The Setup
The Australian government is launching a forum to manage AI's impact on jobs, bringing unions and business groups to the table. Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth will preview new data at the AFR Workforce Summit showing which roles are softening first.
The headline: graduate hiring is holding. The reality: admin-heavy roles are slowing down.
The Data
"We are starting to see a slight softening in the rate of growth for occupations that are most exposed to AI adoption, like filing clerks or keyboard operators," Rishworth said.
Read between the lines. Filing clerks and keyboard operators are not the only roles doing repetitive data entry and outreach at scale. SDRs and BDRs spend half their day on tasks AI can automate: list building, email sequences, CRM updates, initial qualification.
The data also shows "employment outcomes for young tertiary graduates have been positive." That matters because SDR is the classic grad entry point. Hiring is not collapsing yet, but if growth is softening in adjacent admin roles, SDR teams are next.
What This Means for Sales
The forum is trying to balance union concerns about job security with employer warnings about over-regulation killing productivity. For sales teams, that tension plays out in real time.
AI is already handling tier-one outreach at companies like Gong and Salesforce. The question is not if SDR headcount contracts, it is when and by how much. Goldman Sachs estimates 25% of US work hours are automatable. SDR work sits squarely in that zone.
The government is positioning this as a collaboration, not a ban. That probably means reskilling programs and transition support, not protection for roles that no longer need humans.
The Comp Angle
If SDR hiring slows, base salaries flatten or drop. OTE relies on quota attainment, and quota gets harder when you are competing with AI-assisted teams. Worth watching: how many ANZ tech companies quietly shift SDR headcount into AE or AM roles over the next 12 months.
The forum launches soon. The data is clear. Admin-heavy sales roles are in the softening zone.