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