Venue
IHM North Melbourne Campus
Full venue, transport and parking details will be circulated with the program on Friday 30 October 2026.
MELBOURNE · 16–17 NOVEMBER 2026
IHM InauguralSocial WorkConference2026
Social Work: Connecting Education, Practice and Innovation
Innovation · Practice · Education · Research
Organised by IHM Australia
Save the date
16 and 17 November 2026
IHM North Melbourne Campus
DATES
Monday 16 – Tuesday 17 November 2026
VENUE
IHM North Melbourne Campus
Two days of keynotes, plenarysessions, parallel sessionsand posters.
Enquiries
swconference2026@ihm.edu.auAbout the conference
Social work in an emerging world. The conference brings together practitioners, educators, researchers, students and people with lived experience of services to examine how social work is changing, and what must not change.
Across two days on the IHM North Melbourne Campus, the program spans practice, education, research and innovation — with deliberate space for students and early-career practitioners.
Who should attend
Practitioners, team leaders and managers · field educators and supervisors · academics and researchers · social work students · agency and industry leaders · Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and organisations · people with lived experience · IHM faculty, research team, leadership and Board.
Program at a glance — subject to confirmation
Two days of keynotes, plenary sessions, parallel sessions and posters.
Explore the streamsDay 1 — Monday 16 November
- Registration and arrival coffee; poster display opens
- Welcome to Country; official opening
- Keynote address 1
- Morning tea and poster viewing
- Plenary session 1
- Lunch; poster session
- Parallel sessions A to E
- Afternoon tea
- Question and answer session
- Close of Day 1
- Networking reception
Day 2 — Tuesday 17 November
- Arrival coffee
- Keynote address 2
- Morning tea and poster viewing
- Plenary session 2
- Lunch; poster session
- Parallel sessions F to J
- Afternoon tea
- Question and answer session
- Closing plenary
- Conference closes
Parallel session streams
10 streams
- A
Mental health and wellbeing
- B
Family, domestic and sexual violence
- C
Disability, access and the NDIS
- D
Cultural diversity, migration and settlement
- E
First Nations self-determination and cultural safety
- F
Evidence for practice: research and translation
- G
Professional identity, supervision and field education
- H
Technology, AI and documentation in social work practice
- I
Ethics in practice
- J
International students and social work education
Sessions A to E run on Day 1 and F to J on Day 2. Streams are allocated according to the abstracts received.
Call for abstracts
Abstracts for conference papers and posters are invited from:
- IHM Bachelor of Social Work students
- Social work students and academics from other universities
- IHM faculty and research team
- Industry practitioners and agency leaders
Why present
- Peer review by two reviewers, with written feedback
- Presentation to an audience of practitioners, educators and students
- Optional inclusion in the conference proceedings
- Direct contact with agencies, employers and placement providers
Submission formats
- Oral presentation — 15 minutes plus 5 for questions
- Poster — displayed both days, staffed session
Submit an abstract for either format. Abstracts are reviewed by the Scientific Committee, and selected authors are invited to present.
What is a poster?
A poster is a single printed display of your work — prepared on computer and printed for display — setting out your research, practice initiative or project on one page. Posters are displayed across both days with a staffed session and require an abstract in the same way as an oral presentation. They suit work in progress and are the most accessible starting point for a first presentation.
Publication
A conference proceeding will be published after the conference. Publication is optional.
Guidelines
Abstract guidelines, word limits and the submission link will be circulated when the call opens on Monday 14 September 2026. Contact the Scientific Committee Coordinator for early enquiries.
Key dates
- Call for abstracts opensMon 14 Sep 2026
- Abstracts closeFri 9 Oct 2026
- Notification of acceptanceFri 16 Oct 2026
- Presenter registration closesFri 23 Oct 2026
- Program publishedFri 30 Oct 2026
- Early-bird registration closesFri 6 Nov 2026
- Conference16–17 Nov 2026
Registration
IHM students and staff attend complimentary. A registration fee applies to all other participants and will be announced with the program. Early-bird rates close Friday 6 November 2026.
Enquire about registrationAccess and inclusion
Certificates of attendance issued to all delegates. Step-free access, a quiet room, and dietary requirements catered as standard. Tell us your access requirements when you register.
Partner with us
Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are available. Contact the organising committee to discuss.
Contact the organising committeeEnquiries and expressions of interest
Conference Convenor
Ambika Achanta
Lecturer & Placement Coordinator, Social Work
Ambika.a@ihm.edu.auScientific Committee Coordinator
Dr Binoy Joseph
Lecturer, Social Work
binoy@ihm.edu.auProgram Coordinator
Dr Zhongjie Zhang
Lecturer, Social Work
zhongjie@ihm.edu.auCommunications Coordinator
Dr Shisir Manandhar
Senior Lecturer
shisir@hci.edu.auAbout the organiser
The Institute of Health & Management (IHM Australia) is an Australian higher education provider registered with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (PRV14040, CRICOS 03407G). The conference is convened by IHM's School of Social Work.
IHM acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we meet and pays respect to Elders past and present.
Flyer print notes
Outside sheet. Panels left to right: C short panel (97 mm), B back cover (100 mm), A front cover (100 mm). Print double-sided, long-edge flip.
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Inside sheet. Panels left to right: A inside front (100 mm), B inside back (100 mm), C short panel (97 mm).
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