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.
Program
Introduction: Working Time from Past to Present
Explore how the working week has evolved through social, political and economic change, and what history can teach us about the possibilities for rethinking working time today.
Speaker: Professor Sean Scalmer (UniMelb)
Session One: Productivity, New Technologies, Working Time
Examine the relationship between productivity growth, technological innovation and working hours, and whether the benefits of a more productive economy can be shared through shorter working time.
Speakers: Dr Angela Jackson (Productivity Commission), Dr Greg Jericho (The Australian Institute and Centre for Future Work), Professor Paula MacDonald (QUT)
Panel: Dr Margaret McKenzie (Per Capita), Alan Oster (Independent economist, formerly NAB chief economist), Professor Roy Green (academic and policy adviser)
Chair: Professor Ross Garnaut AC (economist, author and public policy advisor)
Session Two: The Digital Economy, Artificial Intelligence and Working Time
Explore how artificial intelligence and digital technologies are transforming the nature, pace and organisation of work, and the implications for workers, employers and regulation.
Speakers: Professor John Howe (UniMelb), Associate Professor Jake Goldenfein (UniMelb), Dr Debora Lanzeni (Monash)
Panel: Dr Andrew Charlton (Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy), Nicole McPherson (National Assistant Secretary, Finance Sector Union); Millie Muroi (Ch 9 newspapers)
Chair: Professor Shelley Marshall (RMIT)
Session Three: Work, Flexibility, Care and Time
Examine how working time arrangements shape the distribution of paid work and unpaid care, and what better forms of flexible approaches could mean for gender equality, workforce participation and wellbeing.
Speakers: Associate Professor Myra Hamilton (USYD), Associate Professor Natasha Cortis (UNSW), Professor Rae Cooper AO (USYD)
Panel: Georgie Dent (The Parenthood), Padma Raman (Executive Director of the Office for Women, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet), Annie Butler (Federal Secretary, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation)
Chair: Professor Marion Baird (USYD)
Session Four: Beyond the Forty-Hour Week?
Drawing on international research and Australian workplace experiences, explore the evidence for shorter working weeks, their potential benefits for productivity and wellbeing, and the practical challenges of making them work.
Keynote: Professor Brendan Burchell (Cambridge)
Panel: Emma Dawson (Chiffey Research Centre), Michelle Urquhart (Medibank), Cassie Farley (Australian Services Union)
Chair: Associate Professor Tess Hardy (UniMelb)