Australian Social Policy Conference 2026

The 2026 Australian Social Policy Conference (ASPC 2026) will be hosted in Meeanjin (Brisbane) by The University of Queensland (UQ), St Lucia campus from 30 September — 2 October 2026.

The ASPC is the flagship event of the Australian Social Policy Association. It brings together leading researchers, policy makers, community welfare professionals, and advocates from across Australia and around the world to tackle the current most pressing social, environmental and economic challenges.

About the venue

Ranked in the world's top 50, UQ is one of Australia's leading research and teaching institutions.

The ASPC 2026 will be hosted at UQ’s St Lucia campus, located along the Brisbane River in the inner-city Meeanjin/Brisbane suburb of Saint Lucia.

All conference sessions will be hosted in person at UQ’s St Lucia campus. Our conference reception will be held in Brisbane City at UQ’s Custom House location.

Getting here

For those needing to fly, the closest airport is the Brisbane Airport, which is situated on the north side of the city. From the airport, it is about a 25 min drive to the CBD or 30 minute drive to UQ St Lucia campus. You can also catch the Airtrain (airport train) to Brisbane City — about a 20 min ride (see here).

Once you have arrived in Meeanjin/Brisbane, there are multiple transport options to get from your accommodation to the UQ St Lucia venue, including:

• City Cat — The City Cat ferry can be caught from multiple stops along the Brisbane River and arrives directly at the UQ St Lucia Ferry Terminal, located near Sir William Macgregor Drive, adjacent to the UQ Lakes bus station and Eleanor Schonell Bridge. For City Cat timetables, see here.

• Bus — Multiple buses run to UQ’s two bus stations, located at Chancellor’s Place and the Lakes.

• Train — Toowong train station is on the Ipswich-Rosewood and Springfield lines. From the station, it’s a short walk to the Benson Street bus stop where there are regular buses to St Lucia campus.

• Cycle — St Lucia campus is easily accessed by bicycle, with a safe riverside bicycle path in Toowong, and the Eleanor Schonell Bridge in Dutton Park connecting the campus to the Brisbane CBD and surrounding suburbs. We don’t recommend riding your bicycle on busy Sir Fred Schonell Drive, the main road into St Lucia campus.

  There are secure bike parking facilities and racks across campus. Find out more about cycling to UQ at the Cycling at UQ website.

• Car — For those driving, there are limited parking spots available at and around UQ St Lucia campus, which offer both hourly and all day payment options and are available on a first-come-first-served basis. You can find more information about parking at UQ St Lucia here, as well as a parking map here.

City Cats and trains can now be caught using a standard credit or debit card. For buses, you will need to either purchase a paper ticket or a ‘Go Card’ (travel card) from a participating store.

For the good of the planet, we strongly encourage you to consider using public transport to arrive at the ASPC 2026. All Translink public transport services (buses, trains, City Cats) are also now only 50c flat-rate per ride across the Queensland network!

Accommodation

There is a range of accommodation available in the Meeanjin/Brisbane CBD — including close to the City Cat (River Ferry) stops for travel to UQ.

South Bank also has excellent accommodation options close to entertainment, restaurants and also just a short City Cat or bus-ride to The University of Queensland.

There are also limited accommodation options available within a short taxi-ride of the UQ St Lucia Campus. Unfortunately, UQ does not offer accommodation options on campus for non-students.