TechDiversity Foundation has announced the TechDiversity Awards will move to Sydney for 2026, marking expansion for the Australian platform celebrating inclusive leadership in the tech workforce.
The move comes as Australia faces an unprecedented tech workforce challenge. According to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Australia has seen a 3.7 per cent decline in tech jobs while the broader labour market grew by two per cent.
TechDiversity’s own research reveals the scale of untapped potential. The Foundation’s Tech Reflects Study, Australian research on diversity in tech workforces, found that 45.4 per cent of tech workers were born in Australia, indicating a truly global workforce. Yet many culturally diverse voices remain underrepresented in decision-making roles. The study, which captured data from workers across more than 50 countries of birth and 10 plus languages, highlights both the diversity that exists and the inclusion gaps that persist.
Perhaps most striking, 32.1 per cent of tech workers reported living with a long-term condition, far exceeding the Diversity Council Australia’s 9.4 per cent workforce disability benchmark. This suggests significant issues with disclosure within parts of the sector, while also pointing to the need for continued focus on accessibility and support.
The research also revealed a crisis of confidence as 66.2 per cent of tech workers expressed uncertainty about whether business and government will close the tech skills gap.
“Our research confirms what many in the sector already sense, we have a workforce with extraordinary diversity, but we’re not leveraging it effectively,” said Luli Adeyemo, executive director of TechDiversity Foundation. “The talent is there. The question is whether we build the pathways, the leadership capability, and the inclusive cultures to unlock it.”
With the nation’s tech workforce hovering below one million and projections requiring 1.2 million workers by 2030 to remain competitive, the need to build new pathways into tech careers has never been more urgent.
“Sydney isn’t just a change of city, it’s a statement,” said Adeyemo “Australia’s tech workforce is shrinking at the exact moment we need it to grow. Sydney is home to the headquarters, the government agencies, the startups, and the decision-makers who can shift this. If we’re going to change the conversation about who gets to lead, innovate, and shape Australia’s workforce, this is where we need to be.”
The 2026 Awards will carry the theme ‘Influence Redefined, Power in Every Voice’, recognising that leadership isn’t about who has the loudest voice, but who creates space for every voice to be heard, valued, and acted upon.
TechDiversity Awards 2025 marked the platform’s 10th anniversary with record-breaking engagement of over 500 senior leaders in attendance, a community representing 43 countries of birth, 57 cultural groups, and 96 languages, and organic social reach that delivered 5,000+ impressions in a single day during the anniversary campaign.
The TechDiversity Awards recognise and celebrate strategic investments in workforce capability, innovation, and competitive advantage across five categories: Government, Business, Education, Campaign of the Year, and Tech for Good.
