DEI & Inclusive Hiring
18 NOVEMBER 2026 | THE TIMBER YARD, MELBOURNE
Bring ideas. Bring your team. Build your advantage.
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+MOVING BEYOND CHECKBOXES TO UNLOCK HIDDEN POTENTIAL.
Rewriting recruitment for real equity and building training frameworks people actually stick with. Real inclusion isn't a policy on a page — it's who gets hired, who gets heard, and what your team actually does under pressure. These sessions range from skills-based hiring and accessible design to nervous-system resets between sessions, closing with a genuinely different take on leadership presence: a horse.
Key Takeaways
- ● Why skills-based hiring is driving a rise in "returnships" for professionals re-entering the workforce
- ● What it actually feels like to navigate a platform that wasn't built for you, and the barriers that need to break
- ● Why traditional engagement strategies are failing a workforce that's half out of the office
- ● How a more human, strengths-based model can replace a KPI obsession that's quietly working against your culture
SESSIONS FOR YOU
In this completely unmissable, interactive experience, Jess brings her horse to the main stage to look at team dynamics through a different lens. Tuning into the horse's real-time response to the room's collective energy gives an unfiltered, honest read on how your leadership presence impacts those around you.
In a talent-starved market, the best candidates are often hidden behind traditional credentials. See how forward-thinking Australian companies are shifting toward skills-based hiring, driving the rise of "returnships" for professionals re-entering the workforce, and turning untapped talent pools into a commercial advantage.
Let's be honest — traditional engagement strategies are failing. This unfiltered deep dive covers what it actually takes to build a culture that sticks when half your team isn't in the office, and the radical shift in strategy an evolving workforce now demands.
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.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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.
INSURANCEFEST AT A GLANCE
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
THEMES AT A GLANCE
Digital Transformation & Innovation
Cyber, Risk & Underwriting
Nat Cat & Climate
Regulation, Legal & Compliance
Next Gen
E&S Unfiltered
Construction & Specialty Reports
Market Capacity, M&A & Economic Headwinds
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

