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Ozwater'26 Submission Guide

Call for content now open

Submissions close on Wednesday 17 September 2025

The Australian Water Association invites submissions aligned with the sub-themes for Ozwater’26.


Theme 01: Communities of the Future

Theme 02: Excellence in Operations  

Theme 03: Asset Management, Planning & Delivery

Theme 04: Delivering Excellence in Customer Experience

Theme 05: Advances in People, Culture, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity

Theme 06: First Nations People Knowledge & Participation

Theme 07: Leadership in Governance & Progressive Regulation

Theme 08: Supporting Healthy Communities & Environments 

Theme 09: The Water Nexus: Achieving a Circular Economy

Theme 10: Preparing for Climate Change & Extreme Events

Theme 11: Resilience & Water Security for the Future

Theme 12: Rural, Remote & Regional Water

Theme 13: Wildcard

What types of submissions can be made?


Extended Abstract
Extended Abstract

An extended abstract is a research paper where its ideas and significance can be understood in less than an hour. 

● Ozwater extended abstracts must be a maximum of 2 pages of text, followed by a maximum of 3 pages of tables or graphs.

● Please do not include references or acknowledgements in this abstract. If your abstract is accepted for presentation, references can be added to the final paper. 

Case Study
Case Study

Case studies describe real-life water scenarios or projects.

●  Case studies can be presented on behalf of an individual or organisation.

●  The case study should outline the issue, analysis, solution and evaluate the project results and impact. 

● Ozwater case studies must be a maximum of 2 pages of text, followed by a maximum of 3 pages of tables or graphs. 

 
Video Pitch
Video Pitch

Use this to pitch your presentation idea if video is the best platform to showcase your project.  

 
●  Video may include marketing campaigns, community engagement or customer projects. 
 
●  Video pitches must run for 4 minutes or less.
 
●  If your video pitch is accepted, a written paper is required for presentation.  


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Workshop and Panel

Each year, the Ozwater Program features a series of Workshops and Panels as part of the Technical Program. These run for 90 minutes at the end of Day 1 and 2. 

 
●  Each submission is reviewed by the Ozwater Committee during the Program Building Workshop. 
 
● This is a great opportunity for community engagement, expert debate or open forums.
 
●  These sessions are a chance to be creative and engaging, think about how you could use 90 minutes to share your ideas and captivate your audience.
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Exhibition Stage

Submit your EOI

Exhibition Stage presentations are the opportunity to present on your products and services in a more relaxed environment. 

 
●  Sessions available are flexible and can run between 10 - 40 minutes
 
● The Stage this year is located adjacent to the Exhibiton Hall
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Presentation formats

 

The Ozwater’26 program will feature a mix of presentations to suit different content types:  

  1. Technical presentation: 20-minutes + 5-minute Q&A 
  2. Pitch presentation: 10-minute + poster on display
  3. Exhibition Stage: informal presentations delivered on the show floor

 

Key dates

Action Date

Call for content opens  

13 August 2025  

Call for content closes   

17 September 2025  

Reviewing opens  

15 September 2025 

Reviewing closes  

13 October 2025  

Program build 

From 20 October 2025  

First round offers sent  

3 November 2025   

Speaker acceptance due  

24 November 2025  

Preliminary program launched  

26 November 2025  

Presenter registration due 

2 February 2026 

Full paper due 

27 February 2026 

Full paper reviewing opens  

2 March 2026  

Full paper reviewing closes 

30 March 2026 

Poster artwork due 

17 April 2026  

PPT presentation due 

15 May 2026  

(Optional) Revised Full paper due 

15 May 2026 

Ozwater’25 

25-27 May 2026  

Presenters must agree to meet the schedule to secure their place in the program.  

How to submit

Submissions must be lodged through the online platform. Follow the prompts to create a login and upload your submission. 

You will receive a confirmation email after each successful submission.  

Submissions will not be accepted via email.  

Questions? Contact events@awa.asn.au  

Submission requirements

  1. Submissions must relate to the conference sub-themes.
  2. Submissions must use the correct template to submit an abstract, case study or video pitch. 
  3. Submissions must be made via the submission portal. Submissions emailed to AWA cannot be considered.
  4. Submission titles must be clear and concise – under 20 words. Remember, they will become the title of the presentation, if selected. You may be asked to re-write your title for clarity. 
  5. You may submit more than one abstract, case study, or video pitch.  
  6. Presenters can only be featured in the Ozwater’26 program once as a speaker. If multiple submissions are accepted, you must nominate an alternate speaker.
  7. Submissions must be based on outcomes, not future projects. 
  8. The paper submitted into the Ozwater’26 program must not have been presented or published previously.
    This excludes papers presented at AWA-hosted conferences or published via the AWA Water e-Journal.

Selection criteria

All submissions are peer-reviewed by water industry professionals and academics and scored in the submission portal. AWA staff facilitate the process and support the Committee in building the program but do not take part in actual reviewing or selection of submissions. 

Submissions are scored on:   

  • Relationship to the themes of the Conference  
  • Contribution and significance to the water sector  
  • Technical, project and case study content  
  • Interest and significance to the Ozwater audience  
  • Status of the project  
  • Quality (spelling, grammar, layout and production value)  

Individuals who have submitted an abstract are encouraged to also review papers. 

Become a reviewer

Conditions

By submitting an abstract, case study, or video pitch, it will be assumed that all authors have consented to its submission and that all copyright provisions have been met. 
  • If accepted for a 20-minute Technical Presentation, submission of a full paper is compulsory. 
  • Full papers and abstracts will be published online and made publicly available 3 months after the event.  
  • Ozwater is Australia’s leading water conference and exhibition: only submissions of the highest quality will be accepted. 
  • Submissions of a commercial nature will not be accepted.
  • Peer review comments on full papers will be shared after the review period closes.