Performance management season is here. Is fear stopping your leaders from having hard, but necessary, conversations?

In this episode of ER/IR Unpacked, we strip away the stress to explore how to effectively navigate performance reviews through a psychosocial safety lens.

We start with a brief ER/IR landscape update from Elisha Middleton, Workplace Relations and Remuneration Lead at Western Power, covering the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review decision, upcoming SCHADS Award restructuring, updates to case management processes via the Building Cooperative Workplaces Bill and Victoria's newly legislated right to work from home.

Then, host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR goes deep with Kate Connors, Chief Mental Health Advisor and executive coach at Elemental Coaching and Psychology. Kate shares proactive strategies to ease manager anxiety, the behavioral balance of high-quality workplace check-ins and how to co-design performance solutions rather than strictly relying on scripted procedures.

Plus, we tackle the grey areas HR leaders actually face by answering questions from our listeners, focusing on stressful frontline industries, applying trauma-informed practice to performance discussions and balancing economic productivity with psychological safety.

Further learning:

• Article – How to protect wellbeing through smarter work design: https://bit.ly/4w8dU5s
• Article – 4 common psychosocial hazards and how to manage them: https://bit.ly/4xLknVT
• Course – Psychosocial Code of Practice: https://bit.ly/3SwbAH9

Resources:

• Guideline – How to have difficult conversations: https://bit.ly/4xOQeVr
• Guideline – Reviewing or designing jobs to prevent psychosocial harm: https://bit.ly/4alJq7O

Connect:

1. Follow AHRI on LinkedIn.
2. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR, Elisha Middleton and Kate Connors.
3. AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/
4. Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership

Australia’s National Employment Standards are getting their first major comprehensive parliamentary review since being implemented in 2009. A flood of submissions from industry groups, unions and individuals highlights the variety of strong opinions about Australia's industrial landscape.

In this episode, we kick off with our monthly industrial relations briefing with Amal Cimino CPHR, AHRI’s HR Standards and Capability Development Manager, who talks about the Closing Loopholes review, Federal budget outcomes and more.

Following this, employment lawyer Lisa Mannering FCPHR joins host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR to dissect the highest-stakes items on the table in the upcoming NES review, ranging from the fiercely debated push for five weeks of annual leave to the logistical headaches of casual notice periods and the campaign to force AI into mandatory consultation clauses.

To wrap things up, we field a few tricky curveballs from our listeners regarding the potential changes to arise from the review.

Further learning:

• 5 changes under consideration in the NES review: https://www.ahri.com.au/articles/5-changes-under-consideration-in-the-national-employment-standards-review
• How casual work could evolve as a result of current legislation reviews: https://www.ahri.com.au/articles/casual-work-legislation-reviews
• Federal Court judgement: https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2025/2025fca1092

Resources:

• The Fair Work Commission's Pay and Conditions tool (PACT): https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/
• AHRI HR's Federal Budget briefing: https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/v2/D561FAQEmxldWM7ttYA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/B56Z4gQ4AIKoAY-/0/1778657757607?e=1779926400&v=beta&t=bOw2FwRy6X2ojD4uTt2szDKYUZ-K9qTw_dM-hYToqiQ
• AHRI's Closing Loopholes draft report: https://www.dewr.gov.au/download/17619/closing-loopholes-review-draft-report/42732/closing-loopholes-review-draft-report/pdf

Connect:

Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri/

Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathonwoolfrey/

Connect with Amal Cimino CPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amal-cimino-cphr-6375a376/

Connect with Lisa Mannering FCPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mannering/

AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/

Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's (WGEA) new gender goal-setting requirements are now in full effect. Is your business on track to satisfy the new requirements?

In this episode of ER/IR Unpacked, we strip away the compliance jargon to tackle the strategic reality of gender reporting and target setting in the workplace. Plus, AHRI's HR Standards and Capability Development Manager, Amal Cimino CPHR, offers a quick update on upcoming ER/IR changes on the horizon.

In our deep dive section, we explore the powerful business case for gender equality with Dr Samone McCurdy, Executive Manager, Insights and Capability at WGEA. We dive into the latest legislative reforms, discuss the new 'menu' of targets for large employers, the importance of board-level transparency and explore how HR can use this data to influence strategy with the C-suite.

Plus, we answer HR's burning listener questions – from the consequences of missing a target to managing baselines during a major company restructure.

Further learning:

9 common questions about the upcoming Payday superannuation changes: https://bit.ly/49vpmzh

DEI for HR Practitioners: Introduction to DEI practices course: https://bit.ly/490Kmhp

Resources:

AHRI's WGEA-approved Remuneration and Pay Equity Policy template (exclusive to AHRI members): https://bit.ly/4sF0DQJ

WGEA gender pay gap analysis guide: https://bit.ly/4ncwvdA

Connect:

Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri

Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR; Amal Cimino CPHR and Dr Samone McCurdy.

AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/

Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://bit.ly/3RlhE4s

SHOW NOTES

Further learning:

1. AI & HR: What You Need to Know to Stay Compliant course: https://bit.ly/48eHgWi
2. Embedding Responsible AI: Shaping Workforce Planning & Culture course: https://bit.ly/4sHnNpN

Resources:

1. Webinar with WGEA CEO Mary Woolridge (exclusive to AHRI members): https://bit.ly/4uUhz7v
2. Justice Hatcher's AI guidance document: https://bit.ly/4bOm9wB
3. AHRI Remuneration and Pay Equity Policy template: https://bit.ly/4sF0DQJ

Connect:

1. Follow AHRI on LinkedIn.
2. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR; Amal Cimino CPHR and Natalie Gaspar.
3. AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/
4. Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership

Stay ahead of the curve on all things employment and industrial relations with ER/IR Unpacked – a monthly podcast from the Australian HR Institute, the trusted home for HR professionals.

Hosted by experienced HR and IR expert Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR, each episode offers practical and timely tips for the modern HR practitioner.

SHOW NOTES

Connect:

1. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathonwoolfrey/
2. Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri/
3. AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/
4. Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership