Welcome from the ILERA President and World Congress Chair
Dear colleagues and friends,
It is my great pleasure, as President of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association, to welcome you to the 21st ILERA World Congress in Sydney in 2027.
The ILERA World Congress has a proud and longstanding tradition of bringing together a global community committed to advancing knowledge and practice in labour and employment relations. Each Congress builds on this legacy by creating space for exchange, collaboration and the development of ideas that matter for working lives around the world.
I am delighted that we will gather in Sydney. Sydney offers not only a stunning natural setting, but also a dynamic and diverse context in which to host conversations about work, institutions and change. The Congress will feature a rich program of academic, practitioner and policy engagement, alongside cultural and social events that reflect both the city and the broader region.
As President, I am especially pleased to welcome you to a Congress that brings together scholarship and practice in meaningful ways, and that strengthens our shared commitment to improving work and employment relations globally.
I look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful city.
Warm regards,
Prof Rae Cooper, AO, FASSA
President, International Labour and Employment Relations Association
Welcome from the Scientific Committee Chair
The International Labour and Employment Relations Association World Congress has a long and distinguished tradition of bringing together diverse scholarly and practitioner communities. The Sydney 21st ILERA World Congress continues that legacy at a time of significant transformation in labour and employment relations globally.
We are witnessing deep seated changes in how work is experienced, organised and regulated. Economic uncertainty, technological change, environmental pressures and persistent inequalities are placing new demands on governments, employer and workers. Responding to and resolving these challenges requires rigorous research and meaningful engagement between academics, practitioners, policymakers, employer associations and unions. A core ambition of the Sydney 21st ILERA World Congress is to provide a forum where such dialogue can flourish and where research evidence can inform and influence practice and policy in constructive ways.
On behalf of the Scientific Committee, I warmly invite you to contribute to the Sydney 21st World Congress and to ILERA’s enduring commitment to sustainable, productive and decent work worldwide.
Chris F Wright
Professor of Work and Labour Market Policy, The University of Sydney
ALERA
On behalf of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (ALERA), and our constituent state and territory industrial relations societies, I am delighted to welcome the global ILERA community to Australia in 2027.
Australia has long been a living laboratory for industrial relations. From compulsory conciliation and arbitration through to contemporary debates about secure work, productivity, gender equality, psychosocial hazards and the role of regulation in a changing economy, our system has one of the earliest and most continuous systems of state based workplace regulation in the world. That system, like all others is continually evolving in response to social, economic and technological change.
The ILERA World Congress arrives at a moment when those pressures are being felt acutely across all jurisdictions. Questions of work design, institutional legitimacy, workforce inclusion and economic resilience are no longer abstract or theoretical, they are immediate, shared and deeply practical. That is precisely why this Congress matters.
ALERA is proud to co host ILERA 2027 in Sydney. As lovers of thought leadership, our members sit at the intersection of scholarship, policy and practice, in tribunals, workplaces, governments, unions, boards and classrooms. This Congress offers a fabulous opportunity to think big, test ideas, challenge assumptions and learn from comparative experience.
We look forward to welcoming you to Australia for a rigorous, open and genuinely international conversation about the future of work and the institutions that shape it.
Christa Lenard
ALERA President
Program Tracks Overview
The 21st International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) World Congress will be in Sydney from 30 August to 3 September 2027 and hosted at the International Convention Centre Sydney by the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (ALERA).
The ILERA World Congress will be held at a time of profound transformation for work, workers, employers and the institutions that support them. Around the world, labour markets are being re-shaped by technological disruption, political instability, climate transitions, demographic change and widening inequality. These pressures intersect with long‑standing challenges of job quality, worker voice, regulatory capacity and the need for inclusive and democratic governance. ...
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