Antimicrobials 2026

Welcome to the registration site for the Australian Society for Antimicrobials 25th Annual Scientific Meeting “Antimicrobials 2026”.

The Meeting will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday 26th  - Saturday 28th February 2026.

Please note *Thursday Day Registration is NOT inclusive of Howard Florey Oration and Dinner
**Early-Bird rate is available until 11:59PM Monday 12 January 2026

It is important to read all the information on the Antimicrobials website antimicrobials.com.au before you commence this registration process.  The registration options are below, please note all prices quoted are in Australian dollars (AUD) and are inclusive of goods and services tax (GST).

Registration Information 

Full payment of fees is required before registrations can be processed and confirmed. Payment can be made online via credit card (Mastercard or Visa). Please be aware that a 1.5% credit card fee applies for all payments by credit card. To enquire about payment via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or Purchase Order email antimicrobials@wiseconnections.com.au, a $66 fee will be applicable. Please note cheques will not be accepted. 

An automatic confirmation email is issued immediately upon registration, if you do not receive it, please check your Junk / Spam folder in your Inbox. Please note if you are registering a group, each person in the group will receive a confirmation email including a link to complete their registration. If the names of attendees are not yet known you are welcome to add TBA1 and use the group contact’s email address for communications. Please note once attendees are finalised we will require a complete list including names and email addresses by no later than Friday 9 January 2026. If you do not provide a complete list, any updates/changes thereafter will incur a $66 administration fee per update/change (payable online by credit card only). Please supply the full list in writing to antimicrobials@wiseconnections.com.au. 

Please refer to the Meeting Terms and Conditions here. 

Accommodation

Special rates for Antimicrobials 2026 delegates have been negotiated at a selection of hotels in Melbourne. Please visit the Antimicrobials 2026 website for more information.

Registration Process

You are able to register an individual or a group. 

Important: If you are registering and paying on behalf of an individual or group please select 'I am not attending (Group contact)', and enter your details. You will be recognised as the group contact, and you will receive the tax invoice. If you do not select 'I am not attending (Group contact)', the delegate listed at number 1. will receive the tax invoice for the group.

Your name, contact details and other information provided will be collected by Wise Connections (event management company employed by Australian Society for Antimicrobials to manage the registration of Antimicrobials 2026) using the EventsAIR registration system to facilitate your registration for this event. For information about how Wise Connections, EventsAIR and Australian Society for Antimicrobials handle your information, please refer to the Wise Connections Privacy Policy, EventsAIR Privacy Policy and ASA Privacy Policy. To complete this form you must agree to the Data Consent and Privacy Policy.

There are a range of registrations on offer for Antimicrobials 2026. Please check the meeting website to consider your options before proceeding.

Important:

• Full registration includes a ticket to the Howard Florey Oration & Dinner. These tickets are automatically included in your registration. You will be able to confirm your attendance at this social event below.
  
  
• Thursday, Friday & Saturday registrations do not include a ticket to the Howard Florey Oration & Dinner but can be purchased at an additional cost.
  
  
• Keynote Presenters and Invited speakers, please select ‘Other’. Meeting codes for these registration types will be distributed shortly.

ASA members save up to $275 on Antimicrobials 2026 registrations. To find out more about ASA membership, visit our website www.asainc.net.au/membership/. 

Date: Thursday 26 February 2026
Time: 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Guest Speaker: Professor Christopher (Kit) Fairley AO
Dress Code: Business Attire
Venue: National Wine Centre of Australia
Address: Corner Hackney and Botanic Roads, Adelaide 

Howard Florey Oration and Dinner is now fully subscribed. Please select waitlist if you would like to attend and we will be in touch if a spot becomes available.

If you wish to purchase an additional ticket to the Howard Florey Oration & Dinner, please indicate how many tickets below and enter their details. The cost of the additional ticket will be added to your invoice.

Date: Thursday 26 February 2026
Time: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM 

Topic: Antimicrobial Stewardship in the ICU: The Role of Rapid Respiratory Diagnostics

About the Speakers:
Dr Nikki Townell
Dr. Nikki Townell joined Mater Pathology as the Lead Microbiologist in July 2023. She graduated from medical school at St. Andrews and Manchester University in the UK in 2004. Driven by a passion for unravelling the complexities of microbial life, she pursued fellowship training specializing in microbiology and infectious diseases in South East Queensland, earning accreditation from both the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) in 2016. She has a keen focus on rapid diagnostics, combating antimicrobial resistance and advancing bacteriology. Dr Townell is committed to global health equity and this is exemplified by her role as a founding member of PRIDA (Pacific Regions Infectious Disease Association), a collaborative platform aimed at addressing infectious diseases prevalent in the Pacific region. For over 10 years, she has undertaken voluntary and consultancy projects, in the Asia Pacific region.

Dr Loki Johnk
Dr Johnk is a Consultant Intensivist at Mater Health. In addition to his clinical commitments, Dr Johnk is in charge of clinical incident review and junior doctor mentorship program. He coordinates the Mater ICU Education Program and is one of the unit’s designated officers for DonateLife Australia.
Dr Johnk completed his medical training at Flinders University in Adelaide. He is a Fellow of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) of Australia and New Zealand and is in the process of completing a Post-graduate Fellowship in Echocardiography and Clinical Ultrasound.
Dr Johnk is the convener of the Care of the Critically Ill Obstetric Patient Symposium and he is a faculty member for a number of courses including the Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive Care (BASIC) course and Antimicrobial Masterclass (AIM) for Acute Care Practitioners.

Chairperson: John Wright

bioMérieux Breakfast Symposium is now fully subscribed. Please select waitlist if you would like to attend and we will be in touch if a spot becomes available.

Date: Friday 27 February 2026
Time: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM 

Topic: Complexities of Blood Culture Diagnostic Stewardship and Antibiograms

About the Speaker: Dr Iain Abbott
Dr Iain Abbott is a Clinical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician at Alfred Health, and a Senior Research Fellow at Dept Infectious Diseases, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, supported with an NHMRC EL-1 Investigator Grant. Iain’s research investigates the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of UTIs, with successful international grant funding from the US FDA and the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR). Iain is the current President-Elect of the Australian Society for Antimicrobials (ASA), Chair of the Australian Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AUSCAST) and the UTI theme lead for the Monash University Bladder and Kidney Health Discovery Program.

Topic: Findings of a Blood Culture Quality Improvement Project

About the Speaker: Dr Hemalatha Varadhan
Dr. Hemalatha Varadhan is the Clinical Director of Microbiology at NSW Health Pathology, John Hunter Hospital, and a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. With over 15 years of experience in Clinical microbiology, she holds specialist qualifications including FRCPA in Microbiology and a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology. Dr. Varadhan has led key initiatives in diagnostic stewardship, virology, and mycology. Her research spans antimicrobial resistance, molecular diagnostics, and outbreak investigations, with numerous publications in leading journals. She is also a recipient of competitive research grants, including the HMRI Infection Research Program Seed Grant and a co-investigator on a successful NSW Health Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant for Microbiome study on ear infections.

Chair: Dr Pearline Teo

BD Breakfast Symposium is now fully subscribed. Please select waitlist if you would like to attend and we will be in touch if a spot becomes available.

Date: Saturday 28 February 2026
Time: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM 

Title: Difficult-to-Treat Gram-Negative Infections in Australia

Topic: Epidemiology, Resistance Trends and Clinical Burden of Difficult-to-Treat Gram-Negative Infections in Australia

About the Speaker: Dr Patrick Harris
A/Prof Patrick Harris is a Staff Specialist in Microbiology at Pathology Queensland, an Infectious Disease Physician at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). He is dual trained in clinical infectious disease and microbiology, and has worked in the UK, Malawi, Singapore and Australia. He leads a multidisciplinary research group at UQCCR with a focus on antibiotic resistance and the use of randomised trials to define optimal management of drug-resistant bacteria. He was senior author on the recently published GAME CHANGER trial (Lancet ID, 2025), which compared the efficacy of cefiderocol against standard of care for patients with bloodstream infection caused by multi-drug-resistant gram-negative bacilli and high risk of resistance.

Topic: A pharmacist’s perspective on medications for Difficult-to-Treat Gram-Negative Infections in Australia

About the Speaker: Dr Amy Legg
Amy Legg is an experienced clinical pharmacist in infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship. She undertook a PhD with Menzies School Of Health Research in nephrotoxicity related to Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia. Her research interests include urinary biomarkers for diagnosis of AKI, and antimicrobial therapeutic drug monitoring to ensure efficacy and safety. She was the inaugural Herston Infectious Diseases Research Fellow and authored their Therapeutic Drug monitoring Guidelines. Amy serves as a member of the Australian Prescriber editorial advisory committee and an expert group member of the Australian Therapeutic Guidelines Antimicrobial edition.

Chair: Vimal Sathiaseelan

Link Healthcare Breakfast Symposium is now fully subscribed. Please select waitlist if you would like to attend and we will be in touch if a spot becomes available.

Thank you for your registration. A confirmation email will automatically be sent to all attendees. The group contact will receive the tax invoice. If you do not receive a confirmation email please check your 'Junk' inbox and if it has not appeared please contact antimicrobials@wiseconnnnections.com.au.

To keep up to date on meeting developments please visit www.antimicrobials.com.au 

Accommodation

Specially negotiated rates have been made available for delegates attending Antimicrobials 2026 for the period Tuesday 24 February - Sunday 1 March 2026 inclusive.

Accommodation availability in Adelaide is limited due to the Adelaide Festival. We strongly recommend booking your accommodation as soon as your registration is confirmed. 

For more details or to take advantage of these special rates, please visit the Antimicrobials 2026 website.