Australian Festival Industry Conference
8-9 September, 2025
Rivershed, Brisbane
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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land upon which The Rivershed sits: the Turrbal & Jagera people of Meanjin. We pay our deepest respects to them and their culture, and to Elders, past, present and emerging.
AFIC is the Asia Pacific’s leading industry meeting place for festival management personnel who deliver quality music, arts & culture, food & drink, ideas and sporting festivals. Learn more
2025 Program out now
Join 150+ festival management personal from across Australia and overseas at AFIC 2025!
Over two days, experience:
- Keynotes and presentations from 20+ industry-leading experts
- Panel discussions & Q&As
- Trade exhibition
- Networking functions
Discounted tickets are on sale now, offering a saving of 5%! Register now.

2025 Speakers
Christopher Breedlove
Keynote speaker: Christopher Breedlove Director of Civic Activation, Burning Man Project Topic: The Future of Festivals Note: keynote will be delivered exclusive to AFIC via livestream What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of the model of...
John Rostron
Keynote speaker: John Rostron CEO, Association for Independent Festivals (United Kingdom) Topic: 'the festival industry: a UK perspective' Professional bio John Rostron is the Chief Executive of the Association of Independent Festivals, the UK's festival...
Stephen Wray
Stephen Wray Director of Contemporary Music and Director of Arts Investment and Philanthropy, Office of the Arts Topic: Australian Government support for festivals What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of what the Australian Government is...
Christen Cornell
Christen Cornell Research Fellow and Manager, Research Partnerships - Creative Australia Topic: Creative Australia’s latest industry research Professional bio Christen Cornell is Research Fellow and Manager, Research Partnerships at Creative Australia. In this...
John Graham
The Hon. John Graham MLC NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, Minister for the Arts NSW Government update Professional bio The Hon. John Graham MLC was elected in 2016 to serve the people of NSW. He is the NSW Minister for Music and the Night-time...
Victoria Scott
Victoria Scott Culture, Entertainment and Destination Events Director, Tourism and Events Queensland Topic: Funding and co-op marketing opportunities with Tourism & Events Queensland What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of Tourism...
Lauren Penny
Lauren Penny Chairperson, the Major Events Business Group - Queensland (MEBG-Q) Topic: Beyond the finish line: building a future-ready events industry for Brisbane 2032 and beyond What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of The Major Events...
Peter Noble
Peter Noble Festival Director - Bluesfest Byron Bay Special Q&A session: Peter joins John Rostron (CEO, Independent Festivals Association, UK) to discuss the state of the festival industry Professional bio Peter Noble OAM is the driving force behind Bluesfest...
Charlie Cush
Charlie Cush CEO, Brisbane Festival Panellist: special 'Ask the Experts' session What you'll learn: Got a challenge or problem? This is your chance to ask our panellists anything you wish! Our panellists bring a wealth of knowledge spanning across event planning,...
Sam Pearce
Sam Pearce Chief Operating Officer – Pacific Airshow Co-Founder – Crafted Beer Festival Panellist: special 'Ask the Experts' session What you'll learn: Got a challenge or problem? This is your chance to ask our panellists anything you wish! Our panellists bring a...
Greg Cavanagh
Greg Cavanagh CEO, Gympie Music Muster Special Q&A session: Greg joins Lars Brandle (AFIC's MC) on stage to discuss the festival's learnings over the course of its 42 year history Professional bio Greg joined the Apex Club of Gympie in 1999. During his time in the...
Vicky Lowry
Vicky Lowry General Manager - Deni Play on the Plains Festival Ltd Panellist: special 'Ask the Experts' session What you'll learn: Got a challenge or problem? This is your chance to ask our panellists anything you wish! Our panellists bring a wealth of knowledge...
Katie James
Katie James Experienced events professional Panel: 'Ticketing - current best-practice, challenges & opportunities' What you'll learn: This panel will cover the general topic of ticketing. Specifically, this panel will outline: current challenges the industry is...
Louise Bezzina
Louise Bezzina Artistic Director - Brisbane Festival Topic: Festivals and philanthropy: do festivals have a responsibility? What you'll learn: Festivals, like Brisbane Festival, bring people together to celebrate, connect, and create lasting memories. As their...
Aimee Davies
Aimee Davies Director and Founder - Hey Mate Topic: Managing your mental health & wellbeing What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of the benefits of actively managing both your and your staff's mental health in the workplace....
Alana Hay
Alana Hay Founder & Managing Director - Milestone Creative Australia Topic: marketing tips & tricks - how to manage your budget wisely & reduce costs What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of how they can better manage their...
Sylvie Maclean
Sylvie Maclean Head of Commercial - Tixel Panel: 'Ticketing - current best-practice, challenges & opportunities' What you'll learn: This panel will cover the general topic of ticketing. Specifically, this panel will outline: current challenges the industry is...
Chris Woods
Chris Woods Head of Partnerships, APAC - Flicket Panel: 'Ticketing - current best-practice, challenges & opportunities' What you'll learn: This panel will cover the general topic of ticketing. Specifically, this panel will outline: current challenges the industry...
Heidi Lenffer
Heidi Lenffer Founder - FEAT. (Future Energy Artists) Panel: 'sustainable energy - super-charging your festival’ What you'll learn: This panel will cover the general topic of energy sustainability. Specifically, this panel will outline: current technology advancements...
Travis Anderson
Travis Anderson Sector Manager, Events Asia Pacific Region - Aggreko Event Services Panel discussion: 'Sustainable energy - super-charging your festival’ What you'll learn: This panel will cover the general topic of energy sustainability. Specifically, this panel will...
Jason Holmes
Jason Holmes Founder - H2 Insurance Solutions Topic: Event insurance tips Professional bio Jason is a specialist in insurance for festivals, major events, entertainment, film, conference and exhibition industries. He began his insurance career with an international...
Badi Noble
Badi Noble Founder & Director - Casual Hands Topic: Volunteer management: modern day best-practice systems What you'll learn: Delegates will come away with an understanding of how modern volunteer management can enhance event delivery and workforce development...
Lars Brandle
Lars Brandle AFIC 2025 MC & Head of Content - Vinyl Group Lars Brandle is one of Australia’s leading music industry writers, an agenda-setting and award-winning journalist who is a regular speaker at conferences at home and abroad, on television, radio, and as a...
Why attend AFIC?
AFIC is the Asia Pacific’s leading industry meeting place for festival management personnel.
It’s a rare and vital opportunity to:
Network with professionals from across Australia
- Meet like-minded professionals
- Expand your national client base and form new partnerships
- Acquire new staff
- Discover new suppliers and/or reinforce existing supplier relations
Educate yourself & your staff
- Gain valuable insights into the future of our industry
- Obtain timely and targeted information to ensure your business’s survival
- Engage in robust conversations and contribute to developing best-practice
- Reinforce your professional standing in the Australian festival community
What previous delegates and speakers say about AFIC…
It was a real pleasure and great to be involved in the event for the first time. You’re (Carlina Ericson) superb at organising events and the boat party was outstanding, you really nailed that one. The food was excellent, along with the whole crowd. Thanks again as I wouldn’t have ventured out here if it wasn’t for your event.
A wonderful conference for industry professionals from the festival landscape to share knowledge, learn about innovative developments, exchange information and discuss the key issues the industry faces. I was able to network and hear from some of the most experienced professionals on important topics. Being the only conference in Australia dedicated to servicing festival industry professionals I felt it was important to attend the inaugural Australian Festival Industry Conference.
Taking part in AFIC 2022 was such a memorable and enjoyable experience. As someone who has spent most of my career working in the music industry, it was so beneficial for me to meet the key players of the festival and events industry and hear about their challenges and triumphs through a series of panels, workshops and keynote speeches. There were inspiring take-aways and of course, some great networking and new friendships formed. Would highly recommend AFIC to anyone involved in any facet of both the festival and events industry (regional and metro) as well as the music industry in general.
Australia’s festival industry needs a place to collaborate, focus, share, and innovate together as a group. AFIC was everything the industry needs. This conference will become a critical piece of industry infrastructure in years to come.
I was recently a speaker at AFIC 2022. It was expertly run and Carlina was a great support in the lead-up to and during the event. The event itself was an excellent way to connect with festivals and events people across lots of different industries and build some fantastic new contacts and lots of new knowledge from the varied presentations. It was a nice way for like-minded folk to come together and learn from each other in a fun and friendly environment. Highly recommend this event and looking forward to coming back next year!
The Australian Festival Industry Conference is fast becoming the annual go to conference to better understand best practices in the event and festival space. It is a fantastic opportunity to network and learn from industry professionals across multiple disciplines. Discussions about emerging trends in events and festivals, including the use of technology, was most valuable.
All the speakers were relevant to events and it was a great way to network with other event people. The location was easy to travel to and the resort was perfect.
I attended AFIC for the first time in 2022. The speakers were very engaging and packed with knowledge. I came away with solid actions and practical content that I can share with my team and event organisers. The networking was invaluable – I made many new connections that I know we can build on in future. I look forward to 2023!
You did a brilliant job of curating relevant and useful presentations for the inaugural event. I wouldn’t have changed anything & I found it a very useful event for networking.
Latest news & updates
Burning Man rep announced as second keynote of AFIC
Media Release WEDNESDAY 25 JUNE 2025 Burning Man rep announced as second keynote of AFIC The Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC) has added a second keynote and a further two high profile speakers to its line-up, completing its 2025 program. Christopher...
Draft program and more speakers announced for AFIC 2025
Media Release THURSDAY 1 MAY 2025 Draft program and more speakers announced for 2025 The Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC) has unveiled its draft 2025 program and announced nine more speakers! The following experts join the existing line-up: The Hon....
First round of speakers announced for 2025 event
The Australian Festival Industry Conference (AFIC) has released its first round of speakers who will appear at its fourth event, to be held across Monday 8 – Tuesday 9 September at Rivershed, Brisbane. AFIC – the Asia Pacific’s leading industry meeting place for...