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AFR Live

The Financial Review’s reputation for news-breaking, agenda-setting and authoritative analysis finds new expression in AFR Live, a series of premium, independent and hard-hitting business events.

Latest

Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood, Airtasker founder Tim Fung and Woodside vice president of corporate services Julie Fallon at the AFR Workforce Summit in Sydney.

No scrutiny of Labor’s workplace laws

Labor did not consult its top productivity adviser over its latest workplace laws, including the right to disconnect, a change industry says ‘shows common sense has left the room’.

  • David Marin-Guzman, Patrick Durkin and Euan Black
Danielle Wood

Workforce summit exposes IR inflexibility mismatch

The government calls its new industrial relations laws ‘closing loopholes’ when it is really about closing off flexibility.

  • The AFR View
Amy Coleman, Corporate Vice President, Human Resources & Corporate Functions, Microsoft

How bosses are using generative AI to work smarter, better

Companies are still divided on whether automation and new AI will guarantee productivity and efficiency gains.

  • Samantha Hutchinson and Patrick Durkin

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This Month

 Jennie Rogerson says Canva wants to keep evolving its work from home policy.

We’re all guessing on WFH, but firms may soon need to pick a side

From Canva to JPMorgan, leaders are still feeling their way when it comes to working from home. But employees may be about to force the issue. 

  • James Thomson
Danielle Wood.

Aussie bosses falling behind in tech race

Local business leaders are lagging rich countries in adopting technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, contributing to the economy’s productivity slowdown, Productivity Commission chairwoman Danielle Wood says.

  • John Kehoe
Medibank’s Kylie Bishop said early signs were good for its four-day week trial.

Four-day week v office mandate: One size does not fit all

Medibank’s Kylie Bishop says its workers on a four-day-a-week trial are less stressed, but JPMorgan says it needs its merchant bankers in the office every day.

  • David Marin-Guzman
Woodside Energy human resources head Julie Fallon has warned of adverse consequences from two Labor industrial relations policies.

Right to disconnect ‘a real challenge’ for global firms: Woodside

With offices around the world, Woodside fears the new labour rules could be stifling, and HR boss Julie Fallon says same job, same pay laws sap productivity.

  • Euan Black
The pay gap is finally shrinking at a faster rate.

Gender pay gap shrinks at fastest rate in 20 years

The “encouraging” change is largely thanks to fathers spending more time looking after their children and doing housework, according to the latest HILDA survey.

  • Hannah Wootton
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Dutton pledges to cut off employees’ right to disconnect

The opposition will present voters with a “targeted package” repealing key parts of Labor’s pro-union industrial relations regime, shadow ministers say.

  • Andrew Tillett
Michele Bullock said that she was a glass-half full “optimist” about a recovery from Australia’s post-pandemic productivity slump.

A bad week for Australian productivity and prosperity

Michele Bullock may be a glass-half-full optimist, but Labor’s latest moves will make economic recovery that much harder.

  • The AFR View
The right to disconnect.

Businesses’ guide to the new IR laws

Human resources and workplace lawyers explain how to manage the swath of workplace changes about to hit business.

  • David Marin-Guzman
Benham conducts fortnightly meetings with each of his direct reports, usually face-to-face and which last for between 45 minutes and an hour.

How to manage staff who work from home

Managing staff who work partly, or mostly, at home is no mean feat. Senior business leaders reveal how they do it.

  • Sally Patten
Company directors expect more staff will begin to return to the office in coming months.

More staff expected back in office: Lendlease, Seek, SBS chairmen

Senior directors are predicting an increase in office attendance the coming months as benefits of spending time in the workplace increase for workers.

  • Sally Patten and Patrick Durkin
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said he will seek to fix a right to disconnect before it comes into effect.

Burke’s workplace changes will undercut bargaining

Business groups say Labor’s industrial relations changes will lock in decades-old union conditions in workplaces and undermine the enterprise bargaining system.

  • David Marin-Guzman

What’s in Labor’s new workplace laws

Labor’s third tranche of workplace laws since its election is set to pass the Senate on Thursday. Here’s what businesses need to know.

  • David Marin-Guzman
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke.

Labor’s IR bill as bad as the poor process

The changes extend the archaic inflexibility of Australia’s complex, legalistic and proscriptive industrial relations regime.

  • The AFR View
Senator David Pocock and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke.

Crossbench and Greens seal deal on workplace changes

Labor has reached a deal with the Greens and crossbench, but business slammed the secret process and “attempt to legislate common sense”.

  • David Marin-Guzman
CBA’s Gavin Munro with Microsoft’s Alysa Taylor, at the bank’s Sydney headquarters.

CBA claims AI is already making it work 30pc better

AI is making the bank’s highly paid staff more efficient by doing some of their boring work, CBA’s tech boss says, while its customers will deal with AI more.

  • Paul Smith
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Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said it was “a pretty good model” if employers had a right to reach out of hours but workers could still ignore them.

Burke and crossbench near deal on right to disconnect, casuals

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has backed not fining bosses who contact staff after hours as part of critical IR talks with the crossbench.

  • Updated
  • David Marin-Guzman
The RBA governor Michele Bullock is hoping for a sharp improvement in labour productivity to dampen stubborn inflationary pressures.

Bullock bets on sharp lift in productivity

The problem is that if productivity growth remains disappointing, the RBA’s hopes for a gradual reduction in inflation will be thwarted.

  • Updated
  • Karen Maley

Meet ChatPwC, the custom-built AI tool being rolled out at the firm

All 8400 partners and staff at PwC Australia now have access to a custom-built AI assistant that can research, summarise and write documents for them.

  • Tess Bennett
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says he’s willing to compromise with the crossbench on the “right to switch off” amendment.

Burke flags fines for bosses that breach ‘right to disconnect’ orders

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says he’s willing to compromise with the Senate crossbench on facets of the government’s industrial relations reforms.

  • Tom Rabe
Financial performance and sharemarket valuations at companies with office work mandates did not improve, but they did suffer significant falls in employee job satisfaction.

Office mandates offer no financial benefit and staff hate them: study

Return-to-office mandates upset workers and fail to significantly improve business performance, an analysis of S&P 500 firms has found. 

  • Euan Black