2026 Conference Program

Monday, 27th of July 2026
Room TBC	9am - 4.00pm	Workshop 1	“Design Masterclass – rare opportunity to spend a day with industry professionals”
Room TBC	9.30am - 12.30pm	Workshop 2	"Competency Requirements and Professional Development in Biorisk Management"
Room TBC	1.00pm - 4.30pm	Workshop 3	"Risk Assessment: One size does not fit all "
Room TBC	9.00am - 4.00pm	Workshop 4	"BSL3 Critical Systems HVAC/EDS Design/Commissioning"

More information on the workshops can be found on the 2026 Conference Workshops page. Pre-conference workshops are exclusively available to delegates who have

purchased a Full Registration.

Should capacity allow, ABSANZ may release a limited number of additional workshop tickets closer to the event date.

The cost for the Half Day Workshop is AUD450.

Cost for a full-day workshop is AUD750.

For those interested in attending the workshops only, please Contact us or email us at admin@absanz.org.au to be put on the waitlist.


Tuesday, 28th July 2026
8.30am	Registrations Open
9.00am	Welcome Breakfast, exhibition hall,
10.00am	Welcome to Country
	Presidents Welcome – Dr Amanda Jones, ABSANZ President
10.15am	Session One: Professor Mely Caballero-Anthony\| Asia Centre for Health Security

11.00am	Q&A
11.15 am	Session Two: Oral Presentations
	Tom Walus \|Canadian Association for Biological Safety ” Biosafety and Infection Control. Two Roads, Same Destination”
	Brett Cole \| Biosafety International “Fungal/Mould Contamination Remediation and Testing in Laboratories”
	Sandy Ellis \| Pond and Co “Benchmarking Facilities to Establish Sustainable Laboratory Programming, Design, Construction and Operations in Low and Middle Income Countries”
12.00 pm	Q&A
12:10pm	Platinum Sponsor Address
	Tom Rimmington \|
12.30pm	Lunch, exhibition hall,
1.30pm	Session Three: Guest Speaker Tia Huia Haira \| Ātiawa Toa Hauora Partnership Board

	Q&A
2.30pm	Session Four: Oral Presentation
	JT Paulley \| Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness; CSIRO “Effective Risk-Based Decontamination Strategies Using Enzymatic Indicators”
	Simon Young \|AES Environmental “Closing the Compliance Gap in Class II Biosafety Cabinets”
3.00pm	Q&A
3.05pm	Afternoon tea, exhibition hall,
3.30pm	Session Five: Oral Presentations
	Colin Sakinofsky \| L2D “A Different View on Sustainable Research – Using the ACMD at St Vincents Hospital as a Mode”
	Robert Danko \| ADP Consulting “Office to PC2 – When biosafety became an opportunity”
	Manon Sora Koestoer \| HKS Asia Pacific Design Consulting “Designing for Humans, Ensuring Safety: A Human-Centered Framework for BSL 2 Facility Efficiency and User Well-being”
	Bettina Bartos \| BLP & Kiri Collins \| Children’s Cancer Institute Australia “Lessons in Laboratory Design – The Cautionary Tale of the Tree Swing”
4.30pm	Q&A
5.00pm	Conclusion Day 1

Wednesday, 29 July 2026
8.30am	Registrations Open
8.50am	Welcome, morning notices
9.00am	Session Six: Guest Speaker Professor James McCluskey AO FAA FAHMS\| Assistant Vice Chancellor
	The University of Melbourne Q&A
10.00am	Morning tea, exhibition hall,
10.30am	Session Seven: Oral Presentations
	Damian Alexander Honeyman\| Kirby Institute “Biological Warfare and Major Biological Events Through the Ages: A Systematic Review from Prehistoric Times to the Present”
	Julianne L. Baron \| Science and Safety Consulting, LLC “Laboratory Biorisk Assessments: Considerations for Incorporating Cyber biosecurity”
	Lynda Boldt \| The University of Melbourne “How to use a BioBubble containment barrier to address novel biosafety challenges” Belinda Lees \| Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry “Simple fixes for big results”
11.30am	Q&A
11.45am	Gold Sponsor Address
	David Newell \| Suncombe “Key design considerations when implementing an Effluent Decontamination System”
12.00pm	Lunch, exhibition hall,
1.00pm	Session Eight: Guest Speaker
	Dr Danielle Anderson\| Research Scientist
	The University of Melbourne
	Q&A
2.00pm	Session Nine: Oral Presentations
	Emma Ludwig \| Hassell “How a functional brief could setup the Guardians of tomorrow”
	Sam Tung \| Wood “Future-Ready Labs: Designing Flexible, Intelligent and High-Performance Research Environments”
	James Downing & Lydia Ginn \| Jacobs “De‑Risking Early Design in Uncertain Futures”
2.45pm	Q&A
3.00pm	Afternoon tea, exhibition,
3.30pm	Session Ten: Discussion Panel \| Consistency and Compliance in a Risk Assessed Framework
	Brad George \| Wood
	Stephen Coulter \| Coulter Advisory Mike Cover \| Comteq
4.30pm	Q&A
5.00pm	Conclusion, Day 2
7.00pm	Conference Dinner\| Grand Ballroom, Pullman, Albert Park

Thursday, 30th July 2026
8.30am	Registrations Open
8.50am	Welcome, Morning Notices
9.00 am	Session Eleven: Guest Speaker
	Allan Roberts \| Strategic Facility Operations Director Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness; CSIRO
	Q&A
10.00am	Morning tea, exhibition,
10.30am	Session Twelve: Oral Presentations
	Richard Spence \| MPI “From Compliance to Stewardship: Building Biosafety Ownership”
	Carlton Bidois \| Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital “Shaping future champions to improve biosecurity outcomes”
	Rachel Gamble \| Pond and Co “The Art of Measuring Prevention: Effective Biosafety Program Metrics for Communicating Value, Garnering Support, and Ensuring Compliance”
	Q&A
12.00pm	Lunch, exhibition,
1.00pm	Session Thirteen: Guest Speaker
	Professor James St John\| Head of the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research Griffith University
	"The complexities of translating a cell transplantation therapy from the lab to clinical trial: making it matter and making it happen"
1.50pm	Q&A
2.00pm	Afternoon Tea, exhibition
2.30pm	Session Fourteen: Discussion Panel \| Leadership in Biosafety and Biosecurity: Lessons and Insights

3.00pm	Q&A
4.00pm	Conclusion of Conference

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the conference program, the conference committee reserves the right to make changes to the program, speakers, and sessions.

Any such changes will be communicated as soon as possible and will not result in a refund. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility.

Friday, 31st of July 2026
ACDP	9am - 4.00pm	Training/Tour 1	“Drainage and Spatial Decontamination Technical Training Course”
ACDP	9am – 4.00pm	Training/Tour 2	"Introduction to Sterilisers and Autoclave Load Validation"
ACDP	9am – 4pm	Training/Tour 3	"Risk Management of High Containment Operations and Specialised Work Area Considerations"
TBC		Site Tour 4
TBC		Site Tour 5
TBC		Site Tour 6

More information on training sessions and site tours can be found on 2026 Post Conference Tours.

Please note that site tours are facilitated by third-party providers and will incur additional charges. Registration is required to secure your place, with

spots allocated on a first-paid basis due to limited availability. Priority placement will be given to ABSANZ Conference Delegates.

The conference team are currently working on securing additional tours with details to be provided shortly.