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Empowering your workforce, driving your success | |
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My recent holiday already feels like a distant memory, the year seems to be moving ahead of me fast, and I'm quietly checking my calendar for the next break. | | | |
The only real reminder that it’s still early January is the children lingering at home, waiting for their own new year to officially begin.
If that feels familiar, you’re not alone.
For many business owners and leaders, this time of year brings a strange mix of momentum and unease. Work resumes, decisions start stacking up, and yet the year hasn’t quite found its rhythm. It’s often when people begin reacting — responding to what’s in front of them — rather than stepping back to decide how they want the year to unfold.
That’s why our focus for 2026 starts here.
This year, we’ll be helping businesses move away from reactive people management and toward more intentional, confident decision-making. Strong HR foundations don’t remove pressure altogether, but they do provide something many leaders are missing early in the year: stable ground to stand on when things inevitably speed up.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing insights, guidance, and practical conversations designed to help you regain a sense of control — not by doing more, but by getting the fundamentals right early. If you’re looking for steadier footing as the year takes shape, you’re in the right place.
Welcome to the first edition of Strategic HR Australia’s newsletter for 2026. | |
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Before the Year Gets Busy: 5 HR Reset Questions Every Leader Should Ask in January | | | |
January offers leaders a rare pause before the year accelerates — a chance to think clearly rather than react quickly.
In this article, we explore five questions designed to help leaders reflect on expectations, decision-making, and people practices early in the year. The aim isn’t to overhaul everything, but to surface assumptions and areas that are easier to address now than once pressure builds.
For leaders looking to start the year with greater clarity and confidence, this piece provides a practical place to begin. | |
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Where HR risk quietly builds earlyin the year | | | |
Most HR risk doesn’t come from obvious mistakes. It builds quietly, in places that don’t feel risky at the time.
Below are three common areas where unresolved ambiguity early in the year often leads to problems later.
- Expectations that exist informally, not clearly
When performance standards, behavioural expectations, or priorities are implied rather than stated, different interpretations fill the gap. This often isn’t an issue until workloads increase and decisions need to be made quickly. - Manager judgement without shared reference points
Managers are often left to “use their judgement” without clear guidance on what consistency looks like. Over time, this creates uneven decisions that feel unfair or confusing to employees. - Issues that are noticed but deliberately deferred
January is when leaders often spot small concerns but decide to “see how it goes”. These unresolved issues don’t disappear, they resurface later with higher emotional and operational cost.
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💡 Did You Know?
AHRI research shows that around 60% of managers feel underprepared to manage people issues — which helps explain why inconsistency and unresolved ambiguity often emerge later in the year. | | |
Key Insight The difference between organisations that prevent these issues and those that manage them later is not effort or intent — it’s whether leaders treat early ambiguity as something to accept, or something to resolve.
Addressing ambiguity early doesn’t require solving every problem. It requires recognising that clarity now is far easier — and far less disruptive and costly — than correction under pressure later.
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Four Industrial Relations Reforms to Watch in 2026 | Australia’s employment law landscape will continue evolving in 2026 with key changes affecting superannuation payment timing, mandatory gender equality target-setting for larger employers, expanded paid parental leave, and an ongoing review of the National Employment Standards.
These reforms will influence payroll, policies, compliance and workforce planning, requiring HR teams to prepare their systems and processes ahead of each change.
Why it matters: These changes introduce new obligations and requirements. Early awareness allows HR teams to adjust policies and systems before reforms take effect, reducing risk and improving organisational readiness.
| | Aboriginal Health Workers Award Update | Updates to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers Award took effect on 1 January 2026. The FWC added new classification structures for dental assistants, therapists and oral health workers, along with staged minimum pay increases starting now and in January 2027 and 2028.
The changes, part of a broader move to remedy gender-based undervaluation in health roles, also revise required knowledge and cultural skill levels for certain grades.
Why it matters: Organisations employing Aboriginal health practitioners must implement these pay and classification changes immediately to stay compliant.
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Clarity on "Sleepover" Shifts in Disability and Care Sector | A new Fair Work Commission ruling has clarified “sleepover” shifts under the SCHADS Award. A shift that includes work before and after an overnight sleep period will be treated as one continuous shift, not split around the sleep break.
Overtime will only apply if the total active work exceeds 12 hours (previously 10 hours). The decision also changes how shift loadings are applied to the pre- and post-sleep work periods, which may reduce costs for some care providers.
Why it matters: This outcome removes ambiguity and SMEs in health and community services should update rosters, payroll systems and contracts to comply with the new rules once they take effect. Clear rules help prevent underpayment disputes in a sector already under compliance scrutiny.
| | FWO Prosecutes Small Businesses for Ignoring Compliance Notices | The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has launched legal action against two Western Sydney businesses – a joinery company and a plumbing firm – and their directors for allegedly underpaying young workers and failing to comply with official orders to back-pay entitlements.
The employers allegedly owed thousands in wages, allowances and leave, including to a 16-year-old apprentice, and did not heed FWO’s Compliance Notices requiring rectification.
Why it matters: SMEs must take FWO Compliance Notices seriously – courts can impose penalties for non-compliance, and regulators are prioritising cases involving vulnerable young workers.
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January Sparks a Spike in Staff Departures for SMEs | HR experts warn the post-holiday period is “peak quitting season,” especially in smaller businesses.
After reflecting over summer, employees often decide to change jobs in the new year, and disengagement can start in December before a resignation lands in January.
Leadership issues are a major factor – surveys suggest 57% of employees quit because of their | | manager – and replacing a single employee can cost tens of thousands in recruitment and lost productivity.
Why it matters: High turnover early in the year can destabilise smaller businesses, which often relies on each team member’s multi-skilled contribution.
SME leaders should use the new year to re-engage teams – set clear goals, check in on workloads and morale, and address any management blind spots. By proactively improving engagement and workplace culture now, businesses can reduce surprise resignations and retain talent in 2026 | | | |
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Laying Strong HR Foundations Before Pressure Returns | |
When people issues escalate later in the year, leaders often say they “didn’t see it coming”. In reality, the signs were usually there — just not clearly visible at the time.
Strong HR foundations are about creating visibility early. Understanding where expectations are clear, where they rely on assumptions, and where compliance or process gaps may have developed over time allows leaders to make more confident decisions as the year progresses.
At Strategic HR, much of our work focuses on helping businesses gain that early clarity — whether through structured reviews, compliance checks, or broader people-practice assessments. This proactive approach allows issues to be addressed calmly, rather than under pressure.
We’ll be exploring what proactive HR foundations look like in more depth throughout the first quarter, including in upcoming conversations and events where these themes will be unpacked in practical, real-world terms.
If you want greater confidence that your HR foundations are supporting your business, a structured review can provide clarity before pressure builds.
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Start the Year on Solid Ground | |
The beginning of the year is the ideal time to check that your HR foundations are supporting your business.
A short HR Compliance Audit early in the year can help you understand where things are clear, where gaps may exist, and what deserves attention before pressure increases. | | | |
Why complete the HR Compliance Audit?  It's completely free. You receive an instant, tailored report with practical tips. It highlights potential gaps before they become issues. It provides peace of mind for you and your business. If you choose to engage further support, a service discount applies.
Starting the year with visibility gives you a stronger footing for everything that follows!
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An Early-Year Insight on Leadership Capacity and Deliberate Decisions | |
Twelve days into the new year, I’d already completed two rather enjoyable 5km events — a trail walk, and Foam Fest.
Somewhere between those two very different experiences, I had a moment of clarity.
This wasn’t about fitness, or a New Year’s resolution. It was an insight about deliberate decisions.
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In HR and leadership, we talk a lot about capacity — decision-making, judgement, resilience, and consistency. What struck me was how closely those qualities are tied to how we look after ourselves. Not in theory, but in practice. When you’re physically tired, mentally stretched, or running on empty, clarity slips. Confidence wavers. Care becomes an after thought.
That realisation landed not in a meeting room, but in motion — noticing how differently I thought, responded, and recovered depending on how well I was looking after my own energy.
Running a business and supporting leaders through complex people issues requires stamina. Difficult conversations don’t disappear when you’re exhausted. Responsibility doesn’t pause when capacity is low.
The insight was simple, but powerful: sustainable leadership depends on personal capacity. Systems, strategy, and skill matter — but without the energy and headspace to use them well, they don’t hold.
For me, staying fit and healthy is about clarity — thinking well, not just reacting. It’s about confidence — backing decisions when the pressure is on. And it’s about care — for my family, my clients, and the people who rely on me to show up steady and present.
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So this year, I’m being intentional about my health not as a personal goal, but as a professional one. Because how we care for ourselves directly shapes how we lead others.
The year is still young, but the foundations we set early matter — more than we often realise.
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At Wirraka Maya Health Services Aboriginal Corporation
Wirraka Maya Health Services Aboriginal Corporation is currently recruiting across several roles that support community health, governance, and workforce capability. These positions offer an opportunity to contribute to culturally informed, community-led health services across the region. | |
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At Strategic HR Australia
As our work continues to grow, Strategic HR Australia currently has an opportunity available for an HR Advisor interested in supporting businesses with practical, values-led HR advice. This role reflect our ongoing commitment to clarity, confidence, and care in workplace practices. | |
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Later in February, we’ll be continuing the early-year conversation through an upcoming podcast and webinar, where we’ll explore what strong HR foundations look like in practice and how leaders can move from reactive people management to more intentional, confident decision-making.
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Connect With Our HR Experts | |
Call us today at 08 6117 9270 | |
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Reach out to us at: support@strategichr.com.au
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