HR Leader Podcast Network

More claims. More complexity. Higher stakes. How AI and rising civil penalties are reshaping workplace litigation and what employers need to do to keep pace. In this special episode of The Legal Brief, produced in partnership with national law firm Kingston Reid, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner James Parkinson about two emerging trends currently reshaping the conduct of workplace litigation in Australia.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being deployed in legal proceedings, and this trend shows no sign of abating. The rise of the "AI advocate" is driving a surge in rights-aware self-represented litigants, with generative AI capable of producing legally framed claims. While this presents a perceived expansion of access to justice, it also places significant pressure on courts, tribunals, and employers who are required to navigate AI-generated materials in order to respond to claims. The presenters explore how Australian jurisdictions are responding, through evolving guidance notes and procedural guardrails, and why a recalibration towards more traditional, oral advocacy may be on the horizon.

Against this backdrop, our presenters also explore the growing prominence of collective employee claims. With significantly higher civil penalties and intensified regulatory scrutiny, the economics of enforcement have shifted. Resolution is no longer confined to employee remediation, and may increasingly involve consideration of payments to prosecuting parties, including unions.

For employers, the implications of these developments are clear: compliance must be proactive, remediation swift, and litigation strategies rigorously stress-tested.

In a system being rapidly reshaped in the wake of new technology, organisations that recognise these shifts and act early to address issues will be best placed to navigate a more complex and costly disputes landscape, whereas employers who fail to adapt risk being outpaced: procedurally, financially, and strategically.

To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.

Work is a social determinant of health – given how much time we spend in the workplace, it is one of the most consistent and powerful influences on our holistic wellbeing. To this end, how we view responsibility for our health and work can and should be reconsidered.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with organisational psychologist, researcher, and leadership adviser Dr Kat Page about her passion for supporting individual workers on the ground, how and why consideration of work goes beyond discussions of mental health and psychological safety, and why the volume of work undertaken means it must be considered a public health issue.

Page also delves into the fact that we have less separation from work than ever before, the blurred lines between home and work that impact one's ability to disconnect, how old the idea of work being a public health issue and its resonance with key decision-makers, what the role of the HR function looks like when work is considered a public health issue, rethinking what HR looks like, and how it can bring the business along for the ride.

With more generations in the workforce than ever before and against the backdrop of myriad technological and sociocultural changes, hiring the right staff is more difficult than ever. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Blue Connections IT chief people and operations officer Cassandra Eastham about having pivoted her career from biochemistry to using people skills, the people challenges facing HR practitioners, adapting one's approach to working with staff, and striking the right balance between generations.

Eastham also delves into the importance of having an open mind, onboarding tech while not ignoring the human aspect of work, ensuring staff feel comfortable, what best practice looks like in attracting and retaining talent right now, employing newer and more creative strategies, maintaining a competitive edge, what's worked and not worked in her experience, and looming opportunities to reinforce the importance of the HR function.

In the age of AI, "it can be very hard to ascertain the person behind the CV". Here, one CEO outlines her four-step process to recruitment to help leaders and HR pivot in a shifting landscape.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Virtual Headquarters chief executive Emma Davison about her background as a physio, what she learnt from that vocation in becoming a C-suite executive, the recruitment challenges facing businesses right now, why it's harder to recruit now than ever before, and the lessons she's learnt over the years when hiring.

Davison also delves into her four-step process for hiring new staff, why such a comprehensive approach is so beneficial, the differences she's noticed since starting the new system, the inherent challenges to be overcome, and what motivates her moving forward about recruitment into the future.

Oftentimes, HR doesn't understand what the change management function does. Better appreciating its purpose and working more collaboratively with that function will ultimately benefit the entire workplace.

In this week's episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with 437 Consulting director and founder Sudesh Dahiya about her background as a programmer and what it taught her about empathy in the workplace, the differences between the HR and change management functions and why they're separate, the challenges that exist in the relationship between HR and change, and how pressing such differences are for HR to help address.

Dahiya also delves into how HR and change are approaching transformation differently, the consequences of HR and change not working in sync, the questions HR needs to ask itself in order to bridge the divide and practical steps to implement, overcoming inherent challenges, and why such an improvement in the relationship will benefit all.

Here, Richie Poulton reflects on the need for better top-down approaches when it comes to managing workplace wellness, the importance of leading by example, and how HR departments and C-suite executives can show greater care and empathy for their staff, particularly in the current climate. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Instantia CEO Richie Poulton about his background as a nightclub owner in Europe and the other directions his vocational journey as taken, why he's so adamant about running a business that prioritises transparency, his experiences with burnout and what it has taught him, and how he benefited from working on himself.

Poulton also delves into how he manages his role as a CEO, what he's learnt about good leadership, how workforces respond to his approach, the need for a new leadership approach from the C-suite, what HR must do moving forward, and what excites him about such top-down leadership.

Workplaces across the board can, at times, trigger fear responses from workers. Here, we reflect on how incorporating play into not only the processes but also the mindset of the workforce can both bolster and maintain optimal levels of psychological safety for staff.

In today's episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Culture Hero founder Dara Simkin about how and why play in the workplace means something entirely different from having a ping-pong table on the floor, why the incorporation of play is so essential in the current climate, how high-stakes workplaces can trigger fear responses, and the consequences of this.

Simkin also delves into the compounding effects of stress both inside and outside work, the impact of constantly feeling exhausted, how play can help, the problems to be overcome, how HR can better push for the incorporation of play, how HR can support team leaders in driving change, and the need to remain human in a shifting landscape.

This week on The HR Leader Podcast, in a special episode produced in partnership with LinkedIn, we explore how professionals and leaders can make sense of how working life is evolving and better support their staff in building skills, confidence, and agency in the age of AI.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with LinkedIn Chief Economic Opportunity Officer Aneesh Raman about his varied and storied career, what LinkedIn is observing in the market right now that the HR function must be on top of, the need for HR to feel empowered about ongoing change rather than overwhelmed, and what it looks like for HR to strike the right balance between maintaining the human aspect of work while rolling with the punches in an AI-driven landscape.

Raman also delves into HR's agency in driving change, the volume of skills that are shifting or becoming redundant and what that means for workers, taking a more skills-based approach to work, what businesses are getting right in AI adoption and utilisation, undervalued human skills, and how HR can better manage any sense of overwhelm.

To learn more about LinkedIn, click here. To learn about LinkedIn's new book, Open to Work, click here.

In this week's The Legal Brief, a special episode produced in partnership with national workplace law firm Kingston Reid, we explore how psychosocial safety is now central to how Australian regulators assess organisational competence and leadership, and what this means specifically for those within the HR function.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner Liam Fraser about how psychosocial safety has evolved into a core governance risk, with organisational restructures, change programs and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence now all considered high-risk psychosocial events. This evolution now brings to light the need for organisations, particularly HR, to be proactive about ongoing risk management in 2026 and beyond.

Fraser also delves into what work health and safety (WHS) regulators are most heavily scrutinising, the key questions that HR professionals need to be asking in 2026 to keep up with best practice, and why businesses that properly embed psychosocial safety into governance frameworks will ultimately prove to be more resilient, trusted, and high performing in the long term.

To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.

People are the most important part of any business, and to that end, the HR function can and must play a role in driving value, in its myriad forms, for businesses.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with consultant Jane Edgar (who has served in senior HR roles in numerous major Australian businesses) about the importance of HR's role as an enterprise value driver, what has held HR back from fulfilling certain functions over the years, why the current climate provides a window for HR to showcase its worth, and the questions HR needs to ask of itself in being an enterprise value driver.

Edgar also delves into the practical steps HR needs to implement to drive value, hurdles standing in the way of HR's success, navigating time constraints, lessons she's learnt from running a P&L, taking a holistic approach to creating value for the business, and what excites her about the prospect of HR being more of a value driver.