Venue & Location

The 29th Symposium will be held in subtropical Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland, Australia. Queensland experiences an average of 300 sunny days per year so break out the sunscreen and sunglasses.

Click here for more weather information.

Venue

The symposium will be held in the world-class facilities of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. The centre lies alongside the 17 magnificent hectares of the South Bank Parklands , which wind their way along the Brisbane River. The Queensland Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, State Library, and Queensland Gallery of Modern Art are also part of the South Bank precinct. Believe it or not, there is even a specially constructed beach within the parklands providing a place to take a cool dip.

Click here to see a 3-D representation of the BCEC venue rooms

Click here for an interactive map showing South Bank Parklands, including the venue location

Click here for a static map of the venue location

Click here for public transport information for South Bank Parklands

Brisbane

An alive and bustling city of 1.6million people Brisbane features all the requisite offerings of the nation's fastest growing capital - world-class facilities and ever-expanding infrastructure, and unparalleled support services. Couple these with truly delectable dining experiences, shopping strips fit for the fashion faithful, award-winning bars and nightclubs, and a sophisticated collection of artistic encounters and you have the ideal destination for business and leisure.

But there are things that set Brisbane even further apart. Year-round magnificent weather, floating river walkways, stunning riverside parks and the world's largest subtropical garden. Australia's only inner city beach and truly innovative urban adventure experiences. All make Brisbane an ideal place to enjoy the outdoors.

And this is without even mentioning the trendy urban villages that surround the city centre and the quaint country townships, World Heritage-listed rainforests and stunning island escapes that lie beyond these - a mere hour or so from Brisbane's CBD.

The current time is Brisbane is...

Brisbane's Traditional Owners

Indigenous people have significant ties to the local land and sea. Several indigenous groups have cultural responsibilities in relation to various parts of urban Brisbane and Moreton Bay: the Turrbal people, the Jagera people, the Jinibara people, and the Quandamooka people.

For information on indigenous cultural protocols click here.

Local surrounds

Travel just one hour south east of the city centre and find yourself at the Gold Coast admiring 70km of sun-drenched beaches, fabulous theme parks and a truly frenetic lifestyle. Inland of the Gold Coast, and easily accessible from Brisbane, is the 20,200 hectare World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park, not to mention some of Queensland's most highly awarded vineyards.

Venture off the South East Queensland coastline and explore the southern bay islands of North Stradbroke and Moreton - part of the highest concentration of sand islands in the world. Both remain relatively untouched despite there overwhelming natural beauty.

Gateway to Queensland and the rest of Australia

Brisbane is truly the perfect launch pad to Queensland's world-renowned attractions. Less than one hour south east of the state capital lays the Gold Coast. Travel the same distance north and find yourself exploring the gorgeous beaches and spectacular hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. Then there's Fraser Island - the largest sand island in the world, the Great Barrier Reef - over 1,500km of majestic coral home to the greatest variety of flora and fauna species found in any one location in the world, and the Whitsunday Islands - an archipelago of green islands and sandy atolls in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. This is without mentioning the Daintree - 1200km of pristine World Heritage-listed rainforest, and the ‘outback' - 1 million square kilometres of red plains, deserts and tropical wetlands.

A Brisbane base means easy access to the rest of Australia and some of the world's greatest attractions. Take a trip to see Sydney with its stunning Harbour and world-famous Opera House, the famous wine producing regions of the Hunter and Barossa Valleys or Margaret River (New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia respectively), or the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and Uluru in the Northern Territory.

Click here to see some available Google Earth resources.

More information

Have a look at the information contained under the Travel & Accommodation page.

The support of Brisbane Marketing in encouraging delegates is gratefully acknowledged