The Board of Directors of TEACHO Ltd. has awarded dual recipients the Dr. Daryll Hull Memorial Fellowship in Industrial Relations for the years 2026 and 2027.
Dr. Daryll Hull was the Executive Chair of TEACHO Ltd. for a decade until September 2021, when he passed away suddenly. A member of the University of New South Wales alumni, he is credited with being the first student to complete a PhD in Industrial Relations in NSW, possibly Australia.
TEACHO Ltd. Chair Paul Ryan stated that “The Award is to encourage post-graduate study in the industrial relations field to ensure lessons learned from history are documented for future generations.”
TEACHO Director, Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan chaired a selection committee of academics and industrial relations experts tasked with selecting a shortlist of applicants, which proved to be a challenging task.
“TEACHO had an extremely strong field of applicants for the 2026-2027 Fellowship. The quality of research being undertaken, not only by the recipients, but from all the applicants is encouraging for the future of IR research in Australia,” said Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan
Given the depth of talent, and diversity of research topics, it was determined to make two awards.
Lauren Kelly, a PhD student of RMIT University will receive $10,000 to assist as she completes her final year in 2026. Lauren, who’s thesis title is “Working at the Platform Supermarket: How partnerships with digital labour platforms reconfigure supermarket labour, sociality, and life,” said she was honoured to receive the Fellowship.
“The fellowship affirms the importance of research that critically engages with workplaces, power, and worker experience. This support provides an invaluable opportunity to develop my research and to share ideas beyond the academy. With this support, I seek to have an impact within the union movement and government policy.”
Dianna Zhang, a Masters student at UTS has been awarded $20,000 across 2026 and 2027 for her work “Assessing the Early Implementation of the Regulated Worker Provisions under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 (Cth) for the Protection of Gig Workers’ Rights: A Focus on the Unfair Deactivation Remedy.”
Diana said, “For me, this award represents more than financial support. It will help bring forward voices essential to building fairer and safer workplaces, honouring the important legacy of Dr. Daryll Hull in occupational health, safety, and equitable work organisation.”
CEO Simon Earle stated that TEACHO Ltd. was thrilled with the quality of applicants as well as the outcome. “We’ve got two exceptional students, one near the end of their research and one at the beginning, both tackling critical issues that are shaping the future of work. We are proud to be able to contribute in a small way to the important research they are undertaking. I know Daryll would be too.”
‘It’s all a question of timing. And courage. And hope’ — Dr. Daryll Hull, 2021.