Australian Architecture Conference 2026
Conference: Friday 30 – Saturday 31 October
Fringe Events: Thursday 29 October and Sunday 1 November
Venues: Brisbane | Concert Hall of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Together. Or Not At All?
Architecture is often practiced in isolation – in studios, on site, behind screens, but it only advances through conversation. The 2026 Australian Architecture Conference brings Australia’s architects together for the profession’s most important conversation in a decade: about practice, advocacy, climate, housing, equity and what it means to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.
Together. Or Not At All? is a provocation for the future of architectural practice. The question speaks to the paradigm shift already underway: the innovations and crises, the friction and momentum, the vulnerability inherent in changing how we work, and the simple truth that none of it is possible alone. With past approaches faltering and uncertainty about the future growing, it is a timely catalyst for amplifying change and shared debate. It asks us to interrogate how the profession can strengthen collective responsibility: with Country, community, clients, climate, and the future of practice.
The innovations and crises. The friction and momentum. The vulnerability of changing how we work. The simple truth that none of it is possible alone. With past approaches faltering and uncertainty growing, this is not a conference. It is a reckoning.
Isolation Increases Cost. Collaboration Increases Value.
Right now, someone in Cairns is solving the same climate risk problem you are. Someone in Sydney too. Same challenge, solved separately, hundreds of times over.
Architecture advances through conversation, but it’s too often practised in isolation. The conference exists to close that gap.
Why attend.
Two days in Brisbane. Here’s what you take home:
- Practical tools instead of theory: Sessions are structured as debates, case studies, and working formats. Fees, climate response, practice resilience tackled directly, with real-world application built in.
- Connections that outlast the conference across states, sectors, and career stages. People to call when you’re stuck. Collaborators for projects you haven’t imagined yet.
- Up to 10 CPD points across both days, across formats that reflect how architects actually think and work.
- A shift in perspective: Past attendees consistently describe this as the real return on those two days. The hours matter. What you do differently afterward matters more.
Brisbane as backdrop. The profession as focus.
This year’s conference takes place in Brisbane, a city navigating rapid growth, climate resilience, and the gap between design ambition and delivery. The pressures shaping its built environment are the pressures this conference addresses.
The Concert Hall at QPAC and the BCEC were chosen for utility: accessibility, acoustics, and spaces that make thinking easier and conversation natural.
Some of the most valuable exchanges will happen between sessions. In the breaks. At the evening events. This is where ideas become collaborations.
Who this is for.
This conference is specifically designed for:
- Practicing architects at every career stage. From emerging practitioners finding their place, to mid-career professionals navigating practice pressures, to established leaders shaping the profession’s future.
- Built environment professionals working at the intersection of architecture: engineers, planners, landscape architects, construction professionals committed to delivering design intent and advancing quality.
- Anyone who has looked around their studio and thought: we’re solving this as if we’re the first people to face it. You’re not. Neither is anyone else in that room.
The challenges facing the profession – climate, housing, procurement, equity, technological disruption cannot be solved by architects alone. They require coordinated responses across disciplines.
If you are a professional in the built environment looking to step out of day-to-day pressures and into the bigger conversation about where we are headed and how we get there together, this is for you.
What is being solved.
The conference program is built around the hardest questions practicing architects are facing right now:
- How do we deliver better work under tighter budgets and timelines without compromising design quality or ethical standards?
- How do we protect design intent in increasingly complex procurement and regulatory environments?
- How do we build resilient, financially sustainable practices that support our teams and serve our clients?
- How do we respond to climate change not just as a design challenge but as an existential one?
- How do we ensure our profession reflects the communities we design for, and how do we reckon with the ways it currently does not?
Sessions are structured as panel discussions, debates, case studies, and workshops. Architects showing the work, and the frameworks that got them through.
Registration designed to meet you where you are.
The conference pricing structure reflects where you are in your career and what you need from the event:
| Super Early Bird & Early Bird | Best value for those who plan ahead. Members and non-members. |
| Emerging passes | Accessible entry for students and early-career professionals. Your seat at the table should not wait. |
| ArchiPass (Premium) | Enhanced experience for established leaders. Reserved seating, lounge access, VIP event. Limited to 100 passes. |
| Team packages | Bring your practice into the conversation. Studio investment for collective growth. |
| Single day passes | If you cannot commit to both days, register for Day 1 or Day 2 individually. |
Not a member of the Australian Institute of Architects? Join today to secure member pricing.
Not convinced? Register at non-member rates and upgrade later.
| Registration Rates | Super Early Bird (Fri 27 Feb – Thurs 12 Mar) | Early Bird (Fri 13 Mar – Thurs 11 Jun) | Standard (Fri 12 Jun – Thurs 29 Oct) | Late (Fri 30 - Sat 31 Oct) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ RAIA Member | ||||
| Archi Pass (includes Archi Party and limited to 100) | $1,395 | |||
| Full Conference (Day 1 and 2) | $846 | $896 | $995 | $1,194 |
| Day Conference (Day 1 or 2) | $548 | $581 | $645 | $774 |
| RAIA Member | ||||
| Full Conference (Day 1 and 2) | $1,016 | $1,076 | $1,195 | $1,434 |
| Day Conference (Day 1 or 2) | $659 | $698 | $775 | $930 |
| RAIA Concessional Member | ||||
| Full Conference (Day 1 and 2) | $813 | $860 | $956 | $1,147 |
| Day Conference (Day 1 or 2) | $510 | $540 | $600 | $720 |
| RAIA Graduate Member | ||||
| Full Conference (Day 1 and 2) | $813 | $860 | $956 | $1,147 |
| Day Conference (Day 1 or 2) | $510 | $540 | $600 | $720 |
| RAIA Student (SONA) Member | ||||
| Full Conference (Day 1 and 2) | $293 | $311 | $345 | $414 |
| Day Conference (Day 1 or 2) | $166 | $176 | $195 | $234 |
| Non-Member | ||||
| Full Conference (Day 1 and 2) | $1,866 | $1,976 | $2,195 | $2,634 |
| Day Conference (Day 1 or 2) | $1,228 | $1,301 | $1,445 | $1,734 |
Fringe Events
| Registration Rates | Standard | Late |
|---|---|---|
| RAIA Member | ||
| Archi Party | $195 | $234 |
| Fringe Events | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
| RAIA Concessional Member | ||
| Archi Party | $195 | $234 |
| Fringe Events | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
| RAIA Graduate Member | ||
| Archi Party | $195 | $234 |
| Fringe Events | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
| RAIA Student (SONA) Member | ||
| Archi Party | $195 | $234 |
| Fringe Events | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
| Non-Member | ||
| Archi Party | $375 | $450 |
| Fringe Events | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
Ticket Inclusions:
All conference passes include professional development, networking and catering. Additional benefits vary by pass type.
| Inclusions | ArchiPass | Full Conference | Day Conference (Day 1 only) | Day Conference (Day 2 only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day one conference access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Day two conference access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Day one catering (as scheduled) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Day two conference access | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Reserved seating | ✓ | |||
| Swag bag | ✓ | |||
| Water Bottle | ✓ | |||
| Access to Exhibition Hall Showcase | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Refuel sessions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ArchiPass Lounge access (private coffee machine) | ✓ | |||
| CPD session recordings on-demand | ✓ | |||
| CPD sessions recording (limited time) | ✓ | |||
| Archi-Party: VIP pre-party cocktail function | ✓ | |||
| Archi Party | ✓ | |||
| Conference Closing Drinks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Have questions about registration?
Contact the AAC 2026 team at conference@architecture.com.au
The Steering Committee.
The 2026 program is shaped by practitioners, educators, and advocates who have spent their careers navigating the exact pressures this conference addresses.
The people making it happen.
The conference is a significant undertaking by the Australian Institute of Architects, bringing together practitioners, thought leaders, and built environment professionals from across Australia and the globe for two days of structured conversation.
Fringe Committee: James Du Plessis (Chair) · Dr Ashley Paine · Dr Cecilia Bischeri · Hudson Smith · Dr Kirsty Volz · Liehan Janse van Rensburg · Prof Paul Loh · Sam Bowstead · Senlina Mayer · Yolande Vorste
Combined, they are responsible for translating the steering committee’s vision into an event that delivers on its promise.
But it takes more than two people to make a conference of this scale work.
Behind the program is a team of Institute members, event partners, venue specialists, and logistics coordinators who ensure that when you arrive in Brisbane, everything from registration to catering to session timing works seamlessly.
Partners & Sponsors
The Conference is made possible with the support of our partners and sponsors- organisations that share our commitment to a stronger, more connected built environment profession.
Sponsorship and partnership opportunities are available. Contact us at conference@architecture.com.au to find out how your organisation can be part of Australia’s most important built environment conversation.
2026 Australian Architecture Conference Partners
