[PyCon AU announce] PyCon AU 2026 financial assistance & updated details for CFP

[Jack Skinner (PyCon AU)]

Hello everyone!

I have some news and nudges for your Wednesday!

Financial assistance in 2026
We have a (limited) financial assistance budget to support speakers and attendees with costs associated with attending the conference. If attending PyCon AU 2026 in Brisbane is cost-prohibitive for you, please consider applying for financial assistance. 

Learn more about the program at https://2026.pycon.org.au/attend/financial-assistance. 

Call For Proposals
We’re halfway through the Call For Proposals, which means there’s only three weeks left to submit your talk & posters ideas for PyCon AU 2026. CFP closes 29 March 2026, Anywhere On Earth (AOE).

Everything you need to know is at 2026.pycon.org.au/cfp. 

We have six specialist tracks looking for talks from YOU! Cybersecurity, Data & AI, DevRel, Education, Platform Engineering, and Research Software Engineering. More information on specialist tracks is available at https://2026.pycon.org.au/cfp/specialist-tracks/.

Since our initial announcement, we’ve also expanded the CFP to give you more options to participate in the conference:
• We are now offering academic proceedings for PyCon AU. When submitting a talk or poster session you can opt-in for academic peer review and get published with a DOI for your session! Learn more at https://2026.pycon.org.au/cfp/academic-proceedings/
• The Student Showcase is a highlight of the conference every year. This year, we have a dedicated page you can share with the parents, teachers or high school students in your life. Visit https://2026.pycon.org.au/cfp/student-showcase/ for more info.

And last but not least our free CFP workshops! Following two great workshops in Sydney and Canberra, we have two more upcoming in Melbourne and Brisbane, plus two online sessions (the first is this Thursday 12 March @ 6pm). Workshops run for about an hour, and walk you through the process of brainstorming, writing, structuring and refining a talk proposal. Check out the list of workshops at https://2026.pycon.org.au/cfp/workshops/.

Tips for submitting to PyCon AU 2026 CFP:
• Make sure you’re aware of the anonymity guidelines: https://2026.pycon.org.au/cfp/anonymity-guidelines/ 
• Make sure that your abstract and description have enough detail
• Pick one compelling story to tell or topic to speak on - you only have a 30 minute session including optional Q&A
• If you’re not sure, ask for a mentor. And ask early! Simply email program at pycon.org.au and we’ll pair you up with our volunteer mentor team.

We can’t wait to see all your talk ideas for the conference!

Cheers,
Jack

Jack Skinner
Conference Director
PyCon AU 2026 - Brisbane
26-30 August 2026
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