Work-Life Balance in 2025: The Top Priority for ANZ Job Seekers

In a major step to protect Australian workers, the federal government criminalised wage theft under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment Act 2023. From 1 January 2025, employers who knowingly underpay employees face penalties including fines up to $7.825 million or three times the amount underpaid. Individuals could also face up to 10 years in prison. This crackdown, driven by the growing concern that wage theft costs workers up to $1.5 billion annually, aims to create a culture of fairness and accountability in Australian workplaces. To explore how these changes are playing out, Colleen Deere, Acting Branch Manager at people2people in Perth, spoke with Antonino Meduri, Principal at AM Law & Partners. Their discussion shed light on what the new laws mean for businesses, the common pitfalls that still occur, and how organisations can proactively ensure compliance. "Employers now face serious criminal penalties for deliberate underpayments" Antonino explained the law's key shift: intentional wage theft is now a criminal offence. This applies to both direct entitlements like wages and leave, and indirect ones such as superannuation. Crucially, the law distinguishes between unintentional errors and knowing breaches. "Criminal conduct doesn’t happen when an employer is careless or even reckless. It happens when they knowingly underpay while being aware of their legal obligation to pay more," Antonino clarified. The legislation introduces four major components: criminalisation of wage theft, significant financial penalties, a self-reporting pathway that may prevent prosecution, and a voluntary code for small businesses. The self-reporting mechanism, in particular, offers a pathway for businesses that uncover underpayments and cooperate with the Fair Work Ombudsman to avoid criminal charges. Common Mistakes That Still Lead to Underpayment Claims While intentional wage theft garners the most attention, Antonino noted that most underpayments stem from avoidable errors rather than malice. He highlighted several frequent mistakes: Misclassifying employees : Many errors begin with incorrect award classification, especially in sectors like hospitality and aged care. "Failing to properly consider the legal obligations under the Fair Work Act can snowball into significant liabilities," Antonino warned. Incorrect penalty rates : Employers sometimes overlook weekend or holiday rates or fail to include casual loading during leave. Assuming salaried employees are always compliant : Even when a salary appears generous, if the employee's entitlements under the award are higher, the employer must make up the difference. Unpaid work : Trials or internships where the worker performs productive tasks must be paid, regardless of how the arrangement is labelled. What Good Compliance Looks Like in 2025 Antonino stressed the importance of prevention over reaction. "Good compliance is preventative and not reactive. It's about systems, transparency, and leadership," he said. Here are the key elements he advised businesses to adopt: Accurate classification and regular reviews : Ensure employees are correctly classified under the appropriate award and reassess annually. Pay audits : Regularly verify that pay matches the hours worked and entitlements due, especially for salaried staff. Strong record-keeping : Maintain detailed wage and time records for at least seven years. These not only ensure legal compliance but also serve as vital defence documents in case of claims. Training and accountability : Keep HR and payroll teams updated on legislative changes. Define clear roles for compliance oversight. Early response : If an error is discovered, fix it promptly, pay interest, and engage the Fair Work Ombudsman where necessary. Protecting Legal and Reputational Interests  Beyond compliance, Antonino offered advice on safeguarding a company’s legal and reputational standing: Embed compliance in governance : Treat wage compliance as a leadership issue, not just a payroll task. Independent audits : An external payroll or classification audit can uncover hidden risks before they escalate. Document everything : From employee classification to wage audits, detailed documentation forms the cornerstone of a legal defence. Clear response plans : Have strategies in place for backpay, media management, and engagement with regulators. Foster a culture of integrity : Encourage staff to raise concerns, protect whistleblowers, and promote wage compliance as a shared responsibility. Antonino concluded with a warning: non-compliance can not only invite legal consequences but also drain a business's time and resources. "Being proactive and transparent isn’t just about law—it’s good business." In summary, the new wage theft laws signal a strong shift towards accountability and fairness in Australia’s labour market. Businesses that embrace this change, investing in robust systems and a culture of compliance, will not only avoid legal trouble but build trust and resilience for the future.

In an employment market defined by transparency and shifting priorities, counteroffers are losing their appeal. Data from 2024 reveals that while 63% of employers increased salaries to fill roles, 57% chose not to make counteroffers to resigning employees—a five percent rise from the previous year. This trend marks a broader shift towards proactive retention and long-term engagement over reactive responses. Kaajal Khelawan, HR Manager and Operations Lead, explains, "Employers are shifting away from making reactive offers and focusing more on proactive retention." Rather than scrambling to retain staff once they hand in their resignation, more businesses are investing in the experience and growth of their current teams. "If an employee has chosen to leave, you need to let them go." Khelawan is direct about the limitations of counteroffers. "They don't work. They're a band-aid solution," she says. Most employees who accept counteroffers end up leaving within six to twelve months anyway. More critically, such offers can lead to pay inequality, damaging morale and creating internal tension when colleagues learn about unequal compensation. With growing emphasis on pay transparency, businesses are increasingly aware of how last-minute salary hikes may erode trust. As organisations strive to ensure fairness in pay structures, counteroffers become a liability rather than a lifeline. Juma Mrisho, Talent Acquisition Business Partner, agrees. He links the decline in counteroffers to deeper structural shifts: "Reactive offers are seen as a short-term fix that doesn't acknowledge the deeper issue within an organisation." He notes that companies are now prioritising long-term strategies such as employee engagement, leadership development, and cultural alignment. Mrisho also challenges the assumption that salary alone is the reason people resign. "The idea that a salary increase will solve the issue of someone leaving is a misconception. People are also leaving due to cultural or leadership issues. A counteroffer won’t fix that." The trend is clear: businesses are becoming more strategic with pay and retention. Rather than relying on quick fixes, they are creating environments where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to stay. Khelawan concludes, "The goal is to create workplaces where employees don't want to leave, rather than scrambling to keep them once they've resigned." As we look ahead, the decline in counteroffers suggests that employers across Australia and New Zealand are embracing a more considered, people-first approach to talent management—one that values foresight over quick fixes and stability over short-term wins.

As we move further into 2025, the employment landscape across Australia and New Zealand continues to evolve, with fresh data revealing notable shifts in both employer and job seeker sentiment. With unemployment holding steady and underemployment dropping to its lowest level since August 2008, the job market is showing signs of resilience despite broader economic uncertainties. Australia's job posting index remains 52% above the pre-pandemic baseline, a clear indication that demand for talent remains strong. While there has been a modest slowdown in employment growth, vacancies remain high, with over 328,000 job openings recorded earlier this year—a 4.5% decline from late 2024 but still 44.5% above February 2020 levels. At the same time, the hiring confidence index has dipped slightly to 63%, reflecting a small drop in employers' optimism about finding suitable candidates. On the flip side, job seeker confidence has also declined, dropping eight percentage points to 54%. This cautious optimism, shared by both sides of the hiring equation, paints a picture of a market that is adjusting to new realities rather than retreating. "Unemployment remains steady, but underemployment is at a historic low." Kaajal Khelawan, HR Manager and Operations Lead, highlights the significance of the underemployment drop. "That means more people are working as many hours as they want, which is a great sign," she notes. This indicates an improving match between worker availability and employer demand. Juma Mrisho, Talent Acquisition Business Partner, points to ongoing strength in job listings. "Job vacancies are still significantly elevated compared to pre-COVID levels," he explains, reinforcing the view that despite shifting conditions, opportunities remain abundant for job seekers. Suhini Wijayasinghe, Head of HR Solutions, adds perspective on job seeker behaviour. "Nationwide, seventy-four percent of job seekers are actively looking for new opportunities, while twenty-two percent are passive but open to the right role," she says. The numbers show a highly mobile workforce, with only one percent hesitant to move and just three percent inactive.  While employer confidence has softened slightly, the fact that three-quarters of job seekers are actively engaged suggests the market remains dynamic. Businesses that are clear, fast-moving, and transparent in their recruitment practices are likely to continue attracting top talent. For both Australia and New Zealand, the focus in 2025 appears to be on alignment—matching available roles with the right candidates at the right time. With underemployment falling, job ads still elevated, and a mobile workforce, there is much to be optimistic about. The key challenge lies in bridging the gap between employer expectations and job seeker needs in an evolving employment market.

In an era of rapid technological transformation, Australian financial services are at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. A recent KPMG report revealed that 76% of financial companies in the country are already utilising or implementing AI technologies, underlining a significant trend across the industry. This wave of digital change is not just a competitive advantage but a necessity for those wishing to remain relevant in an increasingly tech-driven market. As companies accelerate their AI adoption, the question arises: what happens to those who fail to keep pace? To explore this pressing topic, Nicole Consterdine, Recruitment Consultant at people2people, sat down with Nick Beaugeard, Co-Founder and CEO of World of Workflows, to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and misconceptions surrounding AI in the accounting and finance sector. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" Nick opened the conversation with a key insight: many still perceive AI as an enigmatic force, partly because of its complexity and partly due to the media's portrayal. "The fundamental misconception of AI is nobody really understands the technology," he explained, quoting Arthur C. Clarke's famous adage. This mystique, he added, often leads to inflated expectations, followed by disappointment when AI doesn't live up to the hype. Nick highlighted what he termed the "trough of disillusionment," a common stage where users, excited by AI's initial capabilities, overestimate its broader potential. "You think it can take your job and then you use it and it’s a bit rubbish," he said, noting that this disillusionment mirrors past tech rollouts like Excel and Xero. Still, he emphasised that AI should be seen not as a job-stealer, but as a tool to improve efficiency and performance. Hyper-personalisation: The Biggest Opportunity Among the many use cases for AI, hyper-personalisation stands out for Nick. He illustrated this with an example from accounting practice: "Most accountants in practice manage about a thousand taxpaying entities each. That’s an awful lot of very different organisations... you're trying to communicate with." AI's ability to tailor content for individual clients can revolutionise client communication, moving beyond generic newsletters to highly customised updates. By integrating personal client data into CRM systems and leveraging AI to generate personalised communications, firms can significantly enhance engagement and relevance. Nick believes this approach offers the "biggest bang for your buck" for businesses looking to modernise their customer experience. Barriers to Adoption: Risk Aversion and Technical Constraints Despite the potential, adoption has been slower in some areas. Nick pointed out that finance and accounting professionals tend to be risk-averse by nature. Moreover, they are accustomed to deterministic systems, where inputs reliably produce the same outputs—a stark contrast to AI's non-deterministic nature. "Imagine if you went to an Excel spreadsheet and put in three and came back a day later and it was five," he joked. This unpredictability, while a strength in some AI applications, poses a challenge in fields requiring precision. However, Nick remains optimistic. He believes the real tipping point will come as AI becomes embedded in everyday tools. "If you hadn’t moved to the cloud, because cloud is the enabler for AI, you’re going to be missing out," he warned. Platforms like Xero and Salesforce are already integrating AI functionalities, making it easier for firms to access these technologies without building custom models. Evolving Roles: More Clients, Better Service Looking ahead, Nick sees the role of accountants evolving rather than diminishing. "Like you now don’t do manual ledgers and manual trial balances, there’s a bunch of things that you’ll do which will be automated," he explained. This shift allows professionals to focus on high-value advisory work, while AI handles routine tasks. He also pointed to developments in the legal industry, where similar conversations are taking place about pricing and ethical standards. As AI drives efficiency, billing practices may shift towards value-based pricing, challenging traditional models. The Long-Term Outlook: More Work, Not Less  When asked whether AI will lead to job losses in accounting, Nick looked to history for reassurance. "When the Industrial Revolution happened... that didn’t create less jobs, that created more," he said. AI may reduce the need for certain tasks, but it will also create demand for new skills and services, particularly in growing economies. While regulatory bodies like the tax office may automate compliance work, the complexity of tax law and individual circumstances ensures that accountants will remain indispensable. As Nick put it, "There’s lots of space for delivering those services because people want to maximise their return and income." In conclusion, AI is set to transform Australia's accounting and finance landscape, not by replacing professionals, but by enhancing their capabilities and broadening their reach. As adoption accelerates, those prepared to embrace change will find themselves well-positioned for future success.