Julien Malidin

Sydney Tech Talent Snapshot 2025 Sydney’s tech market has shifted from the red-hot scramble of 2021–23 to a more balanced—yet still competitive—landscape. National unemployment is steady, which keeps overall hiring conditions stable even as employers get choosier. What’s hot (and why it matters) AI & data everywhere: Companies are folding AI into ops, customer service and analytics; demand concentrates in AI/ML engineering, data platforms, and product-led roles tied to measurable outcomes. Cloud + security remain critical: Cloud modernisation and cyber resilience continue to attract budget even as non-critical projects pause. Salary bands have normalised: Headline salary growth has cooled from 2022 peaks, but Sydney still commands premium bands Supply side signals Bigger candidate pools: Applications per job have climbed to record highs on SEEK, reflecting more active jobseekers and fewer total ads—giving employers more choice and longer shortlists. Tech workforce ~950k: Australia sits around 950,000 tech workers as of May 2025. That’s progress, but below the trajectory needed for the national 1.2m-by-2030 goal—keeping pressure on targeted skill development and smarter hiring. Talent access & visas Skills in Demand (temporary) visa settings: 2025 updates clarify employer pathways for hard-to-find skills, supporting Sydney firms that need niche capability fast—especially in AI, cyber and cloud. What Sydney employers are doing “Fewer, better” hires: Tight scopes, outcome-based role design, and rigorous skills validation to reduce mishires. Time-to-value focus: Prioritising candidates who can impact metrics (cost-to-serve, reliability, conversion, MTTR) within 90 days. Balanced comp: Competitive bases + performance components; less blanket inflation, more role-specific justifications. Build + buy: Targeted upskilling for internal teams paired with external hiring for scarce capabilities. What candidates are doing Evidence > assertions: Portfolios, public repos, metrics from shipped work, and hands-on AI/automation stories beat generic buzzwords. Career durability: Interest in roles with learning budgets, modern stacks, and clear problem ownership—especially where AI augments (not replaces) day-to-day work. Quick take for Q4-2025 Employers: You’ll see more qualified applicants but tougher signal-to-noise—refine your must-haves and tighten interview loops. Candidates: Tailor for impact, quantify outcomes, and show where you’ve used AI or automation to move key metrics. Everyone: Expect steadier conditions, selective growth budgets, and persistent pockets of hot demand in AI, data, security and cloud. Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics — Labour Force, Australia (September 2025) Australian Bureau of Statistics — Detailed Labour Force data (September 2025) SEEK — “5 trends shaping work in 2025” Additional commentary on unemployment and labour market from Reuters. 

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For a decade, the running joke in Australian boardrooms was that ASIC was a "toothless tiger." That joke isn’t funny anymore. Ian Verrender’s latest analysis for the ABC confirms what savvy operators have already felt shifting in the wind: The tiger has found its teeth. The era of the "soft touch" regulator is over. We are seeing a remarkable turnaround from a passive observer to an aggressive enforcer, specifically targeting: - Predatory lending & debt management - Greenwashing & ethical product claims - Cybersecurity failures & data handling - Director accountability Why this matters to you: If your business model relies on "flying under the radar" or treating compliance as a "someday" problem, you are now carrying massive systemic risk. A "she'll be right" attitude to governance is no longer a gap in your strategy. It’s a target on your back. The Fix: Stop viewing compliance as red tape. View it as system architecture. Robust systems don’t just protect you from the regulator; they build the asset value that allows you to sleep at night. If you’re big enough to be noticed, you’re big enough to be audited. Check your systems before they do. We move 🚀 Full article here: https://lnkd.in/g8d2nFYC #business #ASIC #compliance #systems #risk #STKN

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KPMG Australia has extended its AASB S2 First Impressions analysis to include 30 June reporters.​ ​ The first view of this cohort is now available on our website dashboard, with regular updates to follow as more reports are published and analysed.​ ​ For deeper insights, keep an eye out for our FAST30 Early Findings Report for 30 June reporters, coming in September 2026.​ ​ If you are looking for sector-specific benchmarks or tailored analysis, contact KPMG Australia’s ESG Reporting & Assurance team.​ ​ Find out more: https://lnkd.in/egcGN24k #AASBS2 #SustainabilityReporting #ClimaterelatedDisclosures #ESG​

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🎯 Growing an NDIS business with thin margins does not fix the margin problem. It scales it. 1️⃣ Revenue and cost both grow together, so the gap between them does not close on its own. 2️⃣ The busiest month is often the month with the highest expenditure, not the highest profit. 3️⃣ Margin issues at ten participants tend to become structural problems at thirty. 4️⃣ Growth is only a financial lever when the cost per unit of service is already under control. 👉 Worth knowing your margin before the next growth phase, not after. #NDISProvider #NDISBusiness #AIForNDIS #NDISOperations #SpecereShift

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NZ Government just projected $76 billion in AI value by 2038. Most Kiwi organisations won't capture a dollar of it. The latest Public Service AI Framework review dropped this week with impressive numbers: 82% adoption, 93% efficiency gains, agencies racing to deploy Claude, Copilot, and ChatGPT. Sounds like we're winning the AI race, right? Here's the uncomfortable truth buried in the report: 72% of agencies are choosing off-the-shelf AI tools, but most are stuck in "pilot hell", successful proof-of-concepts that can't scale to production. Why? Because you can't AI your way out of a systems integration problem. Those shiny AI tools are useless if: → Your CRM can't talk to your ERP → Your procurement system lives in a different universe than your finance platform → Your data is trapped in silos that require manual extraction. The framework emphasizes "scalable implementation" and "integration with existing systems." That's government-speak for: "We have an orchestration problem, not an AI problem." The organisations that will capture that $76B aren't asking "What AI should we buy?" They're asking: "Is our integration architecture ready to orchestrate AI at scale?" Because Gen AI is extraordinary at generating insights. But insights mean nothing if they can't trigger actions across your actual business systems. Here's what I'm seeing work in the market: Build the orchestration layer FIRST. Then layer AI on top. Not the other way around. The unsexy foundation work, API integrations, data flows, cross-system automation, that's what separates AI pilots from AI production value. What are you seeing? Are NZ organisations building AI-ready infrastructure, or are we just stacking AI tools on top of integration debt? 📊 Latest framework review: https://lnkd.in/eZr_VHEP #AIStrategy #DigitalTransformation #NewZealand #EnterpriseArchitecture #SystemsIntegration #AIOrchestration #TechLeadership #NZTech #AIAdoption #GoingForGrowth

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AI-first. Bigger budgets. Skills gaps. Surveying 100+ Australian business and technology leaders, PwC's 2026 Digital Trust Insights report found AI is reshaping cyber priorities and risks. Five signals shaping priorities in Australia: 📱 AI the main focus ⛔️ Skills are the bottleneck 📈 Budgets rising 🏛 Prioritising data governance and protection 🔎 Quantum computing on the radar PwC Australia Cybersecurity & Privacy Partner, @Robert Di Pietro said: “AI is transforming cybersecurity across the world. The integration of AI into cybersecurity is a double-edged sword with adversaries experimenting with AI-powered cyberattacks, while Australian organisations are leaning in and investing in skills and responsible AI." Explore the Australian findings here: https://lnkd.in/g-_tiJ_8

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26 leading dealmakers. 7 global regions. 1 essential report. 🌍 Our 2026 Global M&A Predictions Report is here, and it reveals something remarkable: despite geopolitical uncertainty and economic volatility, M&A resilience continues. We've gathered insights from top dealmakers across APAC, New Zealand, UK & Ireland, DACH, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and North America to bring you 26 insights into 2026. Key findings: ✓ M&A resilience continues despite geopolitical instability  ✓ Interest rate cuts expected to catalyse activity and pricing  ✓ Energy and tech outperform, while retail faces headwinds  ✓ AI lens reshapes valuations across all sectors What makes this report different? True global intelligence with hyper-regional precision. Download your free copy to discover what's shaping deals in your region and beyond at the link in the comments. 👇

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Australian consumers who regularly interact with AI agents report 64% higher customer satisfaction, according to the first Agentic Enterprise Index released by Salesforce.

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