A P E R A
2025 Annual Conference
Venue and dates
The Conference will be held on 20 & 21 November in Sydney. It is hosted by Wentworth Institute of Higher Education (Sydney Campus) Level 2, 28 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2210.
A conference dinner (separate fee) will be held on the first evening of the conference (21st November)
Wentworth Institute of Higher Education (Sydney Campus)
Getting There & Accommodation
Level 2, 28 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2210. The Eastern Suburbs light rail and numerous buses are also nearby.
There are multiple accommodation options in Sydney close to the Conference venue at various price points. We will post suggestions closer to the conference date.
For further information on transport connections in Sydney, visit the public transport Sydney site https://transportnsw.info/trip#/trip
Keynote Speakers
Associate Professor Ravi Seethamraju
Ravi has two decades of experience in Australian universities and 10 years in consulting. Ravi’s research is multi-disciplinary, industry-relevant and explores the evolving relationships between IT-enabled innovations and performance and in improving business students’ ‘work-readiness’. He published around 130 articles and his work appeared in highly ranked journals such as Information & Organisation, Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal, Information Systems Frontiers, Australian Journal of Management and Assessment & Evaluation in Higher education. His current research projects include impact of AI, blockchain & digital transformation on organisations and professions, automation bias, AI-enabled healthcare diagnostics and sustainability IS. He held several leadership positions in industry and academia and is currently serving as an independent member on three higher education providers’ boards and a charity. He won three best research paper awards, business school teaching excellence award and Australian Kit Dampney Prize.
Simone Robards
Director of People and Performance at the City of Canterbury Bankstown
I’ve always loved connecting business strategy with people because this helps the organisation achieve success and people realise their potential. For the past 25 years I’ve worked hard to make sure people are front and centre of organisational decisions. Creating a great employee experience creates a great customer experience, and as a seasoned people person, that’s my gig each and every day.
Leading our change strategy to successfully merge two large Sydney metropolitan councils into the largest council in NSW is one of my proudest achievements. While there were many ‘merger moments’ that were hard, there were just as many ‘merger moments’ that felt awesome, like defining our purpose, with our people, developing leadership at all levels, creating our new culture and aligning what we do.
I have over 20 years’ experience working in the people space in NSW local government. I have helped many individuals realise their goals and reach their potential while also helping the organisation transform and achieve amazing things for the community.
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
Learn how Canterbury Bankstown Council merged two councils, building a constructive culture by aligning strategy, leadership, people and processes. Simone Robards, Director People & Performance, will share practical lessons, challenges and achievements in change management, highlighting the importance of values, collaboration and employee experience for sustainable transformation in local government.
Teaching & Learning Panel (TBA)
Call for Papers
Academics and practitioners who wish to present their research at the Conference are encouraged to submit a poster or abstract for consideration in the blind refereeing process. Submissions from new researchers are particularly encouraged.
We welcome submissions on all aspects of the conference theme and sub-themes, as well as papers on related topics.
There are three strands:
#1 'Poster'
(A1 printed & PDF)
To showcase your use cases, initial research, open learning materials or any other result that did not make it into a full paper, you can submit a poster to display at the conference as a way to disseminate your scholarship.
#2 'Lightning Talk’
(15min talk + 5 mins question)
This strand requires the submission of an abstract only. Abstracts should be approximately 300 words and should include reference to the objectives and methodology of the research.
#3 'Structured Research Note'
(20min talk + 10 mins question)
This strand requires a research note of 1500-2000 words, accompanied by a 100-150 word abstract. Submissions should include: an overview of the issue, a review of current research, your research question, design and methodology, findings with limitations, and the practical benefits of your research.
For more detailed advice please click here.
Submissions are now open!
We are pleased to announce that submissions are open for the APERA 2025 Annual Conference. If you are interested in presenting, please submit your work via email to apera2025@win.edu.au
Further Information and Enquiries
For any general enquiries, please email APERA at: info@apera.org.au
This post will be regularly updated