The AADES Biennial Conference will be held 3-4 September 2026 at the Sofitel Wentworth, Sydney NSW.
Early bird registration (at a reduced rate) is now open for the 2026 AADES Conference.
Our conference is an opportunity for distance and virtual teachers to meet, connect, share and learn together with their Australasian colleagues.
We have secured 4 exceptional keynote speakers including Doug Fisher, Louka Parry, Dr Jenny Donovan and Kirra Pendergast, with more to come. Doug Fisher will be travelling from the USA and is highly engaging leader and expert in the online/virtual teaching space. Doug will be presenting a keynote and 2 masterclass opportunities.
The program will provide a choice of 24 workshops focused on our themes Lead, Learn, Thrive. The workshops will have a practical focus and are an opportunity to share evidence informed practice from across the jurisdictions. Please consider suitable learning leaders from your school to put forward next year.
The full-program will be published early next year.
Start thinking about potential candidates for the AADES Awards that will be presented at the Awards Dinner. Nominations will open early next year.
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Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College having been an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2022. Doug has published numerous articles on leadership, reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, such as The Teaching Reading Playbook, PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, Rigor Unveiled, and Better Learning Through Structured Teaching.
Nancy Frey
Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leader at Health Sciences High. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. Current books include The Teaching Reading Playbook, Teaching Students to Drive Their Learning, Welcome to Teaching, and The PLC+ suite of books.
Louka Parry is an education futurist and learning strategist dedicated to transforming how we teach, lead, and learn. A former principal at just 27 and named Inspirational Public Secondary Teacher of the Year, he has since trained thousands of educators and leaders worldwide to amplify their impact.
Holding two Master's degrees and fluent in five languages, Louka has studied at Harvard, Stanford's d.school, and is a Salzburg Global Fellow. He has worked with organisations from Apple to the OECD and across all Australian states and diverse global systems.
As a Founding Executive of Karanga: The Global Alliance for SEL and Life Skills, he champions the integration of social, emotional, and academic learning for a thriving future.
Dr Jenny Donovan is the inaugural CEO of the Australian Education Research Organisation. Prior to this role, she established and led the Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) as Executive Director for 8 years.
Dr Donovan began her career as a high school teacher in Sydney's western suburbs. She has worked in a number of education roles in operational and policy areas, including some years as Deputy Director of a not-for-profit education assessment agency at the University of New South Wales.
In 2023, she was a member of Professor Mark Scott's Teacher Education Expert Panel which delivered recommendations for reform to Initial Teacher Education that were accepted by Australia's Education Ministers. As a result, an evidence-based core curriculum will be implemented in all initial teacher education.
In 2024, Jenny was appointed as an Adjunct Associate Professor at La Trobe University's School of Education.
Jenny holds a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education from Macquarie University, an MA (Hons) from UNSW and a PhD in history from the University of Sydney.
Kirra Pendergast is the Founder and Chief Strategist of Safe on Social and Ctrl+Shft, and one of the world's leading voices on digital safety, online harm, and AI-era risk.
Drawing on more than thirty years that began in internet infrastructure and security, she helps school leaders, boards, governments, and organisations lead with clarity when technology and harm collide.
She advises the Australian Government's Age Assurance Technology Trial, works across Sydney, Florence, London, New York and Washington, and is the co-author, with Maggie Dent, of Digital Freedom (Macmillan Australia, 2026).
Jacqueline Manison
Jac Manison is an education leader, researcher and advocate with more than 20 years of teaching and learning experience at the intersection of pedagogy, technology and innovation. She is President of the Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria (DLTV) and a Curriculum Specialist and Teacher Trainer for Day of AI Australia.
Having worked across Australia, the United Kingdom, China and Vietnam, Jac has supported schools to build teacher capability and prepare students for an increasingly digital world. Her work focuses on digital literacy, artificial intelligence, curriculum design, and the meaningful integration of technology in education.
Currently undertaking doctoral research exploring the use of AI-enabled social robots in teacher professional learning. Jac is passionate about ensuring technology enhances, rather than replaces, the human relationships at the heart of education.