Our members are at the core of everything we do, and ADIA is dedicated to giving you the best value for your membership. In the coming year, we will continue to offer you direct and exclusive access to expert advice on privacy, advocacy, workplace relations, quality assurance, and training.

SUPPORTING YOUR BUSINESS IN 2026

Advocacy

With the current Government active in legislative areas related to data and privacy, we expect Advocacy to top the list of what members can look out for. In particular:

• The SMS Sender ID Register - ADIA will continue to work closely with ACMA to help deliver an ADIA-registered ID to support smaller members. We will also monitor further development of the Commonwealth’s Scam Prevention Framework with a view to protecting our members' commercial operating environment while engendering the public’s trust in our members’ research practices. Several submissions in this area are expected ahead of the register's launch on July 1, 2026
• The Productivity Commission's Five Pillars Inquiry. Pillar 3 'Harnessing data and digital technology' is likely to have implications for our industry, and we expect to engage with the Government on this issue early in the new year, once they begin their next round of stakeholder consultation. 

Privacy, Quality and Risk Management

• Privacy reform, expert advisory and protection – the second tranche of reforms are due in 2026. By law, ADIA is required to review the Privacy Code every five years (which falls next year) and will work closely with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OAIC), the adjudicator of the Code. The Review will be an opportunity to bring the Code in line with recent privacy law changes and ensure it remains fit for purpose for members and their clients in this highly co-regulated ecosystem. 
• In January 2026, we will send the Privacy Compliance Checklist to all members. Please keep a lookout, as completion remains a condition of ADIA membership. 

• After an extensive global review (with input from ADIA and members), the updated ISO 20252 standard will launch in 2026. ADIA will assemble an expert research group to develop guidelines, with support from the ADIA QA Committee. These guidelines will assist members and guide preferred Australian ISO certifiers in addressing AI, synthetic data, and respondents during audits. ADIA will also offer new training and resources to members—free of charge—to help facilitate a smooth transition to the revised Standard. 

Partners

• ADIA continues to work closely with ESOMAR and officially endorses the recently published ICC ESOMAR Code, with key joint projects including Research Got Talent, industry benchmarking and quality resources.
• A new joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Research Society took effect on July 1, 2025. The Boards and Management of ADIA and TRS are excited to reaffirm our partnership, champion our respective members, drive growth and trust, and shape a bold, dynamic future for the industry.
• ADIA is also participating in the TRS review of the Code of Professional Behaviour, which aims to update and shape the code to ensure it remains a trusted framework for ethical and professional conduct in the research community.
• The Leaders Forum returns to Sydney on May 7, 2026, and before that (for those working in the government sector), don’t miss the Aus Gov Data Summit in Canberra from 21 – 23 April.

Workplace Relations

• For over two decades, ADIA has worked to ensure that the industry has a stable workplace relations system that is fair and equitable to both employers and employees. Since the first Industry Agreement was negotiated in the late 1990s, these agreements have provided a ‘level playing field’ for members and have resulted in a generally cooperative relationship between the industry and the union movement with minimal Industrial disputation.
• The current ADIA UWU Enterprise Agreement is in place until 2026. ADIA will consult with members early next year to determine whether to deliver a new Agreement with the Union.