National Festival of Design 2026
Canberra, Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October 2026. Designing the Future: Housing, Innovation and Business Resilience.
Time & Location
22 Oct 2026, 4:00 pm – 25 Oct 2026, 2:00 pm
Canberra, Canberra ACT, Australia
About the event
Four days, three venues, and Australia's building design industry in one city.
THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER
National Trade Show and CPD Workshops
The Vault, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick. 4:00pm to 9:00pm. Free entry, no ticket required.
The national trade floor, with CPD workshops running across three stations through the evening. Live entertainment, drinks and canapes.
FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER
National Conference, Day One
Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.
Tone Wheeler on the history of Canberra.
Tim Reardon, Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Association, on the economic landscape.
A panel on Australia's housing future with Adrian Piani, CEO of the Australian Building Codes Board, Darren Disney of Master Builders Australia and James Bennett of the ACT Government.
Lance Worrall on modular and prefab.
Talina Edwards on healthy homes.
Professor Toby Walsh on what artificial intelligence really means for the design profession.
FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER, EVENING
National Networking Event
The Dairy Precinct, Fyshwick. 6:30pm to 11:00pm. Free to attend.
SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER
National Conference, Day Two
Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia.
Jim Penman of Jim's Group on building a business that lasts.
A panel on sole trader syndrome and scaling your practice, with Frank Geskus, Brenden Creed and Elie Sleiman.
Danielle Dal Cortivo of Kayo Consulting on what playing it safe is really costing your business.
Jenny Edwards of Light House ArchiScience on the net-zero home and electrification.
Dr Saul Griffith of Rewiring Australia on electrifying the heaviest thing you will ever own.
Dr Mike Louw of the University of Canberra on the retrofit revolution.
Linden Thorley on offsite fabrication for scalable high performance building.
Chris Knierim on the BDAA survey results on fees.
James Hickey and Samuel Kassis on where AI actually fits in a design practice.
SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER, EVENING
National Design Awards Gala Dinner
The Vault, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick.
Red Carpet Cocktail Party from 6:30pm, dinner 7:00pm to midnight.
SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER
Architectural Tour of Canberra
Departing central Canberra at 10:30am, led by Tone Wheeler. Seventy-five places only.
Bookings are taken through to the door, including walk-ups to the free Trade Show. The Architectural Tour is capped at 75 places.
Tickets
VIP Ticket
Includes every event: Trade Show, both conference days, Networking Event, Design Awards Gala Dinner and the Architectural Tour. Includes a VIP drink at the Networking Event. Additional Gala Dinner ticket available at $230.
From $895.00 to $995.00
$895.00
+$89.50 GST
+$24.61 ticket service fee
$995.00
+$99.50 GST
+$27.36 ticket service fee
Conference Pass
Both conference days at Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October. Includes the National Trade Show and the National Networking Event. Gala Dinner and Architectural Tour available as add-ons.
From $395.00 to $795.00
$695.00
+$69.50 GST
+$19.11 ticket service fee
$795.00
+$79.50 GST
+$21.86 ticket service fee
$395.00
+$39.50 GST
+$10.86 ticket service fee
Conference Day One
Friday 23 October only, Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia. Includes the National Trade Show and the National Networking Event that evening.
From $440.00 to $540.00
$440.00
+$44.00 GST
+$12.10 ticket service fee
$540.00
+$54.00 GST
+$14.85 ticket service fee
Conference Day Two
Saturday 24 October only, Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia. Includes the National Trade Show. Design Awards Gala Dinner available as an add-on.
From $440.00 to $540.00
$440.00
+$44.00 GST
+$12.10 ticket service fee
$540.00
+$54.00 GST
+$14.85 ticket service fee
National Design Awards Gala Di
Saturday 24 October, The Vault, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Red Carpet Cocktail Party from 6:30pm, dinner 7:00pm to midnight. Included in the VIP Ticket.
From $200.00 to $250.00
$250.00
+$25.00 GST
+$6.88 ticket service fee
$200.00
+$20.00 GST
+$5.50 ticket service fee
Gala Dinner - Table of Eight
A reserved table of eight at the National Design Awards Gala Dinner, Saturday 24 October at The Vault. $230 a head. Please email events@bdaa.com.au with the names of your eight guests after booking.
$1,840.00
+$184.00 GST
+$50.60 ticket service fee
Architectural Tour of Canberra
Sunday 25 October, departing central Canberra at 11:00am. A guided tour of Canberra's landmark buildings led by architect Tone Wheeler. Seventy-five places only. Included in the VIP Ticket.
$55.00
+$5.50 GST
+$1.51 ticket service fee
National Trade Show
Thursday 22 October, 4:00pm to 9:00pm, The Vault, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick. The national trade floor with CPD workshops, live entertainment, drinks and canapes. Free entry, walk-ups welcome. Included in every ticket type.
$0.00
National Networking Event
Friday 23 October, 6:30pm to 11:00pm, The Dairy Precinct, Fyshwick. Free to attend. Included in the VIP Ticket, the Conference Pass and Conference Day One.
$0.00
Total
$0.00