By the AITD Team
For three days in Brisbane, the Australian learning and development community came together to do what it does best: learn, be curious, share, connect and look forward.
The 2026 AITD Conference brought together around 350 delegates and more than 50 speakers at Sofitel Brisbane, with corporate teams, state and federal government representatives, SMEs, consultants, leaders, generalists and specialists all represented. Across the program, one central question seemed to sit beneath every keynote, breakout session and conversation: how do we continue to build L&D capability that creates value, impact and agility?
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The conference theme — Building L&D Capabilities: Value, Impact and Agility — felt both timely and necessary. In an environment shaped by rapid technological change, shifting workforce expectations, skills shortages and increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable impact, the program focused on the capabilities L&D professionals need now: strategic thinking, human insight, evidence-based design, adaptability and the ability to connect learning to real organisational outcomes.
What stood out most was that the conference was not dominated by a single trend or technology. AI was certainly present, but it did not overwhelm the conversation. Instead, there was a refreshing return to the craft of learning itself: how people learn, how behaviour changes, how identity shapes performance, how capability is built over time and how L&D can work more closely with the realities of modern organisations.
In many ways, the conference reflected AITD’s own values of Learn, Connect and Share. There was learning in the formal sessions, connection in the conversations between them, and generous sharing everywhere — from speakers, delegates, award finalists, sponsors and practitioners who brought real work, real challenges and real insight into the room.
One of the strongest threads across the conference was the neuroscience of learning. Dr Britt Andreatta’s keynote on brain-based strategies for creating engaging learning was one of the most talked-about sessions, reminding delegates that learning is not simply a matter of delivering content. It is a biological, emotional and behavioural process.
Britt explored how the brain forms and strengthens connections over time, and why meaningful behaviour change requires repetition, practice, retrieval and reflection. The idea that habits may take dozens of repetitions to embed challenges many of the assumptions that still underpin workplace learning. If most learning experiences do not provide enough opportunity for practice and application, we cannot be surprised when behaviour fails to shift.
The practical implications were clear. We need to explain the process of learning itself so learners understand why repetition matters. We need to use stories, metaphor and visualisation to connect new ideas to existing knowledge. We need to design for cognitive load and attention, rather than long periods of passive content. And we need to create more opportunities for discussion, reflection and application.
Perhaps most importantly, the neuroscience sessions reminded us that humans are fundamentally social learners. Peer discussion, collaborative practice and storytelling are not extras added after the “real learning”. They are part of how learning is processed, reinforced and remembered.
That human centre of learning was echoed powerfully in Hayley Lewis’s keynote. Her story — from being inspired as a young swimmer by Tracey Wickham, to writing her goals on her bedroom wall, to later wearing the green and gold tracksuit and achieving success on the world stage — carried all the hallmarks of high performance. But what resonated most was not only the achievement. It was the honesty.
Hayley spoke about pressure, reinvention, changing events as her body changed, business challenges, personal loss and the courage required to begin again. Her message was simple and deeply human: you are never too old to change something that isn’t working.
For an audience of learning professionals, that message landed strongly. So much of L&D is about helping people, teams and organisations adapt. But adaptation is rarely neat. It requires courage, persistence, humility and the willingness to keep showing up when the plan changes.
This connected closely with another recurring theme: identity. Sessions from speakers including Glin Bayley and Madeline Miller explored the role identity plays in learning, leadership and behaviour change. The idea that capability development is not just about knowledge and skill, but also about who people believe themselves to be, has profound implications for how we design learning.
If a new behaviour feels inconsistent with someone’s identity, values or experience, it is unlikely to stick. Resistance is not always unwillingness. Sometimes it is a signal that the requested change does not yet make sense within the learner’s internal story. For L&D practitioners, this challenges us to design not only for knowledge transfer, but for reflection, experimentation, confidence and psychological safety.
AI appeared throughout the conference, but not as a simple technology showcase. The more interesting conversation was about human capability in a world increasingly shaped by automation and intelligent systems.
Speakers explored what happens when routine processing and administration are increasingly handled by technology, leaving humans to focus on more ambiguous, emotive and complex problems. In that context, domain expertise matters more, not less. Human specialists are still needed to validate information, apply judgement, understand context and challenge assumptions.
Several sessions moved beyond the simplistic idea that AI will replace jobs. The more realistic question is how humans and technology can augment one another. AI may help us move faster, but humans still need to steer, interpret and decide where the journey should lead.
There was also discussion about the changing shape of the workforce, including the idea of a “Shamrock 2.0” model, where a smaller core workforce may be increasingly supported by intelligent agents, automation, flexible workers and external specialists. For L&D, this raises significant questions. How do we build capability in more fluid workforces? How do people develop judgement if AI removes some of the foundational tasks that once helped them build expertise? And how do we ensure technology enhances, rather than diminishes, human contribution?
The strongest message was that self-awareness, judgement and contextual intelligence will become even more important. You do not need to be good at everything. But you do need to understand where you create value.
Across the program, there was a strong focus on learning that changes behaviour, not just learning that informs. Sessions explored coaching, embedded practice, strategic capability mapping, workforce development, measurement and integration across the employee lifecycle.
Kathleen Gaynor’s work on strategic capability mapping and Sue Borhan’s insights into developing a dispersed workforce at Cater Care were strong examples of how L&D can connect learning initiatives to real organisational needs. Gabrielle Harris’s work on hidden dynamics and social defences also pointed to an important truth: sometimes the issue is not the individual, but the system they are working inside.
Another theme that surfaced strongly was the challenge of designing for modern attention. With Gen Z becoming a larger proportion of the workforce, and with digital platforms increasingly shaping how people consume information, L&D practitioners are having to think differently about engagement. Sessions exploring modern learner expectations, attention and digital learning design sparked lively conversation.
Téa Angelos and the Vivlo Learning platform prompted discussion about how learning can meet people where they are, while still maintaining substance and quality. The challenge is not simply to make learning shorter or more visually appealing. It is to design experiences that respect attention, invite participation and create meaningful transfer into work.
The learning wall brought this to life in a particularly visible way. Across the event, delegates added reflections, ideas and provocations. Some were practical: “What’s the problem you are trying to solve?” Others captured moments of insight: “Prime the brain!” and “Visual storytelling”. Some reflected the value of connection: “An opportunity to pause, reflect + connect with colleagues” and “Meeting new people”. Others pointed toward the future: “Creating space for learning to be embedded” and “Learning in the flow of work does not need to be designed; it should be integrated into work as a natural part.”
The conference also offered important reminders about the broader learning landscape. Dr Deniese Cox’s work on digital readiness highlighted that before we talk about AI capability or advanced digital fluency, there remains a very real digital divide affecting people’s ability to access learning and employment pathways.
Michelle Holden’s session on the transformation underway at Canberra Institute of Technology reinforced that as the half-life of skills shortens, qualifications and learning pathways must become more flexible, modular and responsive.
Together, these sessions reinforced that capability building is not a single event. It is continuous, contextual and deeply human.
By the end of the conference, delegates left with notebooks full of ideas, new professional connections and a strong sense of momentum. But perhaps the most important takeaway was simpler than any framework or model.
In a time of rapid change, uncertainty and technological acceleration, the conference brought the focus back to the learner, the workplace and the craft of creating conditions for meaningful growth. It reminded us that capability is not built through content alone. It is built through curiosity, practice, reflection, connection and courage.
AITD Conference 2026 was a celebration of all of that. A celebration of the profession’s expertise, generosity and adaptability. A celebration of the people who continue to design, facilitate, influence and evaluate learning in all its forms. And a celebration of a community committed to building better workplaces through better learning.
View the full conference image library via Flickr