In 2026, these content pieces became our shared watch list & reading list, the ones that sparked debates, filled group chats, and reminded us how much this community learns from each other when the ground keeps shifting.
By Kevin Wheeler, Founder, Future of Talent Institute
The year 2026 marks the end of the “experimentation” phase for recruiting. If 2024 and 2025 were about toy-like AI chatbots and general AI curiosity, 2026 is about outcomes, infrastructure, and a fundamental redesign of what recruiters actually do and the new shape of the workplace.
#2 The 2026 State of Talent Acquisition Report
By Jo Vohland, Director & Curator, ATC Events & Media
In 2026, 244 Talent Teams from across Australia and New Zealand gave us a picture of what is happening inside their Talent function right now. Now, we’re unpacking the story behind the stats in the report.
The report unpacks transformation, workforce strategy, structural shifts reshaping Talent functions, delivery, capability, maturity, emerging trends impacting hiring in 2026 and so much more.
#3 How Bupa is creating flow and joy in Talent Acquisition
By Steve Burnell, General Manager, Talent Acquisition, Bupa & Nadine O’Regan, GM, Talent Advisory & People Solutions
Bupa’s Talent Acquisition function supports large-scale, complex hiring across multiple business units. Like many Talent Acquisition functions, Bupa was navigating increasing hiring demand while looking for smarter, more scalable ways to support the business and improve delivery. However, there was limited visibility into how work was being done, and whether effort was aligned to both business value and team experience.
#4 How EPAM Systems Tackled Candidate Fraud at Scale
By Olga Barrett, Head of Talent Acquisition, East Asia Pacific, EPAM Systems
As remote hiring expanded globally, EPAM identified candidate fraud as a potential area of concern. This included cases of skills exaggeration, impersonation, organized fraud, and activity involving sanctioned regimes. These issues may present risks such as financial loss, intellectual property exposure, regulatory challenges, and reputational impact.
#5 How Movember Built a Candidate Experience People Remember
By Sean Perera, Talent and People Experience Manager, Movember
While Movember was successful at filling roles, the overall experience needed improvement. As a purpose-led organisation built on empathy and human connection, the hiring journey did not always reflect those same values. Movember wanted to do better. Not just in speed, but in how candidates felt throughout the process.
#6 Xplor’s Candidate AI Policy: Setting Clear Expectations in Modern Hiring
By Stefan Welack, Global TA Enablement & Employee Experience Lead, Xplor Technologies
Applications are more polished than they used to be. Candidates are using AI to draft resumes, complete take-home tasks, prepare interview responses, and in some cases, assist them live during interviews. Some organisations are also seeing growing concerns around fabricated experience, synthetic media, and identity manipulation.
#7 Getting a New AI Talent Tech Stack approved
By Derek Del Simone, Chief Talent Officer
Talent Acquisition at Abano Healthcare was not architected to support business growth. In 2023, Abano faced acute workforce shortages, particularly in clinician and regional roles, exacerbated by legacy systems, fragmented recruitment processes, and heavy reliance on recruitment agencies. To support business growth and access to care, Abano needed to rapidly scale hiring capacity while improving quality, reducing costs, and delivering a markedly better experience for candidates and hiring managers.
#8 Who is TA’s Customer? The Company, the Hiring Manager or the Candidate.
By Jo Vohland, Director & Curator, ATC Events & Media
When asked who they saw as their ‘Customer’, the largest proportion of respondents (all Talent Acquisition Leaders and Senior Recruiters) chose ‘The Hiring Manager’. That perspective reflects a traditional recruitment model, where success is defined by responding well to a hiring request. It’s also not usual for many to have this view given the Service Level Agreements in place that inspire a client/supplier style relationship. However, Talent Advisory opens the door to a more influential role. In this instance, the Organisation becomes the customer, making the hiring manager a strategic partner who co-owns the hiring responsibility.
#9 From Recruiter to Commercial Coach
By Alexia Ellmers, Talent Acquisition & Employer Brand Manager, Go1 | Ashleigh Lyas, Talent Acquisition Manager, MYOB | Natalie Badawy, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Andromeda
In 2026, the most effective talent acquisition professionals have stepped into the role of commercial coach. By moving beyond order-taking, these partners provide the value, data, and perspectives that hiring managers simply don’t have. This shift ensures that before a role is even posted, the strategy has been challenged and refined to maximize ROI and strategic alignment with departmental goals.
We caught up with 3 Talent Teams to find out how they’re doing things differently.
#10 How MYOB’s TA Team manage Careers, Mobility and Talent Pipelines
By Adam Avci, Talent Acquisition Manager, MYOB & Ashleigh Lyas, Talent Acquisition Manager, MYOB
2 years ago, MYOB identified a critical challenge: despite strong internal capability, we continued to rely heavily on external hiring for critical roles, with limited visibility of internal talent and inconsistent career conversations happening across the business. This initiative aligned strongly to broader business goals, including building future capability in a competitive tech market, improving retention of critical talent, increasing organizational agility, and reducing dependency on external hiring by unlocking internal talent pathways.
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