Skip to main content

Call for Abstracts

The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) is excited to announce the call for abstracts for the 2026 Victorian State Conference, reflecting this year's theme and sub-themes.

 

2026 Conference Theme

Resilience Starts With Planning

What does it take to build a place that can bend without breaking? In an era of intensifying climate events, shifting economies, and communities navigating rapid change, planning has never mattered more. The Planning Institute of Australia's 2026 Victorian State Conference invites planners, policymakers and practitioners to gather in Healesville — a town that embodies the very tensions and possibilities our profession must grapple with.

Set against the backdrop of the Yarra Valley, we'll explore how thoughtful, courageous planning builds the foundations of resilience — across our communities, our landscapes, our economies, and our institutions.

 

Sub-Themes

To guide submissions, the conference program is structured around the following four sub-themes.

Sub-theme 1
Resilient Communities 

  • Community resilience as a process (good health, social networks, participation and equity)
  • Natural disaster preparedness and recovery
  • Migrant and diverse communities

Sub-theme 2
Resilient Built Form & Landscapes

  • Climate-resilient urban design
  • Caring for Country and Indigenous knowledge
  • Future-proofing peri-urban growth

Subtheme 3
Resilience in the face of the unknown 

  • Planning for unanticipated crises
  • Food security and infrastructure vulnerability
  • Accessibility and transport shocks

Subtheme 4
Resilient planning institutions & governance 

  • Personal and Professional resilience
  • Governance and policy alignment
  • Advocacy for the planning profession

Abstract Submission

 

We invite planners, researchers, practitioners and community voices to submit abstracts for papers, panels and presentations across all four conference themes. We particularly welcome submissions that draw on lived experience, innovative practice, and cross-disciplinary thinking

Presentation styles


Session styles

  • Concurrent presentation (20 minutes including Q&A)
  • Standard Conference Presentation (30 minutes including Q&A)
  • Workshop (60 minutes)
  • Keynote (45 minutes)
  • Panel Discussion (60 minutes including Q&A)
Submission process

Before commencing the submission process, please note:

  • Email submission via the submission form is the only method of abstract submission.
  • It is the responsibility of the presenter/author to ensure that the abstract is submitted correctly.
  • Where there is more than one presenter, all correspondence will be sent to the person who submitted the abstract. 
  • Every effort will be made to accommodate the presenter preferences. However, the Conference Committee reserves the right to allocate the presentation to best suit the program.
  • The invitation to submit an abstract does not constitute an offer to pay travel expenses, accommodation or registration costs associated with the Conference. Similarly, no presenter fee is paid to successful presenters. 

Abstract submissions close on Friday 12 June 2026.