Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference 2026

​Abstract Submission​​ Requirements

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Presentations require the submission of an abstract and will be peer reviewed. We welcome submission of abstracts for presentations relevant to one or more of the Conference sub-themes (outlined below).

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• A maximum of two (2) abstracts may be submitted per presenting author. The platform automatically limits the number of submissions per contact to two (2).

• All abstracts must be in original work and submitted in English and have a 300-word maximum.

• Abstracts submitted for presentation, if accepted, will be published exactly as received and should be checked for spelling and grammar prior to submission.

• It is the submitting author’s responsibility to ensure that the abstract uploaded to the server is the correct version.

• If the person submitting the abstract isn't the presenter or if there is more than one presenter, all correspondence will be sent to the person who submitted the abstract.

 

All presenters must register at the time of receiving their abstract acceptance

and pay the Conference registration fee.

 

Presentations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health are particularly welcome.

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• We encourage abstract submissions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health. For these abstracts, first priority will be given to abstracts presented by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, followed by abstracts co-presented with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. Lower priority will be given to abstracts with no Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander authors. 

• For these abstract submissions, up to an additional 300 words will be permitted to outline the Aboriginal Governance structures used to ensure that Indigenous data sovereignty principles were adhered to in the research or program development and that the processes were culturally appropriate. 

 

We encourage submitters to think about the story they are trying to relay, and how they will make the presentation dynamic to keep the audience engaged.

 

Abstracts should be submitted as a response to the following questions (maximum of 300 words):​

• What is the problem/issue that requires action? [Context and Aim]

• What do we know or have we learned to address this problem/issue, and how has this finding been derived? [Methods and Analysis]

• How has this been used in practice? [Outcomes]

• What actions should we take in the future to address the problem/issue? [Future actions]

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Conference Objectives

 

The objectives of the conference are to:​

• Create a dynamic environment to foster knowledge sharing, collaboration and relationship building among health professionals working on communicable disease control, vaccination, and related areas

• Highlight the activities of relevant research programs on infectious and vaccine preventable diseases to encourage engagement in high quality research initiatives to improve health outcomes for Australians

• Provide collective guidance and insight into capacity building and strengthening communicable disease control and immunisation programs 

• Provide conference delegates with new and innovative ideas that can be applied to local settings and systems to help create and improve public health systems for local communities

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Target Audience

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The conference will aim to facilitate conversations on improving effectiveness and efficiencies of communicable disease control and immunisation programs through knowledge sharing and relationship building. The program must consider the needs and interests of the communicable disease audience to ensure attraction and participation to the conference.

The target audience will be stakeholders able to effect and/or influence change at the systems and/or practice level including:

• Immuniser providers

• Infectious disease epidemiologists

• Social scientists

• Public health microbiologists

• Health and medical researchers

• Laboratory scientists and pathologists

• Vaccine program managers

• Health Policy makers

• Commonwealth, state, and local government representatives – Ministers/ministerial staff, and health and social sector department representatives

• Front-line responders including community health staff, public health nurses, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation staff and nurse immunisers

• NGO/community and social sector provider and advocacy organisations

• Healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses, allied health, dentistry, pharmacy, etc.

 

Conference Sub-themes​

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The program will provide lively and productive discussions and contributions from professionals engaged in Communicable Disease Control and Immunisation. We welcome submission of abstracts for presentations relevant to one or more of the Conference sub-themes, but we are happy to accept a relevant abstract outside of these themes: ​

• Health of First Nations peoples

• One Health

• Preventing influenza and other respiratory infections

• Disease Surveillance

• Outbreak investigations and responses

• Diagnostics and genomics

• Vaccine preventable diseases

• Immunising and vaccine delivery

• Novel approaches for communicable diseases data

• Social and behavioural research

• Lessons from community, lived experience, and providers

• Global and regional issues

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Presentation Types

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Long Oral Presentation (Face-to-face and Pre-recorded)​:

Presenters have a total of 10 minutes to present. Abstract submitted must have clear learning objectives and outcomes. There may be time at the conclusion of the session for audience questions.

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Rapid-Fire Presentation (Face-to-face and Pre-recorded)​:

Presenters have a total of 6 minutes presentation time using up to 6 PowerPoint slides. The title slide, conflict of interest, and reference slide are not included in your 6-slide limit. There may be time at the conclusion of the session for audience questions.

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Poster Display (Face-to-face only)​:

Presenters will provide a one-page A0-sized physical copy of their poster for display at the conference. 

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Whilst every effort will be made to accept an abstract for the nominated presentation format, the Scientific Advisory Committee reserves the right to allocate a different presentation type if appropriate.

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Abstract review, selection and notification

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• All abstracts are submitted for peer-review. 

• Every effort is made to accept abstracts for the presentation type submitted. However, due to limited space a different abstract type may be offered than what was submitted.

• The contact person for each abstract will be notified of the outcome of their abstract submission via email in the second half of March 2026.

• Please note, concurrent sessions will only be available to delegates at the venue.

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Abstract submissions close on Friday 13 February 2026 at 11.59pm AEDT​​​​​