Tuesday 24 – Thursday 26 March 2026
PreventX 2026: Stories for Change
PreventX is Australia’s leading conference on the prevention of family and gender-based violence, bringing together practitioners to reflect, connect and explore how storytelling can drive meaningful and lasting change.
In 2026, PreventX returns as an in-person event with an online component, combining the energy of in-person connection with the accessibility of virtual engagement.
Hosted by Safe and Equal, PreventX is one of the largest gatherings of professionals working to prevent family and gender-based violence in Australia. Since 2019, it has brought together hundreds of practitioners from across the country to share insights, strategies and learnings on how to build momentum for long-term change.
In 2026, we’re coming together again with a renewed focus: What stories of impact are we seeing in our work? And how can we use storytelling to make our work possible?
What to expect
Whether you’re new to this space or deeply embedded in prevention, PreventX is an opportunity to:
- Hear directly from practitioners, communities, advocates and grassroots initiatives across the country.
- Build stronger connections and expand your network.
- Share the change you’re seeing and be part of shaping what comes next.
Conference goals
Our hope for PreventX 2026 is that participants will:
- Feel affirmed, inspired, bold and energised .
- Have tangible information and tools to take action to continue to build momentum and support.
- Develop connections to work together more often and effectively.
Who is PreventX for?
This conference is designed for anyone working to prevent family and gender-based violence who want to better understand and connect with prevention efforts.
Conference theme
PreventX 2026: Stories for Change will continue to expand upon PreventX 2024: Messaging for a Movement, by exploring the stories of prevention and how storytelling is an effective way of creating and demonstrating change. Through the art of storytelling, PreventX 2026 will tell us about the people, places and processes that are at the core of primary prevention.
We all want a world where everyone is respected, celebrated and safe, free to live and love without discrimination or violence. Primary prevention in Australia and globally has emerged and continues to grow from decades of work to advance social and system change. Meanwhile, the forces of resistance and backlash are a constant threat, and reports of violence are on the rise, alongside intensifying and overlapping experiences of inequality and discrimination. The resourcing we have is not yet matching the scale of the problem. Despite this, change is happening through the hard work of many committed people and organisations.
Storytelling is a useful way to connect with people and country reconciling that there are many stories told, but even more untold due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation. First Nations communities are the original storytellers in so-called Australia. Stories for Change is about recognising and celebrating the range of ways in which primary prevention is practiced and inspiring for the future. Equally, it is about showcasing the stories of change that need to be shared and understood from the range of views and experiences of people who reside on this stolen land.
Stories can be a powerful way of advocating to create change, and there is always more to share and learn about how we gather, use and design the stories we tell in ways that are ethical, informed by lived experience and ensure community ownership. Stories are also a powerful way to critically reflect on where we have historically or may currently be perpetuating colonising and discriminatory practices and help to find ways towards more culturally responsive approaches.
Conference format
PreventX 2026 will be in person with online components to ensure accessibility and engagement across Victoria and nationally. The conference format aims to offer flexibility by providing structured discussions, as well as space for participant-led discussions to be curated, in emergent ways. Differentiated pricing structures will be offered for in-person tickets and livestream tickets. This will be achieved through:
- In-person conference with online components across two days in Melbourne, Victoria.
- Parallel sessions will involve several formats of 1-4 speakers or presenters per session, with 3 sessions running concurrently. Presentations will be identified through a call for abstracts.
- Plenary sessions may involve multiple guest speakers and are intended to inspire or catalyse discussions with all participants.
- Workshops will be 3-4 hours in length and held online on 26 March. Workshops will be practice focused.
Sponsorship opportunities
We’re inviting organisations who share our commitment to preventing family and gender-based violence to support PreventX 2026: Stories for Change.
Sponsorship opportunities include expo booths, brand visibility, sponsorship packages, and tailored engagement options. All designed to help you increase your brand exposure and connect with up to 300 practitioners, advocates and decision-makers working to prevent family and gender-based violence.
More information will be available soon.
Ticket options and pricing
IN-PERSON TICKET OPTIONS
| Early bird tickets
On sale 7 August 2025 – 31 October 2025
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| Advance tickets
On sale 1 November 2025 – 6 February 2026
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| Full price tickets
On sale 6 February 2026 – 16 March 2026
Final in-person ticket sales will close on Monday 16 March 2026 to provide enough time to finalise numbers and catering for the venue. Please note in-person tickets can only be sold for the two days and not separately. |
LIVESTREAM TICKET OPTIONS
| On sale 7 August 2025 – 23 March 2026
Livestream tickets include access across both days of the conference.
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| Livestream tickets include access to all opening and closing plenary sessions across the two days and the livestreaming of one general stream throughout both days. You will not be able to choose your livestream content across the conference. If you wish to choose your journey across the two days, we encourage you to join us in person.
Please note livestream tickets can only be sold for the two days and not separately. |
ONLINE WORKSHOP TICKET OPTIONS
On sale 7 August 2025 – 16 March 2026
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| Online workshop tickets are limited in capacity and run concurrently, so each participant may purchase only one online workshop ticket. More information about workshop options and how to choose your preferred session will be shared later in the year. |
All tickets incur a 2.5% + $0.50 Humanitix processing fee.
We are committed to making PreventX as accessible and inclusive as possible. If cost is a barrier to your participation, please reach out to us at prevention@safeandequal.org.au so we can best support you or your organisation in attending.
PreventX 2026 program
Make sure you are following us on our social media, as we will start sharing more program details, session information and speakers once they are confirmed.
The PreventX final program will be released in February 2026.
Find more information here about the online practice workshops on the final day of the conference.
Venue and accommodation
Venue
PreventX 2026 will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, located on the banks of the Yarra River in South Wharf, Naarm (Melbourne).
The venue is easily accessible by public transport, with tram stops, Southern Cross Station, and nearby parking all within walking distance.
For more information on how to get there and find your way around the venue, visit the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre website here.
Accommodation
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is surrounded by a range of accommodation options to suit all budgets, from hotels within walking distance to accessible stays nearby.
Choose from a range of stays here.
We are working with a number of hotels in the local area and will post more information here soon.
Accessibility
At Safe and Equal, we are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible experience for all attendees. This commitment is outlined in our organisational inclusion statement via our website here.
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is a wheelchair-accessible venue, and the conference will include a range of supports to ensure the event is accessible and inclusive, including:
- Auslan interpretation
- Live captioning available for both in-person and livestream participants
- A designated quiet room available throughout the event for those needing a calm space
- Accessible facilities and seating throughout the venue
If you have specific accessibility needs or questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us at prevention@safeandequal.org.au.
More information will be available soon.
Tuesday 24 March & Wednesday 25 March 2026
9:30am – 5pm
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Early bird tickets are on sale now!
Online Workshops at PreventX 2026
As part of the program, PreventX2026 will feature a half day of in-depth online workshops designed to support reflection and practice development.
The workshops will offer space to explore key themes of the conference providing practical insights and interactive discussion, for those looking to build their practice and strengthen connections.
- Workshops will be held online, for half a day, on Thursday 26 March, following the in-person event.
- Workshop tickets are sold separately to complement your in-person or livestream tickets.
- Participants can only attend one workshop as tickets are limited in capacity and workshops will be held concurrently.
- Workshops will not be recorded.
More details coming soon.
Call for Abstracts
Contribute to PreventX 2026: Stories for Change conference!
This three-day event is dedicated to celebrating progress across primary prevention by exploring Stories for Change that demonstrate how primary prevention activity and messages are shifting attitudes, stereotypes and behaviours, and addressing the gendered drivers of violence. We are also calling for stories that look at what more is needed to expand and sustain the workforce and the work. The conference will cover three sub-themes: people, places and processes.
Safe and Equal are inviting practitioners and organisations to submit an abstract for parallel sessions during the conference. Sessions will run for 75 minutes and use a storytelling approach to share how prevention activity and messages are creating change.
- Submissions are open now and will close: 9am Friday 19 September 2025
- Notification of outcome: 5pm Friday 31 October 2025
Please note: Before you submit, please have everything you need ready because the submission form cannot be saved.
Thursday 26 March 2026
Half-day (time to be confirmed)
Online
Online workshop tickets are on sale now!
