Overview
The next biennial meeting of the Australasian Quaternary Association will be held in spectacular Sydney, New South Wales on 6-10th July 2026, where the Traditional Custodians are the Gadigal and Bidjigal peoples. The Conference will be held at the Teachers Federation Conference Centre, sponsored by the Chronos Radiocarbon Laboratory. The centre is located next to Sydney Central station, with train, metro and light rail links to the rest of Sydney.
The conference is planned for the winter low season to take advantage of accommodation availability in an expensive city. As such, we also recommend booking accommodation early. The weather is expected to be mild with a median of 18°C during the day and a cool 6°C at night so pack appropriately. July is characterised by one of the lowest rainfall totals of just 6 days on average, hence we do envisage a pleasant outlook for all to enjoy.
Conference program
The draft conference program is now available. Download it by clicking this link.
Abstract volume
The preliminary abstract volume is now available. Download it by clicking this link.
Conference events
We are now inviting registrations for the events being held throughout the week at AQUA 2026. The conference will feature networking events, a conference dinner and other social events, field trips, and a full day of workshops (see schedule, below). Fill out the form at the bottom of the events page (click this link) to register.
Preliminary schedule
- Saturday 4th July – pre-conference field trip – Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve (Caves)
- Sunday the 5th of July – walking tour of the beautiful Rocks followed by the Ice Breaker event (held at the Doncaster Hotel in Kensington)
- Monday 6th of July – conference commences / conference talks / WiSH event / ECR event
- Tuesday 7th of July – Centennial Park’s Protected Ecological Communities field trip / workshops: ANZIC (location to be confirmed), diatoms and radiocarbon (held at UNSW)
- Wednesday 8th of July – conference talks followed by the conference dinner (held at Foys Kirribilli)
- Thursday 9th of July – conference talks and poster session followed by Trivia evening (held at the conference venue)
- Friday 10th of July – conference talks and Closing of Conference
- Saturday the 11th of July – Thirlmere Lakes-Woronora Plateau-Wollongong post-conference field trip.
Register and submit your abstract
Abstract submission and early-bird registration for the conference have now closed. Regular priced registration is available until 01/06/2026:
- AQUA2026 Abstract Submission (closed)
- AQUA2026 Registration (regular rates until 01/06/26)
We now have a second tranche of travel support funding available for students (click this link, or navigate to “student travel support” in the website header).
Registration costs
| Registration (until 01/06/2026) | Late (After 01/06/2026) | |
| Member | $590.00 | $800 |
| Non-Member | $690.00 | $900 |
| Student/Discount (Member) | $490.00 | |
| Student (Non-Member) | $550.00 | |
| Student/Discount (Member, Travel Awardee) | $290.00 |
Conference circulars
The first circular for AQUA2026 has been released (download here).
The second circular for AQUA 2026 has been released (download here).
The third circular for AQUA 2026 is now available (download here).