9/07/2026
Register for IEP Summit Australia 2026
The employment services sector doesn’t have many bodies dedicated purely to lifting the standard of frontline practice. Andrew Hills FIEP, Founder of the Australian Employment Services Collective and Chairperson of the IEP Australia Board, believes that’s exactly what sets the IEP apart.
“The IEP is a very unique body, not just because it’s in Australia, but because it’s worldwide,” Andrew said. “It has a level of excellence that it delivers across the sector, and it is the only body that really is completely and utterly dedicated to delivering training to frontline staff – so professionalising the sector, which I think is really important in this day and age, especially with the challenges we have.”
Professionalising the Sector
For Andrew, that mission has never been more urgent, or more difficult to deliver in practice.
“The government’s been quite articulate about the professionalisation of the sector, certainly in the IA contract (2025), and what we’ve seen is the tendering process makes it very difficult for organisations to invest in training when their contracts may only last for five years,” he said.
“So I think we’re at a time and a juncture where we need to change the way we work and the way government works with tendering, and provide some frameworks around high performing data so they can continue to stay in the sector, but they can invest in staff and professionalise the sector.”
The Anti-Conference
It’s this same thinking that shapes what Andrew believes makes the IEP Summit Australia stand apart from other sector events.
“The Summit is quite unique in that it doesn’t just focus on employment services, but it focuses on the surroundings around employment services – so whether that’s AI, skills and education, leadership,” he said.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the leaders of the sector to come together and talk about how we get better as a sector and how we work together.”
The Value of the Room
It’s all about connection and learning from one another.
“There’s a lot of networking at these sessions, so the value of coming to the IEP Summit Australia is that you get to network with a whole pile of leaders around the sector. I mean, it’s probably half the sector leaders here that you can network with and talk to.”
He also points to a more genuine experience – the conversations that happen away from a sales pitch.
“Then you’ve got your complimentary services: some of your AI services, some IT services and other services, where you can talk to them in a less under-pressure situation. A lot of the peak bodies, when they have conferences, those providers are in stalls – they’ve paid a lot of money for the stall – so they want to get a return on their investment. Here, there’s no stalls, just conversation, and I think that’s really valuable in the sector.”
Be Part of the Discussion
Thursday 12 November 2026 | The Promenade Docklands, Melbourne
Tickets are now available. If you’d like to join practitioners, leaders, and peers from across the sector for a day of genuine exchange in Melbourne this November, we’d love to see you there.
Register for IEP Summit Australia 2026
If you wish to pay by invoice or in up to three instalments, please contact amy.lucas@iemployability.org or select the pay by invoice ticket type at checkout.
Be sure to also get your earlybird discount for our hands‑on IEP Connect Melbourne: AI – Product and Practice Workshop on 11 November 2026 (the day before the Summit).