Hi Bloom clients, colleagues and friends, welcome to the March edition of Bloom News.
In this edition, we’re placing a strong focus on gender equality in the workplace, particularly as Australian employers prepare for new equality targets and compliance requirements. While these changes are important, meaningful progress comes from more than meeting obligations. Creating equitable workplaces requires genuine commitment, thoughtful leadership and actions that go beyond simply ticking boxes.
With International Women’s Day taking place earlier this month, we are also celebrating the achievements and leadership of women who are making a real impact. As a proudly all-female team at Bloom HR, IWD always feels particularly meaningful for us. We are incredibly proud of the talented women who make up our team and the expertise, leadership and care they bring to the clients and candidates we support every day.
In this edition, we are proud to share the career story of one of the most inspiring leaders we have had the honour of working with, Caroline McDaid, CEO at Work Ventures. Caroline’s journey reflects the power of combining commercial leadership with commitment to social impact.
We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter, and wish you a wonderful month ahead.
All the best, Natalie
Sector News
Career Story: Caroline McDaid
Chief Executive Officer at WorkVentures
Work Ventures is a social enterprise with a remarkable legacy. For more than 40 years, it has worked to improve digital inclusion, open pathways into employment and deliver technology that supports communities across Australia.
Across that time, thousands of Australians have benefitted from Work Ventures’ programs.
Its most recent chapter under the growth of CEO Caroline McDaid has seen WorkVentures branch out into cyber security, launch a national device bank and tackle technology-enabled domestic abuse.
Bloom has had the privilege of supporting Work Ventures as their HR partner for over 10 years, working closely with Caroline and her team through a period of growth, innovation and community impact across Australia.
Caroline's story is a fascinating one, and we can't wait to share it with you.
The first speakers have been announced for the Thrive at Work Summit 2026, taking place in Brisbane on 14 May. Full details on the Summit, including speaker profiles can be found via Q Shelter's event page here.
As Platinum Partner of the Summit, we’re excited to invite the Bloom community to join us as we explore strategies in wellbeing, sustainable performance and leadership skills, to build workplace cultures where people can truly thrive.
Our team will deliver a session on psychosocial hazards, sharing practical, real-world strategies to strengthen workplace wellbeing and reduce organisational risk.
As part of our partnership, we’re offering our network an exclusive 20% discount on tickets via the link below. We would love to see you there!
AbSec has launched Know Your Rights, a new online resource designed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families navigating the NSW child protection system. The platform supports parents, families, ACCOs, advocates and sector workers by providing accessible, culturally-informed guidance at every stage of child protection involvement.
The website aims to empower families with knowledge, confidence and support, bringing together practical, easy‑to‑understand information on how the system works, what options families have, and what they can expect next. It includes step‑by‑step process explanations, videos, lived‑experience stories, downloadable guides, journaling tools to help families document their own evidence, and key contacts they may need along the way.
Congratulations to the AbSec team on developing such a valuable and empowering tool for families and communities.
HR News
Navigating some of the issues in this month's HR News can be complex. If you’d like support with a current situation, or want us to review your HR policies and procedures to make sure they’re clear, fair and up to date, we’re here to help.
We can be contacted on 02 8114 4449 or you can get in touch via the links below:
Latest findings from Employment Hero have revealed that more than half of Australian employers are unaware of incoming Payday Super legislative changes. From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay employees their super guarantee on payday, at the same time as salary and wages.
The full report from Employment Hero and their Payday Super Cashflow calculator can be found via the link below.
It's less than a month to go until gender equality changes take effect for Australian employers with 500 or more direct employees. From April 2026, there is a requirement for employers to select and meet gender equality targets.
Check out the resources below from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and a great article from the AHRI asking the questions that Australian employees will need answering about the changes.
Just published last week was the Workforce Gender Equality Agency's Data Explorer and Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report for 2024-25, based on data from 10,500 Australia employers with 100 or more employees. Key findings are:
- Over half of Australian employers reduced their gender pay gap during the last reporting period
- Men are 1.8 times more likely to be employed in the highest earning quartile
- Women are 1.4 times more likely to be employed in the lowest earning quartile
- Employers with a 'neutral pay gap' has gone up from 21.4% to 22.5%
WGEA states that progress is happening but needs to accelerate, urging employers to conduct more detailed gender pay gap analyses, take evidence‑based action, and set clear targets to hold themselves accountable.
Lunch & Learn: Support gender equity in your organisation
Staying on the theme of gender equity, Gender & Leadership Australia are offering facilitated Lunch & Learn sessions, designed to help develop practical actions to support gender equity in the workplace. Organisations can choose from a range of topics, including:
Unconscious bias and inclusive leadership behaviours
How Australia’s psychosocial safety reforms are impacting HR
A recent HRD publication has brought into sharp focus an issue we’re seeing across the sector: the pressure that Australia’s new OHS regulations have placed on HR teams, who are often carrying the heaviest load in ensuring compliance.
With psychosocial risk management shifting from a wellbeing “nice‑to‑have” to a formal legal obligation, organisations are asking the right questions about employee safety — but not always about the people responsible for delivering it.
Who is supporting HR, while HR is supporting everyone else?
HR professionals are increasingly the ones burning out fastest. They are now responsible for psychosocial audits, risk assessments, updated reporting pathways, policy reviews and a steady influx of conversations about stress, trauma, burnout and psychological safety. And all of this is happening while organisations are still trying to define what “good” looks like under the new rules.
Workload concerns, interpersonal conflict, performance issues, and mental health crises all find their way to the same inbox. The emotional toll can be immense, boundaries can become blurred, leaving HR expected not just to absorb the organisation’s emotional strain, but to fix it as well. This reality creates two critical risks:
- The wellbeing and sustainability of HR professionals themselves, and
- The organisation’s ability to meet its psychosocial obligations in a consistent, meaningful way.
Because when the people holding the organisation together begin to fray, compliance and culture fray with them.
This is exactly why Bloom HR and The Feminine Leadership Co. have developed our Reflective Coaching and Supervision model. It's a modern approach to psychological safety and capability building that responds directly to the pressures highlighted in the article.
We would love to discuss how we can help to bring our Reflective Coaching and Supervision to your team. Our CEO Natalie can be contacted on 02 8114 4449 or you can get in touch via the links below:
Hosted by Q Shelter and sponsored by Bloom HR, a full day of workshops, presentations and networking, focused on strengthening workplace resilience, engagement and wellbeing.
Hosted by Infoxchange, a 3 day conference bringing together leaders across technology, community, government, philanthropy and the not-for-profit sector.
This month we’re highlighting our system‑driven HR solution powered by Employment Hero, designed to give organisations a seamless, compliant and cost‑effective HR function.
We begin by either setting up Employment Hero for organisations new to the platform, or fully optimising the existing system for current users — creating a strong digital foundation for your people and compliance needs.
From there, you can choose the level of ongoing support that suits your business. Our HR Advisory option provides day‑to‑day HR guidance and administration within your existing system, while our HR Business Partnering model combines advisory support with senior‑level HR expertise — ideal for organisations needing system improvements, module rollouts and support with more complex HR or organisational challenges.
If you'd like to learn more about how we can support you and your team, we would love to hear from you. Please contact our CEO, Natalie Carrington on 02 8114 4449 or via the linksbelow.
Supporting our HR Advisory Service is the Bloom HR Consulting Team, who lead and deliver the HRIS function for our clients. With a practical, systems-led approach, they partner closely with organisations to ensure Employment Hero is set up for success and continues to support smooth, compliant and people-focused HR operations.
This month, we’re delighted to introduce two of the people behind this work - Jenni Lawson and Kerina Tapp, who together lead the delivery of our HR consulting services.
Jenni Lawson — Manager, HR Consulting
Jenni joined Bloom HR in 2024 and leads our consulting team. Jenni began her career in the aviation sector, managing customer loyalty programs before moving into HR more than 20 years ago. Her experience spans the private medical industry and the not‑for‑profit sector, working across generalist HR and recruitment roles.
Jenni holds Diplomas in Management and Human Resource Management.
Outside of work, she is a passionate reader, enjoys her daily exercise routine, loves to cook, and is always planning her next travel adventure.
Kerina joined Bloom HR in 2025 and provides part‑time support across both the HR and Talent functions. With more than nine years of experience, her career has focused on supporting clients in disability services, healthcare and the not‑for‑profit housing sectors.
She holds Certificates IV in Human Resources, Work Health & Safety, and Business Management.
In her downtime, Kerina loves spending time with her young daughter and partner, exploring farms and rodeos, and indulging her love of true crime podcasts, documentaries and books.
Bloom HR acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work. We pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise it always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
