AADES is the peak professional organisation in Australasia representing school level distance education.
AADES was formed in 1993 and currently has in excess of 1200 members across all Australian states and New Zealand.

The Australasian Association of Distance Education Schools (AADES) calls for nominations for its biennial awards recognising teachers and leaders that have improved the learning experiences and outcomes of distance education students. All staff of AADES member schools are eligible to apply or be nominated. The awards include the Project Achievement Award, the Teaching Excellence Award, the Curriculum Design Award and the Leadership Excellence Award. Futher details can be found in the Awards section of this website. Nominations close 5pm (AEST) Friday 24 July 2026.

In this 60-minute AADES session, participants will explore how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be used as a practical framework to meet the diverse needs of learners in distance education settings. With increasing enrolments extending beyond geographically isolated students to include learners with a wide range of additional needs, this session unpacks how thoughtfully designed asynchronous and synchronous learning can work together to improve access, engagement, and outcomes for all students. Date: Thursday 4th June 2026 Time: 1pm AEST Details in article.

The 2026 AADES Conference will be held in Sydney on the 3-4 September 2026. The theme for the conference is Lead Learn Thrive. The conference venue is the Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney. AADES is the peak organisation in Australasia supporting and representing P-12 public online, virtual and distance education teachers and schools. ‍The biennial conference is an opportunity to showcase online and distance learning pedagogies and practices with a focus on building connections, making contributions so that all students thrive. Workshop proposals are due by Friday 8 May 2026 through the form linked in this article.