Events · 1 August 2026
Family Law Section releases its 2027 conference dates
Forward dates are out for next year's program, with the 21st National Family Law Conference in Hobart still to come this October.
The Profession Press · Editorial
The Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia has released its conference dates for 2027. Registration details and the full forward program are available through the Section's event registration page. [Insert confirmed 2027 dates and venue before publication.]
Before that, the 21st National Family Law Conference runs in Hobart from 20 to 23 October 2026 at the Hobart Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hotel Grand Chancellor, under the theme "Landscapes of Thought."
Why forward dates are worth publishing early
Family practitioners plan around court listings they do not control. A conference date released eighteen months out is one of the few fixed points a practitioner can build a year around — leave applications, matter listings, travel for practitioners outside the capital cities, and the childcare arrangements that determine whether people with caring responsibilities can attend at all.
That last point is not incidental. Conference attendance in family law skews toward practitioners who can absorb four days away at short notice, which is a demographic filter operating quietly on who gets to be in the room where the profession's thinking happens. Long lead times are the cheapest available correction.
Details
21st National Family Law Conference: 20–23 October 2026, Hobart Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart
Theme: Landscapes of Thought
2027 program: Dates released — see the Family Law Section event registration page
Host: Family Law Section, Law Council of Australia
Practitioners intending to submit a paper for 2027 should watch for the call for abstracts, which typically opens well before registration and closes without much noise.
Registration for Hobart should be secured well ahead of October. Tasmanian accommodation capacity is limited relative to mainland conference cities, and a four-day national conference in a compact city fills the usable hotel stock quickly. Practitioners travelling with family, or extending the trip, will find that the practical constraint is beds rather than flights.
Read more here: https://www.familylawsection.org.au/events/9-family-law-intensive-events.html