Think Autism Conference & Community Workshops (Melbourne)
Saturday 30 May 2026 | 9:00am to 5:00pm @ ACU, Melbourne
St Teresa of Kolkata Building
115 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy
Australian Catholic University
Autism is trending. We are doing something about it.
The Think Autism (Autistic Pride Day) – Melbourne Conference is a one-day, in-person event created by and for Autistic people.
This is not a conference about autism. It is a conference run by Autistic leaders, practitioners, researchers, creators and advocates who are done waiting for systems to catch up.
On 30 May 2026, we are in Melbourne. On 18 June 2026, Autistic Pride Day, everything filmed goes live to the world.
The day covers the ground that matters: burnout as a policy failure, what late diagnosis actually costs, building businesses on Autistic terms, what neuroaffirming practice looks like in reality, workplace rights, LGBTQIA+ and Autistic identity, and what needs to change in education.
Keynotes. Fireside Chats. Panels. Workshops. Open Dialogue. One room that was built for us.
FOR NDIS TICKETS, EMAIL US: hello@autisticprideday.org
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE VISUAL STORY FOR THE DAY
Conference Program
Time | Format | Session | MC / Facilitator | Panelists / Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
9:00 AM | Arrival | Registration and Arrival | — | — |
9:45 AM | Opening | Acknowledgement of Country + Conference Opening | — | |
09:55 AM | Video | Opening Address | — | Dr Judy Tang OAM Victorian Multicultural Commissioner |
10:00 AM | Keynote | Keynote: A series of Missed Cues | — | |
10:15 AM | Preview | Agenda Setting: The Day in Five Points. The fireside chat takes it from here. | — |
|
10:30 AM | Fireside | Autism Went Mainstream. The Systems Did Not. | Presented by | |
11:00 AM | Break | 10 minutes | ||
11:10 AM | Panel | Part 1 - Autistic Burnout as a Policy Failure: Education, Work and Life. Part 2 -Education: From Policy to Practice | ||
12:15 PM | Lunch | 45 minutes | ||
1:00 PM | Panel | Identity and Intersectionality: Who Gets to Be Autistic | Presented by SSI | |
1:50 PM | Break | 10 minutes | ||
2:00 PM | Panel | Autistic Entrepreneurs and the Economy: Access, Capital and Self-Determination | ||
2:30 PM | Showcase | Autistic Entrepreneurs in Focus | Presented by Focus Bear productivity app | Jeremy Nagel — Focus Bear Rebecca McCash — FutureTech Australia Zoe Atterbury — Bloom Cycle Kaboose Chelle Norris — Found Power Autism From The Inside |
3:00 PM | Break | 10 minutes | ||
3:10 PM | Panel | Neuroaffirming Practice: What It Actually Looks Like | ||
4:00 PM | Break | 15 minutes | ||
4:15 PM | Open Dialogue | Autism is Trending. We Are Doing Something About It. | The full room in conversation - all speakers and audience. No agenda. No filter. |
5:30 PM | Close | Conference close |
6:30 | Networking dinner & drinks | Location TBA |
Workshops — Breakout Rooms
Running concurrently with main program. Attendees may move between sessions throughout the day.
Time | Format | Session | Presenter | Concurrent Panel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
11:10 AM | Workshop | From Diagnosis to Success: Lived Experience, Sensory Reality and the Path Forward | Daniel Giles OAM and Daryl Giles Presented by | Autistic Burnout as a Policy Failure |
12:30 PM | Workshop | Education: Home, School and the System in Between | Presented by Embrace Difference | Identity and Intersectionality |
1:30 PM | Workshop | The Full Picture: Understanding Autism Across Gender, Sexuality and Neurodivergence | Presented by The Divergent Edge | Identity and Intersectionality & Autistic Entrepreneurs and the Economy |
2:30 PM | Workshop | Work That Works: Rethinking Adjustments as Performance Enhancers | Presented by Autism Valued | Autistic Entrepreneurship Showcase |
3:30 PM | Workshop | Designing Your Own Operating System: From Burnout to What Works | Presented by FutureTech Australia | Neuroaffirming Practice |
Access and Inclusion
This conference was designed with Autistic participants at the centre.
Quiet rooms and sensory maps are available throughout the venue. Camera-optional seating is available in all sessions. A low-scent policy applies across the event. The venue is fully physically accessible. All facilitators work to a neuroaffirming brief.
Presented by
Just Gold and Aurum Foundation
Supported by
Australian Catholic University
In collaboration with
Digital Release
All panel sessions and plenary discussions will be filmed and professionally photographed. Edited recordings will be released on Autistic Pride Day, 18 June 2026, extending the reach of the conference nationally and globally.
Workshops held in breakout rooms will not be filmed.
Photography will take place throughout the day across all areas of the event.
Catering
Catering is not provided. Anyone who has ever tried to feed a room full of Autistic people will understand why.
Bring water and anything else you need to get through the day.
Fitzroy has excellent options within walking distance for everything else.
Attending via NDIS
You may be able to use your NDIS funding to attend. Relevant support categories include Capacity Building, Increased Social and Community Participation, Improved Relationships, and Finding and Keeping a Job.
We do not confirm NDIS eligibility. Speak with your Support Coordinator, Plan Manager or LAC before booking.
Need a support letter or an invoice? Contact us and we will send you one.
Autistic voices. On the record. Since 2023.
Lineup
Kyriakos Gold
Dr Judy Tang
Dr Sharon Zivkovic
Dr Naomi Malone
Rebecca McCash
Roo Harris
Will Rosewarne
Dr Siobhan Lamb
Kathleen McCarthy
Klo Davies
Zoe Atterbury
Kelly Treloar
Chelle Norris
Michelle Ridsdale
Georgia Prattis
Naz Jacobs
Dani Bultitude
Dr Kim Gordon
Daniel Giles OAM
Daryl Giles
Shamus Hart
Cat Snedden
Paul Micallef
Jacob Alan Kness
Leslie Clements
Annelil Desille
Hannah Badenhop
Prof john Munro
Nicole Smith
Ben Simmons
Shristi Chand
Emma Read
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
