Employment Leave Reform Conference 2026

New Zealand's overhaul of its leave regime gets a dedicated practitioner forum on 23 November 2026, when the Employment Leave Reform Conference convenes at the Crowne Plaza Auckland. The one-day programme, which can be attended in person or virtually, runs from an 8:30 registration to a 17:00 close with summary remarks and networking drinks, according to the organiser's event page.

Who runs it

The conference is produced by Conferenz Ltd, trading as Brightstar, an Auckland (Takapuna) based conference and professional-development company. Brightstar describes itself on its website as one of "New Zealand's leading and original conference, event and people training providers," and reports 28 years of operation and more than 3,000 events run across sectors including law and governance, finance, health and technology. Those figures are the company's own. Brightstar sits alongside Conferenz and the InsideGovernment brand within the same Conferenz Ltd group.

Who it's for and what's on the programme

The agenda is built for the people who will have to operationalise leave reform rather than only interpret it. The organiser lists the audience as HR and People & Culture leaders, payroll managers and specialists, employment-relations leaders, CFOs and finance managers, compliance and risk managers, operations managers running rostered or variable workforces, payroll software providers and employment lawyers.

Hannah King, a partner at Kiely Thompson Caisley, chairs the day. Proceedings open with "Inside the Employment Leave Bill," delivered by Daniel Erickson (Partner, Tompkins Wake), followed by Sianatu Lotoaso (Senior Associate, Buddle Findlay) on the new leave framework. The organiser's agenda reserves a mid-morning slot for an official Ministry (MBIE) update on implementation. Later sessions move from statute to systems: David Jenkins, chief executive of the New Zealand Payroll Practitioners Association, covers payroll readiness; Stephan Blumenberg (Alxemy) addresses technology integration; and Mike Pullar (Premium Payroll Solutions) examines cost, compliance and workforce-planning impacts. The afternoon turns to practical risk, with Emma Peterson (Partner, Russell McVeagh) on public holidays and otherwise working days, Rosemary Wooders (Partner, Bell Gully) on employment agreements and legal implications, and James Warren (Partner, Dentons) on managing the transition and its deadlines. In-person delegates also get roundtable discussions led by senior associates from Duncan Cotterill, Simpson Grierson, Tompkins Wake and Bell Gully.

Venue and delegate logistics

The Crowne Plaza Auckland sits at 128 Albert Street in the heart of the Auckland CBD, placing delegates within walking distance of SkyCity, Commercial Bay and the Britomart transport interchange that anchors the city's train, bus and ferry network. For out-of-town attendees, Auckland Airport is roughly 20 kilometres south of the city centre, typically a 30-to-45-minute drive depending on traffic, with the Auckland Airport bus service providing a public-transport alternative into town. The CBD location means a dense supply of accommodation within a short walk of the venue, from the host hotel itself to numerous other central hotels, which is a practical fit for a single-day event drawing a nationwide professional audience. These location details are provided as general reporting on the confirmed venue, not as an endorsement of any transport or accommodation provider.

Why it matters for NZ business events

Employment leave reform - the broader programme to replace and simplify New Zealand's long-criticised Holidays Act leave calculations - is one of the most operationally disruptive compliance shifts facing New Zealand employers, touching payroll systems, employment agreements and workforce planning simultaneously. That makes a tightly focused, law-firm-heavy conference of this kind a natural draw for the corporate and professional-services segment of the Auckland business-events market, and a recurring type of mid-size single-day CBD-hotel conference that is a staple of the city's MICE calendar.