shaping recruitment and workforce strategy this year, providing your business with a competitive edge in today’s uncertain labour market.