Avetta unveils Sydney summit series with new format
Tue, 1st Sep 2026 (Today)
Avetta has released new details of its 2026 Summit Series event in Sydney, which will bring together clients, suppliers, contractors and partners from across Asia-Pacific.
The Sydney meeting will use a revised format centred on what Avetta calls a Connection Centre, a space for in-person collaboration across its network. The event will be held at Machine Hall in Sydney's central business district.
The Summit Series focuses on the role of trusted business relationships in managing supply chain risk. The Sydney programme will also include keynote sessions, new research on work readiness and the announcement of regional customer awards.
Participants in the Connection Centre will include Wakata, Unimarket, the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, Breathalyser and Australian Security Fencing. The model is intended to move beyond presentation-led sessions by giving attendees space to work directly with one another on procurement, health and safety, and operational issues.
The event forms part of a wider Summit Series that has already begun in Chicago and will conclude in London. Sydney is the Asia-Pacific stop on that programme.
Luke Boyle, Vice President of Operations, APAC, at Avetta, said the gathering comes as businesses face changing regulatory and safety demands.
"We're excited to bring the Avetta community together in Sydney," Boyle said. "As regulatory demands and health and safety responsibilities continue to evolve, businesses need to be ready to work-prepared to meet changing requirements, manage emerging risks and operate safely and effectively. The best place to start is by sharing the challenges we face and learning from one another. There is real value in meeting face to face, and I'm confident this year's event will leave attendees with fresh perspectives and practical tools to help their organisations achieve greater long-term success."
Speakers and themes
The keynote line-up includes Chelsea Pottenger, Founder at EQ Minds; Abid Yousuf, Chief Customer Officer at Avetta; Ben Kirkbride, Head of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality at Goodman; and Misha Fazen, Group Manager - Systems, Performance, Data Analytics HSE at Whitehaven Coal.
Session themes span workplace wellbeing, customer relationships and health and safety leadership. Discussions will focus on how organisations can improve readiness for work through closer alignment between people, processes and technology.
One scheduled speaker linked the discussion on work readiness to broader questions of staff wellbeing and leadership.
"Being ready to work is not only about systems, processes and compliance-it's also about the people who bring them to life," Pottenger said. "Sustainable performance starts with leaders who create the conditions for people to feel supported, connected and able to speak openly about how they're really going. I'm especially looking forward to joining the Avetta Summit Series event in Sydney on R U OK? Day, a timely opportunity to turn wellbeing conversations into practical action and help leaders build healthier, more resilient teams ready to thrive in a changing world."
Research and awards
Alongside the Sydney meeting, Avetta will unveil a report titled Beyond Compliance: Closing the Work Readiness Gap. The study examines trends in worker readiness, with a particular emphasis on safety and compliance, and explores gaps in real-time visibility and decision-making.
The findings are intended to address an issue that has become more prominent as companies manage larger contractor networks and more complex reporting obligations. For businesses operating across multiple sites and suppliers, visibility into who is prepared to work, and under what conditions, has become a growing operational concern.
Avetta also plans to announce its 2026 APAC customer award winners during the Sydney event. The awards drew a record number of nominations this year and are intended to recognise progress in health and safety, sustainability, workforce management and operations.
Avetta operates a platform used for compliance, prequalification, safety and performance benchmarking. It says its network includes more than 360,000 businesses in over 120 countries, giving it a broad base among organisations that manage contractor and supplier risk.
That market has drawn increasing attention as regulators and large asset owners place greater scrutiny on supply chain oversight. Businesses in sectors such as construction, resources, energy and infrastructure have faced pressure to show not only that standards exist on paper, but that workers and suppliers meet them in practice.
Against that backdrop, the Sydney event is being positioned as a forum for organisations using Avetta's system to compare approaches and address operational bottlenecks. The revised structure is intended to create more direct interaction between buyers, contractors and partners than a conventional conference format allows.
Machine Hall, the venue for the event, is a restored former substation in central Sydney. Avetta said the site was selected for its meeting spaces and accessibility for attendees travelling from across the region.
The event will also serve as a platform for Avetta to present its latest thinking on how businesses can move from a narrow focus on compliance to a broader view of work readiness across supply chains.