SustainHealth at APSCo Emerge 2026: Exploring the Future of Recruitment and Workforce Solutions
The recruitment industry continues to change, and staying connected with new ideas, workforce trends and technology is an important part of how we continue supporting healthcare professionals and organisations across Australia.
SustainHealth Recruitment team members Katie, Bronwyn and Aoife recently attended APSCo Australia’s Emerge 2026 Conference, held on 28 July at NSW Parliament House in Sydney. Emerge is APSCo Australia’s annual full-day conference for recruitment and staffing leaders, bringing together professionals across recruitment, workforce solutions, technology, economics and business transformation.
Exploring a Changing Workforce
This year’s conference focused on the forces shaping the next era of staffing and what these changes could mean for recruitment businesses, candidates and clients.
The day opened with Kevin O’Neill, Technology Research Director at Staffing Industry Analysts, who explored global workforce trends, changing staffing models and the influence of technology and AI. His presentation also examined where Australia sits within the global staffing landscape and why human-led recruitment models remain important as technology develops.
This complemented the research presented at the event showing Australia as the sixth-largest staffing market globally.
The program also explored the Australian labour market, with economist Besa Deda discussing factors influencing workforce demand, hiring activity and business confidence. Other sessions looked at offshoring, changing workforce models, business transformation and how different parts of the recruitment industry can work together.
Technology was another major theme, including a practical session examining how AI and automation can support recruitment businesses, followed by a discussion about incorporating AI into real recruitment workflows.
Bringing These Conversations Back to Healthcare Recruitment
For our SustainHealth team, attending Emerge is about more than understanding industry trends. It gives our people an opportunity to consider how new ideas can contribute to the experience we provide to nurses, midwives, aged care professionals, healthcare organisations and communities across Australia.
Technology may continue to change how recruitment works, but healthcare recruitment remains centred on people, relationships and understanding individual workforce needs.
Katie, Bronwyn and Aoife brought these conversations and learnings back to our wider team as we continue developing how we support candidates and clients.
If you are looking for your next healthcare role or need support with your healthcare staffing requirements, speak with the SustainHealth Recruitment team.
Email: info@sustainhr.com.au
Phone: 02 8274 4677