Aon launches Activate employee platform in Australia

Aon has launched its Activate employee experience platform in Australia. The platform is already used in more than 100 countries.

Activate is designed to help employers manage benefits, rewards, wellbeing programmes and superannuation through a single digital service. It is aimed at organisations that want to give staff a more tailored view of the support available to them.

The Australian rollout comes as employers face a gap between worker expectations and current benefits offerings. Aon's 2026 Human Capital Trends Study found that 52 per cent of Australian employees consider customised benefits important or extremely important, while only 25 per cent of employers currently offer them.

That gap is part of a wider debate over how companies present their total employment package to staff. Employers have increased spending on benefits as they compete for talent and try to improve retention, but many workers still struggle to understand what is available or how those offerings fit into their overall remuneration.

According to Aon, Activate brings together benefits, rewards, wellbeing services and superannuation in one place. The platform also includes self-service functions, automated workflows and analytics for employers and employees.

A central feature is the use of digital total reward statements. These are intended to give employees a personalised view of salary, benefits and wellbeing support, helping them see the full value of their employment package rather than focusing only on base pay.

For employers, the system is positioned as both an administrative tool and a communications channel. It is intended to help organisations manage employee programmes more consistently while giving staff easier access to information about what they are entitled to receive.

Local demand

The launch in Australia reflects a market in which employee experience has moved beyond internal communications into workforce strategy. Benefits design, accessibility and personalisation are increasingly tied to recruitment and retention decisions, particularly as workers compare offers across employers and expect digital tools to be easy to use.

Stuart Whitbread, Director, Health and Benefits, Australia, Aon, said, "Employee expectations continue to evolve, particularly around benefits and rewards. Organisations have an opportunity to strengthen employee engagement by making benefits easier to access and more relevant to individual needs. When employees better understand the support available to them, they are more likely to recognise its value."

Aon said the platform has been built on more than 40 years of benefits technology work. The Australian launch gives local employers access to a system already deployed internationally, with support for 138 languages and adaptation to local market requirements.

That global footprint may appeal to multinational employers operating in Australia that want a more standardised way to manage employee offerings across regions. At the same time, local adaptation remains important because superannuation, benefits structures and compliance settings vary between markets.

Workforce visibility

Activate is also intended to help employers make better workforce decisions through access to real-time analytics. Such tools are increasingly used by human resources teams to track programme take-up, identify gaps in employee awareness and assess whether spending on benefits is reaching the groups it is meant to support.

In the benefits market, one recurring problem is underuse. Employers may fund services ranging from health support to reward schemes, but low visibility can limit take-up and reduce the return on that spending. Digital platforms have emerged as one response, with providers arguing that a single access point can improve awareness and simplify administration.

Whitbread said, "Employers are investing in benefits to attract, retain, and support their people, but that investment has less impact if employees cannot easily understand or access what is available. The Activate platform helps employers simplify administration, communicate the value of their benefits more clearly, and make better-informed workforce decisions."

Aon operates across risk, retirement, health and talent advisory services, and the introduction of Activate adds to a broader market for workplace technology focused on employee engagement and benefits administration. In Australia, that market has been shaped by growing employer attention to wellbeing, changing workforce expectations and pressure to show clearer value from people-related spending.

Activate supports more than six million individuals globally and is available in 138 languages.