Conference Program

The 2026 UniSport National Conference will be held in the Melbourne CBD, at RMIT University’s Storey Hall, from 26-28 May.

This year’s Conference theme is “Evolving university sport to create thriving campus communities.”

Pre Conference Workshops – Tuesday 26 May

The following workshops will be delivered concurrently and repeated, providing opportunity for delegates to attend both. Please note, they are optional and have limited availability – you can select to attend these at the point of Conference registration (subject to availability).

12.00pm – 5.00pm: (each workshop will run for 2 – 2.5 hours)

Workshop 1: FISU Healthy Campus Community of Practice – risk behaviour domain

Workshop 2: Educating for equality – gender-based violence education for executives, delivered by Our Watch

Day 1 – Wednesday 27 May

9.00am – 10.00am: Networking Brunch

More details to come soon.

10.00am – 10.30am: Official Opening
Keynote Speaker – Alec Cameron, RMIT Vice Chancellor

More details to come soon.

10.30am – 11.30am: UniSport Annual General Meeting

The UniSport AGM will be held in the Auditorium at RMIT Storey Hall.

Click here for further information.

Coordinators Stream
10.30am – 11.30am: Networking

Opportunity for Coordinators to network and discuss current areas of work.

Students Stream
10.30am – 1.00pm: Topic 1 – Leadership and Team Culture

Renowned presenter Carol Fox will deliver an engaging workshop that draws from her ‘Clear. Calm. Confident.’ communication framework.

Carol’s workshop will cover building rapport fast, presence and influence, communication styles under pressure, self-talk and mindset reframing, managing difficult personalities and differing opinions and above and below the line behaviours.

By the end of the session, student leaders will be able to:

Set clear behaviour standards and address poor behaviour on and off the field with confidence;

Recognise their own leadership style and communication preferences, and adjust to lead a wider mix of personalities;

Build rapport and trust quickly to improve team cohesion and performance;

Use reframing and self-talk tools to stay calm and make better decisions under pressure; and

Apply practical strategies to manage conflict, difficult personalities, and differing opinions.

CEO Stream
11.30am – 1.00pm: Topic 1 – Vibrant Campus Communities

11.30am – 12.00pm: Panel discussion – Directors of Student Experience/Engagement
Panel discussion with Directors of Student Experience/Engagement to explore their perspectives on building vibrant campus communities.

Panel members:
Sarah McDonald (Deputy Vice Chancellor – Student Experience, Monash University)
Dene Cicci (Executive Director of Students, RMIT University and President, Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association)

The panel will answer questions including:
What does a vibrant campus community look and feel like?
What are the underlying principles?
What will it look like in the future?
What role does sport and physical activity play in this?

12.00pm – 12.30pm: Member Case Study – UNSW Village Green
Mark Wright (Head of Sport & Local Community, UNSW Sydney) will present on how UNSW Sydney transformed a cricket oval on campus, used occasionally by a small number of students, into a thriving hub that allows more students to engage in sport and physical activities more often.

12.30pm – 1.00pm: Member Case Study
TBC

Coordinators Stream
11.30am – 1.00pm: Topic 1 – How to get your teams organised for Nationals

45 mins: member case studies showing how experienced UTMs organise their teams.

45 mins: workshop to discuss and develop plans for 2026 and 2027.

1.00pm – 1.30pm: Lunch

CEO Stream
1.30pm – 3.00pm: Topic 2 – University Sport Financial Sustainability

1.30pm – 2.00pm: Philanthropy
Ryan Holloway (Chief Partnerships Officer, Australian Sports Foundation) will present on how philanthropy can deliver funds annually into university sport.
The presentation will cover:
Understand the frameworks and governance that build donor and government confidence.
Understand how leaders can attract, convert, and sustain this new wave of giving.

2.00pm – 2.30pm: Panel discussion
TBC

2.30pm – 3.00pm: Round Table discussion
TBC

Combined Coordinators and Students Stream
1.30pm – 3.00pm: Topic 2 – Student Engagement

This session will provide delegates with tips and strategies on how to get more students engaged in sport and physical activity on campus. Student leaders will have the opportunity to share their experience, talk about where they go for more information, what entices them to come to campus and how to encourage them to champion sport and physical activity effectively on campus.

1.30pm – 2.00pm: Expert presenter

2.00pm – 2.20pm: Member case study – student engagement initiatives

2.20pm – 2.35pm: Student leader Q&A

2.35pm – 3.00pm: Discussion on how learnings would work practically at each campus

3.00pm – 3.30pm: Afternoon Tea

CEO Stream
3.30pm – 5.00pm: Topic 3 – UniSport 10 Year Vision

Workshop, facilitated by Andrew Larrett of Strategem, to gain insight from members on what UniSport might look like in 10 years’ time and how it serves its members.

Coordinators Stream
3.30pm – 5.00pm: Topic 3 – National to International Opportunities and Pathways & Sport Integrity Australia workshop

The first part of the session will cover national to international opportunities and pathways, including:
-Current nationals to international pathways
-Introducing Australian and New Zealand University Sport Series
-Future planning and ideas through collaboration workshop
-Members tours

The second part of the session will be a workshop delivered by Sport Integrity Australia (details TBC).

Students Stream
3.30pm – 5.00pm: Topic 3 – R U OK?

In this session, R U OK? will deliver a workshop to student leaders covering the following:

About R U OK? and how it began
How to recognise the signs someone might be struggling
Preparing for, and having an R U OK? conversation
Snapshot of Mental Health and Suicide in Australia
Introduction of practical tools for use in different contexts

Day 2 – Thursday 28 May

9.15am – 10.45am: Topic 4 – Social Impact

9.15am – 10.00am: Anna Walker – The Social Impact Advantage
Presentation from Anna Walker on measuring what matters and leading with social impact.

10.00am – 10.15am: Member Case Study – UTAS HYPE program
UTAS will present a case study on their HYPE program, designed to introduce students to new and exciting opportunities beyond traditional sports.

10.15am – 10.45am: Member Case Study – Monash Sport programs and EDI Action Plan
The Monash Sport team will present on their EDI Action Plan and a range of programs they’ve successfully delivered targeting students who don’t traditionally engage in sport.

10.45am – 11.15am: Morning Tea

11.15am – 12.45pm: Topic 5 – Elite Student-Athletes

11.15am – 12.15pm: University Elite Student-Athlete Framework
Introduction of the university-based elite athlete program.

12.15pm – 12.45pm: Interview with elite student-athletes Rebecca Henderson and Bianca Puglisi

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Conference Program

Pre Conference Workshops – Tuesday 26 May

Day 1 – Wednesday 27 May

1.00pm – 1.30pm: Lunch

3.00pm – 3.30pm: Afternoon Tea

Day 2 – Thursday 28 May

10.45am – 11.15am: Morning Tea

12.45pm – 1.00pm: Closing Remarks

1.00pm: Conference concludes, take-and-go lunch packs

UniSport Partners

Join the Community

Conference Program

Pre Conference Workshops – Tuesday 26 May

Day 1 – Wednesday 27 May

1.00pm – 1.30pm: Lunch

3.00pm – 3.30pm: Afternoon Tea

Day 2 – Thursday 28 May

10.45am – 11.15am: Morning Tea

12.45pm – 1.00pm: Closing Remarks

1.00pm: Conference concludes, take-and-go lunch packs

UniSport Partners

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