Qantas announced Thursday it will establish a new Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide under an agreement with the South Australian government, expanding the airline’s digital and technology capability beyond Sydney for the first time.
The project is expected to stimulate significant specialist tech hiring in the state, with projections of “hundreds” of roles by 2028.
Both Qantas and the government have framed those numbers as planning assumptions rather than fixed commitments, with further detail on how hiring targets will be monitored still being clarified.
Premier Peter Malinauskas declined to reveal details of the state support, saying it was commercial in confidence.
But he told reporters the assistance is linked to “key benchmarks” including “the employment of a lot of people here in our state” and is part of the state’s moves to diversify its economy.
Qantas said the Adelaide hub will consolidate several of its digital and technology teams into a single regional delivery centre, with a focus on digital product design, customer platforms and emerging capabilities including AI.
More than 420 highly-skilled technology roles will come with the new centre, according to the airline, which said most will be new positions, with some existing contractor and offshore work being converted into permanent jobs based in Adelaide.
The Adelaide staff are expected to work on predictive maintenance, digital channels, and AI-enabled process improvements across its supply chain and service operations.
The airline will also establish a local leadership team and hire HR and administrative staff to support the centre while maintaining alignment with its national headquarters in New South Wales.
Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson said Adelaide’s research environment and tech workforce made the city attractive.
“By bringing together the best Australian talent, the Centre will transform how we deliver for our customers, creating smarter, more seamless travel experiences for millions of Qantas customers,” she said.
The initiative is underpinned by a strategic partnership between Qantas and Adelaide University, including graduate recruitment and research collaboration through the Australian Institute for Machine Learning. Qantas will fund PhD and Honours scholarships within AIML’s Industrial AI program.
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