Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN): How Its Accenture Partnership Will Reshape Corporate Operations

Aditi Sarkar

12 November 2026 05:43 PM AEDT

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN): How Its Accenture Partnership Will Reshape Corporate Operations

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Highlights

Qantas signed a multi-year Accenture Partnership to modernise systems and corporate processes.
The company expects approximately 850 roles to be affected over coming years.
Employee and union consultations will precede decisions about individual employment outcomes.
The first wave of planned changes is expected by mid-2027.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) operates passenger aviation businesses including Qantas and Jetstar, alongside its loyalty operations. The airline group is undertaking fleet renewal while investing in technology across customer and internal operations. In November 2026, Qantas announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Accenture covering data platforms, older technology and parts of its corporate service functions. The agreement sets out an intended transformation programme, not an already completed transfer of services or workforce reduction.

Legacy Technology Creates an Integration Challenge

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) said its operations rely on more than 1,000 legacy applications accumulated over decades, many of which were not designed to exchange information with one another. Connecting systems and their underlying data is a central objective of the Accenture arrangement. The company believes this work is necessary before automation and artificial intelligence can be adopted more widely across Business functions.

The group said it already invests more than AUD 1 billion annually in technology. Existing initiatives include its Product Innovation Centre in Adelaide, which is expected to expand to more than 400 roles. Qantas has not disclosed a contract value or a quantified savings target for the Accenture agreement.

Corporate Functions and Planned Service Transfers

Under the proposed operating model, some services within corporate functions will move to Accenture. Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) said delivery would initially be undertaken mainly by Accenture teams in India, with some services provided from Australia. Subsequent redesign would involve increased use of automation and artificial intelligence. Accenture will also make an upfront Investment to accelerate modernisation of the airline group’s data platforms.

About 850 Qantas Group roles are expected to be affected over the coming years. This figure describes roles potentially affected by change and should not be treated as a confirmed number of redundancies. The airline said it will consult employees and unions before determining individual outcomes. Its indicative timing places the first wave of changes by mid-2027, subject to the consultation and implementation process.

Redeployment, Training and Australian Employment

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) said it will seek opportunities to redeploy affected workers within the group where possible, including into new Australian roles. It also committed to reskilling, retraining and other support. These are planned measures, and the number of employees ultimately redeployed or leaving the organisation has not been established.

The company reported an Australian workforce of approximately 28,000 and said more than 4,400 operational positions had been created since 2023, including pilots, cabin crew and engineers. The practical outcomes will depend on role-by-role consultation, business requirements and the availability of suitable positions.

Execution Priorities Alongside Fleet Renewal

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) is undertaking this corporate transformation while continuing its aircraft renewal and operating its airline networks. Modernising interconnected applications requires changes to systems, data governance and working processes, as well as the transfer of selected activities to a service partner. Delivery timing and the effect on employees therefore remain important matters for subsequent updates.

In its November 2026 market update, the airline separately maintained first-half FY27 total unit Revenue growth guidance of 8% to 10% for both domestic and international operations. It forecast first-half fuel costs of approximately AUD 3.75 billion. Those airline trading measures provide broader operating context; they are not financial forecasts for the Accenture partnership.

Key Insights

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) has outlined a multi-year systems and corporate-services transformation with Accenture. Approximately 850 roles may be affected, but individual employment outcomes remain subject to consultation. The principal near-term milestones are implementation planning, redeployment discussions and the first changes expected by mid-2027.

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