September 2, 2026 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Organisational Strategy, Recruitment

Could your NFP be hiring (more) refugees?

As the Australia debates whether our intake of refugees is the “right” number, ACOSS has noted that “20,000 refugees per year is . . . just three to five per cent of arrivals.”

But the heated debate over numbers obscures the enormous contribution refugees make to our economy – including as employees, often in regional areas or in less popular jobs that can be impossible to fill otherwise.

Refugees often arrive in Australia with valuable skills but without recognised qualifications and sometimes with challenges that are a result of their experiences of displacement.

For organisations looking to fill vacancies or skills gaps – and potentially make an additional impact by helping some of the most vulnerable people in our community – employing refugees might be an option you haven’t fully considered.

August 26, 2026 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, People Analytics, Remuneration

A workplace that works for everyone: How to tackle socioeconomic disadvantage in your workforce

Most people tend to think of the workplace as a meritocracy: if people have the right skills and experience, work hard and perform well, they have the same opportunity to succeed.

But socioeconomic background can shape people’s working lives in ways that are not easily visible – influencing who gets hired, who progresses, who feels they belong and ultimately who reaches senior positions.

In Australia, one in three children born into the lowest 20 per cent of income-earning families will still be in that group by adulthood.

So what can NFP employers do to work out where those barriers are showing up in their workplaces, and how can they remove them?

August 19, 2026 Human Resources, Legal Issues, Remuneration

Big changes to the SCHADS Award: What NFP employers need to know

On 1 June 2026, the Fair Work Commission handed down a significant decision that will reshape pay and classification structures for most of Australia’s social, community, and disability services employers.

Back in June 2024, the Commission launched a review of five modern awards to understand whether they had been undervaluing work because it was done predominantly by women.

The FWC found that the previous system – inherited from older awards – was outdated, overly complex, confusing, and frequently led to misclassifications and workplace pay disputes due to unclear role descriptions.

The result of the review is a complete overhaul of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award – the most significant reform to the award in more than 15 years. To help unpack the changes, we spoke with Ben McAlpine, director of policy and advocacy at the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS).

August 5, 2026 Leadership

The most important leadership lesson I’ve learned: Ronni Kahn AO, OzHarvest founder

What are the leadership lessons that stay with us long after the books have been read and the courses have finished? In this series, we sit down with some of Australia’s most influential NFP leaders to explore the defining moments and insights that have shaped how they lead.

For our second post in this series, we spoke with Ronni Kahn AO, the founder, former CEO and now ‘visionary in residence’ at OzHarvest. Since rescuing her first surplus food in 2004, Ronni has grown OzHarvest into Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, recovering quality food that would otherwise go to waste from supermarkets, restaurants, farmers and businesses, and delivering it to charities that support people experiencing food insecurity. Along the way, she’s built a national team of staff and thousands of volunteers united by a shared purpose.

Here, Ronni shares the leadership principles that have guided her from day one.

July 29, 2026 AI in the Workplace, Making Decisions, Recruitment, Recruitment & HR Technology

Tempted to use AI to shortlist your job applicants? Here are four reasons that’s a bad idea

Four reasons not to use AI to shortlist applicants

Reviewing job applications can be hard, time-consuming work – especially when you have a long list of applicants.

And in the last couple of years, AI large language model (LLM) tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have become appealing options to cut down the hours and effort of reviewing and shortlisting your job applications.

But while AI can help automate many once-manual processes, should reviewing applications be one of them?

Professor Alysia Blackham from Melbourne Law School is one of the world’s leading experts in age discrimination law. She explains why it’s a bad idea to rely on AI tools to screen your job applicants.

July 22, 2026 Culture and Values, Health & Wellbeing, Legal Issues

The right to disconnect: is your organisation doing enough?

Going above and beyond is often part of the culture in many NFPs. Employees answer messages out of hours because a client is in crisis, stay back because an event needs to run, or volunteer extra hours because they believe deeply in the mission.

But when passion quietly becomes an expectation of being constantly “on”, even the most committed employees can reach their limit. Burnout, resentment and staff turnover can follow – particularly in organisations already stretched by limited resources.

July 15, 2026 Health & Wellbeing, Managing People Well

Supporting employees through grief in the workplace: a guide for NFPs

Every workplace will, at some point, be affected by grief. An employee loses a parent, grandparent, pet or friend. They take compassionate leave and, before long, they’re back at work.

But while workplace policies can determine when someone’s leave is over, they can’t determine how long their grief lasts, or how it affects their work.

Given how prevalent grief is in our lives, the support we receive in the workplace after a loss can make a real difference to how we process it. We spoke to Dr Kelly Gough, president of the Australian Psychological Society, about the different ways grief can affect employees, and what managers can do to help them feel seen and supported.

July 8, 2026 Health & Wellbeing, Organisational Strategy, Remuneration

Five ways to support employee financial wellbeing during the cost-of-living crisis

5 ways to support employee financial wellbeing

Right now, a dedicated case worker who’s spent years supporting vulnerable people is quietly updating their résumé – not because they’ve lost their passion, but because rising living costs are making it harder to make ends meet.

It’s a familiar story across the NFP sector, where 1.6 million employees are feeling the squeeze of rising living costs, and many organisations are unable to ease the pressure through pay rises alone.

But pay isn’t the only lever employers have to financially support employees. So, what does good financial wellbeing support look like when employers can’t provide a salary increase? We spoke to Helena Jakupovic, General Manager of the WA-based Financial Wellbeing Collective to find out.

July 1, 2026 Health & Wellbeing, Leadership

Is your workplace thriving? Australia’s largest workplace wellbeing study offers a roadmap

Chances are that at least one in four of your colleagues is experiencing burnout. That’s according to the latest workplace wellbeing survey by leading research NFP, SuperFriend. Now in its 11th year, the Indicators of a Thriving Workplace study is the largest of its kind in Australia and provides one of our most comprehensive snapshots of workplace mental health.

So, what are Australia’s biggest workplace wellbeing challenges – and what can NFP organisations do to help employees thrive? We take a closer look at the report’s key findings.

June 24, 2026 Leadership

The most important leadership lesson I’ve learned: Grant Bayldon, CEO, World Vision Australia

What are the leadership lessons that stay with us long after the books have been read and the courses have finished? In this series, we sit down with some of Australia’s most influential NFP leaders to explore the defining moments and insights that shaped how they lead.

First in the chair is Grant Bayldon, CEO of World Vision Australia. Grant has spent much of his career in leadership roles for purpose-driven organisations across New Zealand, including World Vision New Zealand, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand and Oxfam Aotearoa.

Here, he reflects on the most important leadership lesson of his career: that the role of a leader is not to be indispensable, but to build an organisation that can fulfil its purpose without depending on any one person.

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