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Technology · Asia Pacific

Australian employers reshape work with AI, but role discussions lag

Nearly half of Australian IT decision-makers and business leaders surveyed for HP’s 2026 Work Relationship Index said AI was changing tasks, workflows, teams or roles. Only 19 per cent of surveyed Australian knowledge workers said their organisation had discussed AI’s potential effect on roles or headcount.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made

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What happened

Key facts

  • Nearly half of Australian IT decision-makers and business leaders surveyed for HP’s 2026 Work Relationship Index said AI was changing tasks, workflows, teams or roles (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • More than half of the surveyed Australian IT decision-makers and business leaders said AI adoption had created new roles or teams; HP reported figures of 57 per cent for IT decision-makers and 53 per cent for business leaders (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Only 19 per cent of surveyed Australian knowledge workers said their organisation had discussed AI’s potential impact on roles or headcount (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Forty per cent of surveyed Australian knowledge workers said their organisation clearly communicated how AI and new technologies may affect their role (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Gartner’s survey of 574 Australian employees, conducted in the first quarter of 2026, found that only half reported receiving clear AI guidance, training or support (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Thirty-eight per cent of Australian employees were expected to use AI in their role; among them, 85 per cent had access to enterprise AI tools and 86 per cent used personal AI tools (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Six in 10 Australian knowledge workers surveyed by HP said they were prioritising transferable skills over a traditional career ladder (per The Sydney Morning Herald).

The brief

Nearly half of Australian IT decision-makers and business leaders surveyed for HP’s 2026 Work Relationship Index said AI was already changing work, while discussion of its potential effect on jobs reached a much smaller share of knowledge workers.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that only 19 per cent of surveyed Australian knowledge workers said their organisation had discussed AI’s possible impact on roles or headcount. The survey also found that AI adoption had created new roles or teams, according to more than half of respondents.

HP’s figures were 57 per cent among Australian IT decision-makers and 53 per cent among business leaders. The reported changes covered tasks, workflows, teams and roles, indicating that respondents were describing shifts across several parts of work rather than a single kind of job change. Communication about those changes was less common.

Forty per cent of knowledge workers surveyed said their organisation clearly explained how AI and other new technologies might affect their role. Brad Pulford said, “AI is moving faster inside organisations than people’s understanding of it.” He argued that leaders should explain the changes and identify who they affect.

A separate survey of 574 Australian employees, conducted by Gartner in the first quarter of 2026, found that only half said they received clear guidance, training or support for using AI. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 38 per cent of Australian employees were expected to use AI in their role.

Among that group, 85 per cent had access to enterprise AI tools, while 86 per cent used personal AI tools. The figures describe different aspects of workplace adoption: expected use, access to tools, training and communication about job effects.

They suggest that access to AI tools does not by itself mean employees have received clear guidance or information about how their roles could change. The surveys do not establish what any particular employer will do next.

Workers’ career priorities are also shifting: six in 10 Australian knowledge workers surveyed by HP said they were focusing on transferable skills rather than following a traditional career ladder. Separately, a Times Australia headline said Australia led the Asia-Pacific region in AI return on investment despite having the region’s widest confidence gap.

Why it matters

  • Only 19 per cent of surveyed Australian knowledge workers said their organisation discussed AI’s potential effect on roles or headcount, while AI was already changing work for nearly half of surveyed IT decision-makers and business leaders.
  • The communication gap has a concrete workplace dimension: 40 per cent said their organisation clearly explained how AI could affect their role, and only half of 574 employees in Gartner’s survey reported clear AI guidance, training or support.
  • Among employees expected to use AI, 85 per cent had enterprise-tool access and 86 per cent used personal AI tools, while six in 10 surveyed knowledge workers said they prioritised transferable skills.

What to watch next

  • Whether organisations discuss AI’s potential effects on roles or headcount with knowledge workers.
  • Whether employers increase clear communication about how AI and new technologies may affect individual roles.
  • Whether Australian employees expected to use AI receive clearer guidance, training or support.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
2 source articles · 2 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 1 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 100%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
1 outlet
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
2 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Limited coverage
  • Coverage is currently limited to 2 outlets.
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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Australia enacted the Fair Work Act, establishing the country's national workplace relations framework.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Australia published its AI Ethics Principles, setting out values including fairness, privacy and accountability.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. In 2021, the government established the National AI Centre to support AI adoption by Australian businesses.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. The immediate technological shift began with public access to generative AI tools: OpenAI launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, bringing text-generating AI to a broad audience.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. The Australian government opened a consultation on safe and responsible AI.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. The Australian government published its response to the safe and responsible AI consultation.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

In September 2024, Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources published a Voluntary AI Safety Standard with eight guardrails for organizations developing or deploying AI, including expectations around human oversight and transparency. The standard gave Australian employers guidance on responsible AI use, but it was voluntary.

The standard followed Australia’s 2019 AI Ethics Principles, which set out values including fairness, privacy and accountability. In 2021, the government established the National AI Centre to support AI adoption by Australian businesses.

Original sources

2 articles from 2 outlets

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