HRFest Australia_White

 

REWRITING THE RULES OF HR – TOGETHER
18 November 2026 | The Timber Yard, Melbourne

Bring ideas. Bring your team. Build your advantage.

Unilever
AMAZON
Commonwealth Bank
Linfox
LOREAL
BUPA
BHP
Coles Group
MONDELEZ
NAB
Telstra
Qantas
Medibank
Bunnings
Australia Post

BRING IDEAS.
BRING YOUR TEAM.
REWRITE THE RULES.

HRFest Australia isn’t your typical HR event—it’s where the HR community comes alive.

Join 700+ forward-thinking HR professionals at The Timber Yard Melbourne for a full-day festival experience powered by bold ideas, real conversations and genuine connection.

This is the most talked-about HR event of the year, and where the future of work takes shape.

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HR professionals, executives and innovation leaders

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Industry & inspirational speakers

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Hours of content

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Exhibitors at HR Marketplace

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

InsuranceFest was a ‘wow’ experience – after more than 600 conferences, I’d rank the networking and social interaction on the Santa Monica Pier in my top five.

– Jeff Kleid, Elite Risk Insurance

INSURANCEFEST AT A GLANCE

GET INSPIRED

Network Like You Mean It

1,000+ insurance leaders, founders, and innovators in one place. Brokers, MGAs, agencies, insurers, InsurTechs. From C-suite to NextGen, they’ll all be on the pier. 

FIND SOLUTIONS

Join the Conversation

60+ industry voices you actually want to hear from—from Aon to Marsh McLennan to InsurTech founders. Interactive sessions across every zone where you’re invited to jump in, ask what you really want to know, and steer the discussion. This isn’t sit-and-listen; it’s speak up and be heard.

JOIN INTERACTIVE

Hands-On Marketplace

30+ exhibitors and interactive InsurTech demos you can actually touch and test. A buzzing marketplace of ideas, solutions, and collaborations where you discover new tools, products, and partners to tackle your biggest challenges.N ot just watching — finding what you’ll take back to your work. 

level up your team

Discussion Table Real Talk 

50+ exclusive, 1-hour Discussion Tables for senior brokers and decision-makers. Small-group, facilitated conversations on Cyber, Digital Transformation, Construction, and E&S where everyone leans in, swaps war stories, and pressure-tests ideas in real time.

EMBRACE FUTUREFEST FUN

Bring Your Crew

Team experiences and group sessions designed so your whole organization goes back energized with shared insights and new connections. Build your own festival lineup as a team, join collaborative workshops together, tackle live challenges side by side, and turn the pier into your offsite — complete with shared moments, fresh ideas, and stories you’ll still be talking about back at the office. 

PARTY BY THE BEACH

Festival Energy on the Pier

From sunrise yoga to sunset sets, food trucks, cocktails, and ocean air — the pier turns every coffee break into a moment.

Choose Here
  • Networking
  • Content
  • Solutions
  • Experiences

Walk away with a community of new connections.

Connect with CHROs, CPOs, people directors, talent leads, L&D specialists and executives from Australia’s biggest and most exciting organisations through experiences designed to break the ice and build real relationships.

Think curated networking activities like interactive workshops and discussion tables, to fun mixology classes and wine tastings.

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Expect more than presentations. Expect perspective shifts. 

From provocative thinkers, live debates and hands-on workshops - HRFest is where Australia's HR community comes to think outside the box and leave with practical ideas to solve the biggest challenges. 

Join industry peers to explore what's shaping the future of work - from AI adoption and psychosocial safety to employment law reform, leadership capability and workforce planning.

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Explore a buzzing marketplace of curated partners and exhibitors.

Discover the platforms, tools and partners that are transforming the way HR teams work. Be ready to uncover real, ready-to-use solutions for your biggest challenges.

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HRFest is better together.

Bring the whole team and make the day into a shared experience that energises, aligns, and inspires. 

There is something for every level, from emerging HR professionals to senior people leaders, grow and connect through creative resets, mixology classes, and lawn games alongside interactive workshops and discussions that spark new thinking.

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WHAT ATTENDEES ARE SAYING

HRFFA25 - TESTIMONIALS (1)
HRFFA Testimonials (5)
HRFFA25 - TESTIMONIALS (3)

SPEAKERS

Dr Amantha Imber

Organisational Psychologist & Founder
Inventium

Pritho Saxena

Director HR - China, Australia & South East Asia
Amazon

Liam Mahon 

Head of People & Culture - VIC & WSN
Coles Group

Erika Takahashi

People & Culture Regional Director
The Iconic

Jo Cairns

Chief People Officer
Team Global Express

Seemali Shukla

People Leader - ANZ
HP

THEMES AT A GLANCE

Digital Transformation & Innovation

From real‑world AI and digital client journeys to smart InsurTech/RegTech choices, this track focuses on turning technology into tangible brokerage and client outcomes.

Cyber, Risk & Underwriting

Explore how to turn cyber into a value‑driven advisory conversation, with crisis playbooks and underwriting strategies for the next wave of cyber and personal exposures.

Nat Cat & Climate

Get practical on modelling, pricing, explaining, and placing nat cat and climate‑exposed risks in a world of constant volatility.

Regulation, Legal & Compliance

Unpack what new rules really mean for AI, cyber, claims, E&S, and specialty, and see how RegTech can keep you compliant without slowing brokers down.

Next Gen

Sharpen your career path with playbooks, cross‑generational collaboration, and strategies for standing out as a NextGen broker in a consolidating, tech‑driven market.

E&S Unfiltered

Go deep on winning in a tight, fast‑moving E&S market, from “wild risk” solutions to the broker‑MGA‑carrier partnerships that unlock specialty placements.

Construction & Specialty Reports

Tackle complex construction and specialty risks under climate, cost, and regulatory pressure, spotting breakout niches and learning from major claims and project outcomes.

Market Capacity, M&A & Economic Headwinds

Navigate consolidation, shifting capacity, and economic pressure with strategies to stay relevant, compete, and position your firm for sale, scale, or partnership.

Get the HRFest Australia 2026
Brochure

HRFFA26 Brochure Cover

THEMES AT A GLANCE

Risk Management & Psychosocial Compliance

Tackling high-stakes workplace risks head-on and taking a proactive approach—manage tricky regulatory shifts and build a culture that genuinely keeps teams safe.

Human-Centric AI & Technology Architecture

Cutting through the massive AI hype to build smart, tech-driven workflows that actually help your people.

Uplifting DEI & Talent Capability

Moving beyond checkboxes to unlock the hidden potential in your workforce, rewriting recruitment for real equity, and building innovative training frameworks that people actually stick with.

Achieving C-Suite Alignment & Strategic Leadership

Steering through disruption with conviction and speaking the true language of the C-suite—mastering high-impact communication to win immediate executive buy-in and anchoring your team through uncertainty.

Transforming L&D & Workplace Learning

Design high-impact learning frameworks that people actually engage with—focusing on future-focused skills that build deep organisational resilience.

DISCUSSION TABLES

Step into action with our all-new themed discussion tables—built for leaders who want results now. These fast-paced, interactive sessions go beyond theory, delivering tactical conversations and proven takeaways you can put to work immediately. 

Cyber

How do you keep up with rapidly evolving cyber policies while driving client education on emerging risks and solutions? 

Digital Transformation

What are the transformational benefits of implementing AI effectively across your business? 

Construction

What are the biggest hidden builder’s risks brokers and clients need to watch for, and how can you identify them early? 

Excess & Surplus Lines

How do you build and maintain client trust in E&S placements, especially in a volatile market? 

Cyber

How are you leveraging AI to outpace cyber threats, and what challenges are you facing in the cyber arms race? 

Digital Transformation

How can brokers turn data into actionable insights that drive revenue and growth? 

Construction

What strategies help brokers navigate high-risk construction projects in a tightening market? 

Excess & Surplus Lines

How do you stay ahead of volatility in the E&S market and make confident placement decisions? 

Cyber

What strategies have helped you convert cyber skeptics into loyal, proactive clients? 

Digital Transformation

How do you design a digital-first client experience that truly delivers value and loyalty 

Construction

How do you evaluate and implement jobsite technologies that deliver real value for clients? 

Excess & Surplus Lines

What creative strategies help brokers secure E&S coverage when traditional markets say no? 

Cyber

What digital threats are most concerning for your clients, and how are you helping them prepare? 

Digital Transformation

What lessons have you learned from your digital transformation journey—both successes and failures? 

Construction

How do you identify and negotiate contract clauses that can make or break a construction deal? 

THEMES AT A GLANCE

Digital Transformation & Innovation

  • Turning AI from hype to ROI in real brokerage workflows
  • Building a digital client journey that wins (and keeps) business in a virtual world
  • Choosing InsurTech and RegTech partners that accelerate real transformation
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Cyber, Risk & Underwriting

  • Turning cyber risk into a client‑value conversation, not a fear pitch
  • Cyber crisis playbooks: who does what, when it hits
  • Underwriting the next wave of cyber and personal cyber exposures
hero-bg-1

Nat Cat & Climate

  • Rethinking nat cat models for a world that won’t sit still
  • Helping clients understand climate‑driven pricing and coverage shifts
  • Placing and structuring nat cat and climate‑exposed risks when volatility is the norm
hero-bg-1

Next Gen

  • Career playbooks: what rising brokers wish they’d known earlier 
  •  Mixing veteran experience with new ideas in 
  •  Finding your lane as a NextGen broker in a consolidating, tech‑driven market

hero-bg-1

Diversity & Inclusion

  • Real stories from women and under‑represented leaders on breaking through and bringing others with them
  •  How brokers can sponsor others, share opportunities, and use their voice even without a hiring title 
  •  Where inclusion has changed client relationships, ideas, and outcomes – not just internal messaging

hero-bg-1

E&S Unfiltered

  •  Winning in a capacity‑tight, appetite‑shifting E&S market 
  •  Designing E&S solutions for “wild risks” the standard market won’t touch 
  • Broker, MGA, and carrier partnerships that unlock specialty placements

hero-bg-1

Construction & Specialty Reports

  • Managing construction risk under climate, cost, and regulatory pressure
  • Spotting breakout niches across specialty lines before the market crowds in
  • Claims and coverage lessons from large, multi‑party and specialty projects

hero-bg-1

Market Capacity, M&A & Economic Headwinds

  • Broker playbooks for navigating consolidation and staying relevant
  •  Positioning your firm for sale, scale, or strategic partnership
  •  Competing when capacity, pricing, and client demand all move at once

hero-bg-1

Digital Transformation & Innovation

  • Turning AI from hype to ROI in real brokerage workflows
  • Building a digital client journey that wins (and keeps) business in a virtual world
  • Choosing InsurTech and RegTech partners that accelerate real transformation
hero-bg-1

Cyber, Risk & Underwriting

  • Turning cyber risk into a client‑value conversation, not a fear pitch
  • Cyber crisis playbooks: who does what, when it hits
  • Underwriting the next wave of cyber and personal cyber exposures
hero-bg-1

Nat Cat & Climate

  • Rethinking nat cat models for a world that won’t sit still
  • Helping clients understand climate‑driven pricing and coverage shifts
  • Placing and structuring nat cat and climate‑exposed risks when volatility is the norm
hero-bg-1

Regulation, Legal & Compliance

  • What new rules really mean for AI, cyber, and everyday brokerage workflows
  • RegTech that actually simplifies audits, file reviews, and reporting
  • Staying compliant on claims, E&S, and specialty without killing broker speed 

hero-bg-1

Next Gen

  • Career playbooks: what rising brokers wish they’d known earlier 
  •  Mixing veteran experience with new ideas in 
  •  Finding your lane as a NextGen broker in a consolidating, tech‑driven market

hero-bg-1

Diversity & Inclusion

  • Real stories from women and under‑represented leaders on breaking through and bringing others with them
  •  How brokers can sponsor others, share opportunities, and use their voice even without a hiring title 
  •  Where inclusion has changed client relationships, ideas, and outcomes – not just internal messaging

hero-bg-1

E&S Unfiltered

  •  Winning in a capacity‑tight, appetite‑shifting E&S market 
  •  Designing E&S solutions for “wild risks” the standard market won’t touch 
  • Broker, MGA, and carrier partnerships that unlock specialty placements

hero-bg-1

Construction & Specialty Reports

  • Managing construction risk under climate, cost, and regulatory pressure
  • Spotting breakout niches across specialty lines before the market crowds in
  • Claims and coverage lessons from large, multi‑party and specialty projects

hero-bg-1

Market Capacity, M&A & Economic Headwinds

  • Broker playbooks for navigating consolidation and staying relevant
  •  Positioning your firm for sale, scale, or strategic partnership
  •  Competing when capacity, pricing, and client demand all move at once

hero-bg-1
AGENDA

Pacific Zone

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AGENDA

Ocean Zone

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AGENDA

Palm Zone

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AGENDA

Shore Zone

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AGENDA

Discussion Tables

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HRFFA25 - TESTIMONIALS (4)
HRFFA25 - TESTIMONIALS (2)

Bring ideas. Bring your team. Rewrite the rules of HR.