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2026 Post Conference Tours - Friday 31st July 2026

Please note:
If you are travelling from overseas or reside outside of Australia or New Zealand, please contact us prior to booking a place on any of the tours.

Post-conference site tours are available to 2026 registered delegates only, due to the limited capacity on each tour.

Delegates will be emailed pickup and drop off times once registrations close. 

Tour prices can be found on our 2026 Conference Registrations  page to register please go to our Events page.

Site Training/Tour Option 1

Drainage and Spatial Decontamination Technical Training Course (max 8 registrations)- hosted in ACDP’s biocontainment area. Requires site arrival and secure area induction beginning at 9am. This course will require a  secure induction(approx 1 hr). Arrival 9am, secure area entry 10am, theory training in ACDP secure training lab 10am-12pm. Lunch in the secure area, hands on technical training from 12:30pm-4pm, exit secure area at 4pm. The training will exclude BI/EI processing due to time restrictions.(Price includes catering on the day as well as return bus from Pullman, Albert Park). 

Site Training/Tour Option 2

Introduction to Sterilisers and Autoclave Load Validation (max 8 registrations)- hosted in ACDP’s non-secure area using sterilisers and training rooms. This training will introduce various steriliser equipment, practice load validation on an active steriliser using wireless probe technology and demonstrate validation data migration from the probes into the integrated quality management system. We can also include ACDP’s standard maintenance considerations in addition to regulatory validation requirements. This training will not require a secure induction. (Price includes catering on the day as well as return bus from Pullman, Albert Park). 

Site Training/Tour Option 3

Risk Management of High Containment Operations and Specialised Work Area Considerations. This training will focus on risk identification and mitigation strategies for standard microbiological PC/BC 2, 3 and 4 laboratories and associated animal and arthropod containment areas. Course to be held non-secure, and has a maximum registration number of 12. It will leverage ACDP’s specialised facility management staff to focused focused training and risk considerations for targeted work areas/levels. This will include regulatory oversight and continual review and evaluation of risk management effectiveness. (Price includes catering on the day as well as return bus from Pullman, Albert Park). 

Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of two leading research and innovation facilities, showcasing cutting-edge design, collaboration, and scientific advancement.

Please note:

  • Places are strictly limited to 10 participants due to site restrictions
  • Spots will be allocated on a first-paid basis and are available to 2026 ABSANZ Conference delegates only
  • A minibus transfer will be provided, with pick-up and return to the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park
  • A $50 per person fee applies to help subsidise transport costs
  • A full itinerary will be provided once registrations close

 

  Stop 1: Western Edge Biosciences Building | University of Melbourne

 

Located at the University of Melbourne, the Western Edge Biosciences Building (Building 125) is a state-of-the-art facility designed to support interdisciplinary research, teaching, and collaborative learning.

This tour provides a unique opportunity to explore both front-of-house and back-of-house environments within a highly specialised biosciences facility.

Featured Spaces

Participants will experience a range of purpose-built teaching and research environments, including:

  • Veterinary Anatomy Teaching Lab
  • Object-Based Learning Area – featuring a curated collection of animal skeletons and teaching specimens
  • Dry Teaching Lab (Computer-Based Facility)
  • Wet Teaching Lab (Internally Certified PC2)
  • Wet Teaching Lab (Pharmacology & Biochemistry)
  • Dry Teaching Lab (Physiology)

This stop highlights how contemporary laboratory design supports diverse teaching methodologies, integrates technology, and meets stringent safety and certification requirements.

 

Stop 2:  The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD)

The Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), located within the St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne precinct in Fitzroy, is Australia’s first hospital-based biomedical engineering research and education centre. Designed to bring clinicians, engineers, researchers and industry together under one roof, ACMD accelerates the translation of discovery into real-world healthcare impact. As part of the ABSANZ conference, delegates will have the opportunity to tour the facility and see firsthand how biosafety, governance and collaborative practice are embedded within a working clinical and research environment, supporting safe, responsible innovation from lab to patient.

Tour Option 1 – Monash University (Clayton Campus) & Hudson Institute Facilities Tours

Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience across two of Australia’s leading biomedical and research precincts, showcasing cutting-edge facilities, innovation, and collaboration between research and healthcare.

Morning Tour – Monash University (Clayton Campus)
Explore three world-class facilities within Monash’s innovation precinct:

  • AquaCore – A leading aquatic research facility supporting advanced biomedical and regenerative medicine research
  • CryoEM – A state-of-the-art electron microscopy centre enabling high-resolution molecular imaging
  • BLTB (Biomedical Learning and Teaching Building) – A modern, interdisciplinary space for education and research in health and biomedical sciences

Afternoon Tour – Hudson Institute of Medical Research
(Located within Monash Medical Centre Precinct)
Discover a premier translational research institute where science meets clinical care:

  • Access to the Translational Research Facility (TRF)
  • Exposure to advanced platforms including genomics, imaging, and cell analysis
  • Insight into clinical and cell therapy laboratories supporting emerging treatments

 

Tour Option 2 – Morning Tour – Monash University (Clayton Campus) only

Explore three world-class facilities within Monash’s innovation precinct:

  • AquaCore – A leading aquatic research facility supporting advanced biomedical and regenerative medicine research
  • CryoEM – A state-of-the-art electron microscopy centre enabling high-resolution molecular imaging
  • BLTB (Biomedical Learning and Teaching Building) – A modern, interdisciplinary space for education and research in health and biomedical sciences

Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) is a leading Australian infectious diseases reference laboratory located within the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Victoria. VIDRL provides the Victorian Department of Health with virology, mycology, parasitology and mycobacteria public health reference laboratory services, including surveillance, outbreak investigations, reference testing and research, along with diagnostic testing for the community. VIDRL has Commonwealth Department of Health reference laboratory designations for polio and enteroviruses, measles, viral haemorrhagic fevers and smallpox.

VIDRL has a strong relationship to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and holds WHO Collaborating Centre designations for Reference and Research on Influenza, Mycobacterium ulcerans, and viral hepatitis. In addition, VIDRL holds WHO Regional Reference Laboratory designations for poliovirus, measles and hepatitis B, and is a WHO National Influenza Centre.

The tour will provide an overview of VIDRL at the Doherty Institute, with a focus on high containment laboratories and plant areas.

The tour will run in the morning only from 10am to 12noon. 

Further details will be provided to delegates once registrations close