AI to reshape jobs, not replace them, say Australian employers

Australian organisations are increasingly viewing artificial intelligence (AI) as a driver of workforce transformation rather than widespread job displacement, with most expecting the technology to reshape roles instead of significantly reducing headcount.

According to HRD, which cited findings from ReadyTech's AI & Innovation Benchmark 2026 report, nearly one in three Australian organisations believe AI will reduce some roles while creating new opportunities over the next three years, signalling a shift towards job redesign and skills evolution.

The report found that 29.9% of surveyed organisations expect AI to eliminate certain roles while creating new ones within the next three years. By comparison, only 14.5% anticipate a significant reduction in workforce size, while 16.7% expect AI to alter the mix of roles without causing major changes to overall headcount.

"The survey paints a more balanced picture of AI's workforce impact than much of public discussion suggests," the report read.

"This indicates organisations see AI as a catalyst for workforce transformation rather than widespread job displacement."

According to the report, organisations are expected to focus on using AI to support employees rather than simply replace them, allowing workers to spend more time on higher-value tasks.

"As AI becomes more deeply embedded into everyday operations, the emphasis is likely to be on augmenting employees, automating repetitive tasks, and enabling people to focus on higher-value work," the report read.

The report said organisations will need to strike the right balance between automation and augmentation as AI capabilities continue to expand.

"Organisations will need to make deliberate choices about where AI replaces manual effort, where it enhances human judgement and how employees are supported through the transition," the report said.

"This is where AI operations capability becomes important, bridging the gap between technology capability and workforce reality."

The findings suggest employers are entering a phase of workforce redesign, where changing skill requirements and new ways of working will become increasingly important as AI adoption accelerates.

The report also found that AI has become almost universal across Australian organisations, with 95.5% already exploring or using AI tools in some capacity.

However, widespread experimentation has yet to translate into deep organisational maturity. Nearly 43% of respondents remain in the earliest stages of AI adoption, limiting their use to exploration or a small number of business applications.

Businesses in the early stages are largely experimenting with AI or deploying it across only one or two limited use cases, highlighting the gap between interest and enterprise-wide implementation.

"AI is already mainstream, but maturity is still shallow," the report read.

"AI has clearly won leadership attention," the report read. "The question is no longer whether leaders believe in AI, it is whether they know what to do next."

"Leaders will need stronger discipline around what AI costs, where it creates value, how usage scales, and whether productivity gains are real, measurable, and repeatable," it added.

The report concluded that the next stage of AI adoption will depend less on experimentation and more on disciplined execution, with organisations needing to measure the business value of AI investments and ensure productivity gains can be consistently delivered.