5 Organisations setting the standard for workplace flexibility

Accenture: Flexibility for every role, level and every career stage

Accenture Australia has been offering flexible work long before it became common practice. Managing Director Susannah Rosoman, who has been with the organisation for over 15 years, remembers the moment it clicked for her.

“As I was moving into leadership positions, it looked impossible to juggle a small family and work until I was let into a secret; everyone works flexibly, they just don’t advertise it.”

AEMO: Flexibility designed around real life

At AEMO, there are no mandated office days. How, where, and when you work is agreed directly with your people leader; because flexibility that doesn’t account for how someone actually lives isn’t really flexibility at all. It’s designed to move with you, whether you’re studying, caring for someone, managing a health condition, or your circumstances have simply shifted.

What also makes AEMO’s flexibility model genuinely distinctive is the leave provisions sitting alongside it:

• Employees receive five days of special paid leave each year, usable for reproductive health appointments (including IVF), menopause, managing a disability or chronic health condition, caring responsibilities, family violence, or Sorry Business. 
• There are also four days of paid volunteer leave, 10 days of paid emergency services leave, 16 weeks of paid parental leave available to all parents, for the first 18 months following the birth or adoption of a child
• The option to purchase additional leave or swap public holidays for culturally significant dates.
• Up to 10 paid keeping-in-touch days during parental leave, if and when it suits you

For Senior Talent Acquisition Partner Karen Holker, that framework has been genuinely life-changing.

“AEMO’s flexibility has genuinely changed how I’m able to show up both at work and in my life. The ability to work a four-day work week has been pivotal for my wellbeing and professional growth.”

Powerlink: Flexibility that holds up when the work gets complex

It’s easy to offer flexibility when everyone works from a laptop. The real test is when your workforce includes people managing rosters, working in the field, and keeping critical infrastructure running.

Powerlink passes that test. Flexibility here is designed around what each role genuinely allows. Field and operational employees work to mutually agreed rosters that build in predictability alongside balance. Corporate employees have access to hybrid arrangements, varied hours, compressed weeks, part-time options, and time off in lieu. The arrangement changes shape. The access doesn’t.

The leave provisions reflect the same thinking:

• Superannuation is paid on both paid and unpaid parental leave. 
• Employees can access cultural leave, reproductive and gender affirmation leave, domestic and family violence leave, volunteer leave, and study leave. 
• A Workplace Adjustments Procedure built through Powerlink’s Disability Inclusion Plan gives employees and candidates at any level a transparent, structured process to request what they need, backed by manager guides and e-learning so nothing gets handled informally or inconsistently.

Recruitment Coordinator Maddy Baldwin competes at elite amateur level. Balancing training loads, recovery, and competition schedules with a full-time role is something many employers talk around. Powerlink works with it.

“Having an employer that understands that has made a huge difference. Whether that’s leaving early for training, adjusting my hours, or being able to step away from work when I’ve had the chance to compete, there’s always been that trust there.”

What Maddy didn’t anticipate was how much the organisation would actively celebrate her achievements; sharing them internally, sparking conversations across the business with people who share similar interests.

“It makes you want to show up and do a good job, because you feel supported as a whole person, not just as an employee.”

Rheinmetall: Flexible by design, human by nature

Rheinmetall’s flexibility model is built on structure. Options are clearly defined, eligibility is clearly explained, and the framework applies across the organisation; including blue collar workers. Employees can choose:

• Flexible start and finish times within core hours 
• Compress full-time hours across fewer days
• Request part-time arrangements, or swap shifts with approval
• For those who want more time off, there’s a holiday purchase scheme of up to five additional days, and enhanced parental leave flexibility.

That structure matters. But what gives it meaning is the culture that sits behind it, and Recruitment Manager Iwona Kurpiewska’s story captures that better than any policy document could.

Iwona has lived in the UK for over ten years, building a life with her husband and four-year-old son without family nearby. She describes the daily reality of balancing professional life with solo parenting as something flexibility has made manageable.

One morning, asked to attend an 8:30am meeting when her husband had already left for work at 7:00am, she messaged her manager to say she would do her best to arrive as soon as she could after nursery drop-off.

The response: “Please do not rush. It’s honestly fine. Just be safe, please.”

“I cannot put into words how grateful I am for this kind of understanding and for the workplace I am part of.”

Iwona’s reflection is direct: 

“There is no perfect workplace, and there will always be something that challenges or bothers us. However, it is very important to understand what truly matters to us personally.”

SYSTRA: Where flexibility starts at the top

At SYSTRA ANZ, flexibility is modelled. Leaders use it themselves, openly and without apology, because that’s the clearest signal that the rest of the organisation has permission to do the same.

Talent Acquisition Business Partner Simon Zhu works across all business units around the country and has seen the impact of that leadership approach first-hand. He also lives it.

Simon has a young daughter who recently took her first steps, and he was there to see them, because his working arrangement allowed him to be present at home while still delivering on his professional responsibilities.

“As I am not limited to being in the office for all work hours, I can take a more equal responsibility for childcare, logistics, household tasks, and emotional labour. This helps challenge the idea that these duties naturally belong to women.”

“As a father who openly uses flexibility, I feel like I can help normalise it for everyone, reducing stigma around caring responsibilities and making it more acceptable for women and men alike to set boundaries or request flexible arrangements.”