In line with International HR Day, experts highlight how disability inclusion and compliance reforms are redefining what it means to lead HR in Australia
Australian HR leaders are navigating a profession under transformation. From redesigning recruitment to meet the needs of a more diverse workforce, to managing intensifying compliance obligations around psychosocial safety and positive duty, the modern HR function has never been more demanding – or more consequential.
This International HR Day, insights from JobAccess and compliance management platform Safetrac shed light on how organisations can rise to meet those expectations, and why the people driving that change deserve recognition.
Building inclusion across the employee lifecycle
JobAccess – the Australian Government service that makes disability employment more accessible and effective – has been working with employers through its National Disability Recruitment Coordinator (NDRC) program to embed inclusive practices at every stage of the employee lifecycle, not just at the point of hire.
The shift in thinking begins at recruitment. Rather than only asking candidates who disclose a disability about adjustments, JobAccess encourages employers to extend that conversation universally. A simple question – "what can we do to help you be your most successful?" – can open the door for any candidate to communicate their needs.
"Often organisations only ask candidates who share information about disability about adjustments. We can be asking everyone," JobAccess told HRD.
"A great question to start a conversation is 'what can we do to help you be your most successful'. We should try to do this at every touchpoint."
That philosophy extends into onboarding, day-to-day work and career development. Tools such as workplace adjustment passports – which document agreed adjustments so continuity is maintained across role changes or management transitions – are gaining traction as a practical way to formalise support without stigma.
Workplace adjustments themselves are frequently misunderstood as costly or complex. In practice, JobAccess emphasised they are often simple and low cost: flexible hours, remote work arrangements, assistive technology, modified tasks, or minor physical changes to the work environment. Support is available through the JobAccess Advice Line and the Employment Assistance Fund for employers who need guidance.
Rethinking how organisations assess talent
One of the more significant shifts explored at the National HR Summit was the move away from traditional assessment methods that may inadvertently screen out capable candidates.
"Not all candidates can express clearly or present well in an interview, but they might possess the right skill set to perform the job," JobAccess observed.
"Consider neurodivergent candidates or people with learning difficulties who might experience language or social communication barriers."
In response, inclusive employers are exploring alternatives to the standard interview and online assessment format – including skills-based assessments, practical work scenarios, and structured trials or internships. These methods can more accurately reflect what a candidate will achieve in the role by assessing capability in context, rather than performance under artificial conditions.
Job customisation is another underutilised tool. Where a strong candidate meets most but not all of the inherent requirements of a role, tasks can be reallocated across team members, or a full-time position restructured into two part-time roles distributed according to each person's strengths.
For HR leaders and hiring managers, the practical starting point is process design: reviewing position descriptions to ensure inherent requirements are clear, considering where and how roles are advertised, and building transparency about alternative assessment into candidate communications from the outset.
Compliance pressure and the weight on HR
Beyond inclusion, Australian HR professionals are also contending with a regulatory environment that has grown significantly more demanding in recent years. Deborah Coram, founder and CEO of Safetrac, said the cumulative weight of these obligations is a challenge the profession deserves to have named.
"In the post-#MeToo and post-COVID environment, expectations around workplace conduct, psychosocial safety and organisational accountability have intensified considerably," Coram said.
"Reforms arising from Respect@Work, positive duty obligations and increased psychosocial risk regulation have placed HR teams at the centre of increasingly complex legal, cultural and operational responsibilities."
Coram cautioned that a compliance framework built on generic training alone is no longer sufficient.
Regulators have made clear that organisations must be able to demonstrate that their training is tailored, effectively implemented and capable of showing that positive duty obligations are being actively met – not simply ticked off.
"Regulatory action has demonstrated generic 'tick box' training alone is insufficient," she said.
"When workplace issues are not effectively prevented through education, governance and training, the burden of managing complaints, investigations and remediation, often falls back on HR."
For Coram, this International HR Day (20 May) is an opportunity to acknowledge what HR professionals are actually carrying.
"Australian HR teams are navigating increasingly demanding and rapidly evolving workplace regulatory environments while also trying to protect culture, trust, psychological safety, and employee experience. That balancing act deserves far more recognition and organisational support."
What it all means for HR leaders
The through-line connecting disability inclusion, accessible assessment and compliance reform is this: HR has moved from an administrative function to a strategic and ethical anchor within organisations.
The decisions HR leaders make – about who gets hired, how adjustments are handled, what training is delivered – carry legal, cultural and human consequences.
JobAccess' NDRC partners with larger employers free of charge to build disability confidence and improve accessibility over the long term. Its approach makes clear that the business case for inclusive hiring is not separate from good HR practice – it is central to it.
For HR teams looking to strengthen their approach to workforce wellbeing and inclusion, International HR Day is a timely prompt to audit existing systems and ask where the gaps remain.
