Australia’s leading academics, policymakers and sector leaders will gather at the University of Melbourne on 12 November 2026 for the conference Rethinking Working Time: Productivity, Fairness and Wellbeing.
Bringing together experts across economics, history, industrial relations, sociology and law, the event will create space for timely and practical conversations between research, policy and industry on the future of work. Across a full day of discussions, speakers will explore how working time has evolved, and where it is heading in an era shaped by productivity pressures, care demands and rapid technological change.
Please see below for a list of speakers. A full program will be available soon.
Program
Session One: Introduction: Working Time from Past to Present
Speaker: Sean Scalmer
Session Two: Productivity, New Technologies, Working Time
Speakers: Angela Jackson, Greg Jericho, Paula MacDonald
Panel: Margaret McKenzie, Alan Oster, Roy Green
Chair: Ross Garnaut
Session Three: The Digital Economy, Artificial Intelligence and Working Time
Speakers: John Howe, Jake Goldenfein
Panel: Andrew Charlton, Nicole McPherson; Millie Muroi
Chair: Shelley Marshall
Session Four: Work, Flexibility, Care and Time
Speakers: Myra Hamilton, Natasha Cortis, Rae Cooper
Panel: Georgie Dent, Padma Raman, Annie Butler
Session Five: Beyond the Forty-Hour Week?
Speaker: Brendan Burchell
Panel: Emma Dawson, Michelle Urquhart, Cassie Farley
Chair: Tess Hardy