AIFS conference exploring the future of family wellbeing

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) biennial conference, Australia’s leading national event on family wellbeing, will be held from 9 to 11 September at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne/Naarm.

Under the theme Changing Families in Changing Times, the conference will bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, service providers, advocates and people with lived experience to examine how family life is evolving and what this means for policy, programs and services.  

Explore the conference themes, view the full list of speakers or read the full conference program.

MEDIA ATTENDANCE

Media are invited to attend the conference on Wednesday 9 September and Thursday 10 September.  
Select keynote speakers, presenters and AIFS subject matter experts will be available for interview.

Media registration is essential. Please email to register your attendance.  

NEW AIFS REPORTS PUBLISHING AT CONFERENCE

• Intergenerational Wealth Transfer in Contemporary Australia, publishing on Wednesday 9 September
• From Coping to Control: Understanding Gambling Experiences to Inform Harm Minimisation Policy, publishing on Thursday 10 September.  
   

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Professor Raymond Lovett AM, one of Australia’s leading Indigenous epidemiologists and Director of the Mayi Kuwayu Study, presenting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family wellbeing.
• Professor Leah Ruppanner, sociologist and founder of Lighten Lab, whose work examines unpaid care, gender inequality and the mental load.
• Honorary Professor Cathy Humphreys, an internationally recognised expert on domestic and family violence, substance use and child wellbeing.
• Reverend Tim Costello AO, a prominent social justice advocate and leading voice on gambling reform, poverty and inequality. 

More than 550 delegates are expected to attend the three-day event, which will feature more than 200 speakers, 179 oral presentations, 15 symposia and 24 lightning talks. Topics include domestic and family violence, child protection, gambling harm, artificial intelligence, housing affordability, disability, ageing, social cohesion and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.  

AIFS researchers and subject matter experts will present research on a range of issues affecting Australian families, including reducing harms related to pornography among young people, abuse and mistreatment of older Australians, technology-facilitated harms affecting children and young people, family formation and the next generation of parents, men's health and wellbeing, the wellbeing of Australian veteran families, and the experiences of humanitarian migrants as they navigate employment and family life in Australia.

Read more about AIFS Conference 2026 here.