The year 2024 provided numerous examples of underpayment and wage theft violations, with a number of employers facing repercussions. Yet in 2025, the consequences for these indiscretions will be much harsher – with jail time not off the table. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Smart WFM founder and chief executive Jarrod McGrath about what the new wage theft criminalisation laws – which are set to come into place next year – mean for Australian HR leaders and senior organisational executives. McGrath describes the vital function that correct payroll systems have when it comes to underpayments, with the vast majority of these contraventions being a by-product of flawed payroll systems that permeate errors. McGrath also expounds on the widespread trust issue that can arise as a result of underpayment of even a single employee, as workers often lose faith in their employer when incidents like this take place. Finally, McGrath dives into the intricate details of the new laws that will, without a doubt, have a huge effect on the job role of HR teams in 2025.

A “tsunami” of wellness workplace issues could be coming for Australian businesses, highlighting the importance of redesigning environmental structures to better ensure optimal outcomes for staff and team objectives. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Elemental Coaching and Psychology chief mental health adviser Kate Connors about how well Australian workplaces are faring on the wellness front post-pandemic, the headline consequences for teams that are not functioning at optimal levels, market factors exacerbating poor wellness at present, and the urgent need to redesign workplace structures. Connors also delves into the questions that businesses and leaders need to ask in redesigning such structures, what works and doesn’t work in undertaking a redesign, practical implementation, the need for evaluation, avoiding looking for quick wins, and the role of HR in ensuring a return on investment.  

While human resources professionals have always had to navigate workplace issues that are inherently ethical, the tension and discomfort that arise from the navigation of such issues is an element that – particularly in the current climate – demands greater attention. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership program director Dr Matt Beard about his work in the ethics space, what we mean by ethical dilemmas, what we’re seeing in the market that may be making it more difficult for HR to navigate such dilemmas, and why there is a “heightened sense” of such challenges. Beard also reflects on the compounding problems inherent with communication hurdles in the post-pandemic working environment, how better management of ethical dilemmas can and will aid HR teams in dealing with other urgent priorities, the underlying risk of “ethical fading”, practical steps that HR teams can be taking right now, and how HR can get buy-in from other business functions to bolster their capacity to better deal with workplace issues.

Australia’s workers’ compensation landscape, given the almost dozen separate schemes nationwide, is “a bit of a fractured mess”. Having a national scheme, one workplace risk director argues, will go a long way in addressing pervasive issues. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Aon workplace risk director Gary McMullen about the current state of affairs with workers’ compensation schemes across the country, why the disparity is causing problems, the “postcode privilege” that exists for some workers, and how schemes are both declining in performance and simultaneously more expensive. McMullen also delves into self-insurance that businesses will take out, the current state of mental health claims nationwide, the potential for lingering issues to get worse, his case for a national scheme, the likelihood that a national scheme can come about, and how HR professionals can help their businesses navigate the current landscape in the interim.

Bronwen Bock and Lucy Bradlow are blazing a trail as Australia’s first job-share political candidates, seeking a Senate seat in Victoria. Parliament, they say, “should be like any other workplace” and not be limited to those who can be available 24/7 for the job, as this diminishes who can represent their communities. Our political climate, the pair argues, is poorer for it. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Bronwen Bock and Lucy Bradlow from the Better Together Party about their respective careers and subsequent interest in running for Parliament as job-sharing candidates, how the community has responded to their job-sharing candidacy, and how our Constitution lends weight to their fight to become Australia’s first job-sharing politicians. Bock and Bradlow also delve into their party and policy positions, why their candidacy has shifted from seeking a House of Representatives seat to a Senate seat, the broader message Australians should take from their candidacy, driving forward flexible working arrangements in our national workforce, achieving gender equality, why more men need to explore job-sharing arrangements, and how others can start to explore working arrangements that better suit their needs.

Recent allegations of workplace bullying in parliamentary offices are a stark reminder that, in high-pressure professional environments, “bullying cannot be normalised or excused, and the wellbeing of staff must remain a priority”, says one senior human rights and discrimination lawyer. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Elevate Consulting Partners founder Prabha Nandagopal, who was the senior legal adviser to the Respect@Work inquiry, about the extent to which new positive duties to stamp out workplace misconduct such as bullying and sexual harassment have been adopted by Australian workplaces, the lack of education that businesses may have about those duties, and how new workplace norms such as scattered workforces and communication via new technologies have seen a proliferation in misconduct via new mediums. Nandagopal also reflects on the fact that a lack of reporting doesn’t mean that misconduct isn’t occurring, the questions that businesses must ask of themselves in ensuring their frameworks are up to scratch, the need for top-down approaches from leadership, the thematic issues with power in the workplace, having good response plans, and why businesses cannot be complacent about their positive duties.

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Safeguard Global country manager for ANZ, Jonathan Perumal, about how best HR teams can manage their international workforces and stay on top of pertinent operational matters. Perumal reflects on the “huge amount of risk” inherent in companies not effectively managing the hiring of workers inside and outside of Australia at a time when international recruitment is becoming more commonplace post-pandemic, the various challenges being experienced regarding compliance and payroll, and the practical ways that HR can be staying on top of these. He also delves into what he sees as the evolving role of the HR function, the fundamental importance of cultural alignment for prospective candidates as opposed to skill sets, the questions that HR teams must be asking in order to source the best cross-border workforce, what works and doesn’t work when staying on top of so many urgent priorities, and having the right frameworks in place. To learn more about Safeguard Global, click here.

The type of leader one has been in 2024 may not necessarily be suitable for 2025 market conditions. Here, we unpack how leaders and HR teams can adapt to a changing environment to better support their workplaces. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with DifferenThinking founder and chief executive Dr Zivit Inbar about the market conditions dictating a need to re-evaluate how one approaches leadership, the extent to which leaders are cognisant of the need to evolve their strategies, and anticipated trends that support the need for changing leadership approaches. Inbar also delves into the practical steps that leaders can and must take to ensure their approaches to leadership are fit for purpose in the new year, the questions they must ask of themselves and their workplaces, the role of HR professionals in supporting the growth of leaders, and the importance for HR to take responsibility for these matters.

HR professionals, Dr Tiffany Slater says, are more cognisant of the fact that traditional human resources duties have evolved and that box-ticking no longer applies. Service to the team and the broader business, she notes, is the surest way to mitigate issues. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Missouri-based Dr Tiffany Slater, the founder and chief executive of HR TailorMade, to discuss the headline mistakes that HR professionals make that can cost the business, why misstepping on accommodation requests can be so problematic, the consequences of being stubborn or inconsiderate of staff needs, and HR’s role in overcoming these matters. Slater also delves into the disconnect between an employee’s job title and their remuneration and benefits and the issues this causes, the practical steps that can be taken in response, how HR teams can better strike the right balance, their role in ensuring the business avoids costly mistakes and ensures compliance, whether such challenges are overwhelming for HR teams at present, and her advice to such professionals to make sure they are equipped to handle such challenges.

A few months ago, Joseph Catanzariti AM turned 65 and thus had to retire from his position as vice president of the Fair Work Commission (FWC). His search for work in the months since, he says, has been more fraught than anticipated. Here, he reflects on the biases against professionals who are willing and able to undertake full-time work, the wellness impacts of such ageism, and how he has looked to adapt following his tenure at the nation’s workplace tribunal. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Joseph Catanzariti AM about his career in law spanning over four decades, the statutorily imposed retirements for judges around the country, why it has been so important to him to give back, the sense of purpose he finds as a lawyer, his reflections on being a judge, and the sense of making a difference in society. Catanzariti also discusses how he felt about his imposed retirement from FWC, his realisation that employers were not seeking a full-time 65-year-old professional, the biases dictating hiring decisions and societal impressions, how he has pivoted and responded vocationally, what professional member bodies can do to address the concerns of older practitioners, the wellness issues inherent with undervaluing those practitioners, and how both employers and individuals can navigate such issues.