Sunshine Coast Security Conference

Welcome! This new conference, scheduled for mid 2025, will be dedicated to best practice in cyber security.

At this event we will not be looking primarily at how “stuff can be broken” (fun as it is!), but instead learn more about how to create systems that are secure by design and secure by default, and how to improve existing systems towards that goal.

Please note that while the information provided here provides a general overview of what the event will look like, details are still subject to change.

Audience

The target audience of the conference is explicitly mixed, to encourage essential knowledge transfer between otherwise distinct groups:

From experience with other conferences, it is expected that a good number of the attendees will be from the Sunshine Coast itself, augmented by those from around Brisbane, with the remainder coming from the rest of Australia, as well as New Zealand and other countries including Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, India, Taiwan, and China. Some attendees from Europe and the Americas are also frequently seen.

Program Structure

For this inaugural edition, the main conference program will be two days, followed by a third with half-day workshops.

Keynotes and plenaries aside, the program will have streams (separate rooms) with sessions for each of the three target groups. But as you can see, some topics from one stream will certainly be of interest to others as well!

Lunches, morning and afternoon tea will be inclusive for all attendees, as well as a conference dinner on one night of the main program. A key benefit of in-person conferences is what is known as “the hallway track”. Much is learned, and new connections are made. We want to encourage people to remain in the conference area during the breaks, and interact with the other attendees!

Recordings and Live Streaming

Professional recordings will be made of all sessions in the main program (not the workshops) for later review and discussion with colleagues, and tickets providing access to live streaming will be available for those unable to attend the event in-person.

This also makes the live streams your back-up plan in case you get struck by COVID just before the event!

Location

The conference will be held at the Sunshine Coast, a lovely area about an hour’s drive North of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Sunshine Coast has its own airport (MCY) connecting to various domestic and international locations, with other flights connecting via Brisbane (BNE).

While the specific venue for the 2025 event is not 100% confirmed at this stage, the most likely location is in Maroochydore, with Caloundra as backup.

For future years, the venue may also vary (for instance due to attendee numbers, or scheduling) but it will remain in the general area. That is, this particular conference will not be travelling around Australia or elsewhere. It’s at the Sunshine Coast, and there it will remain!

Sunshine Coast Council is very supportive of this event, and has been very helpful in a variety of ways.

Tickets

It is expected that tickets for the full main conference (so that is including meals and coffee/tea) will be around AUD 350.

And of course, there will be early-bird tickets available!

Questions + Expressions of Interest

Are you interested in speaking at this event, volunteering, simply attending, or is your organisation perhaps interested in sponsoring or exhibiting? Of course you are!

The call for papers will be published shortly, the sponsor/exhibitor prospectus is online here. It’s all happening!

And do contact us to express your interest, asking any questions you might have.

On behalf of the organisers, Arjen Lentz (Conference Director)