Hobart was excited to welcome over 900 delegates and 100+ exhibitors in October 2019 for the Association of School Business Administrators (ASBA) Conference.

This conference was the largest conference exhibition that the hotel has had the opportunity to host.  With a large sponsor base supporting this association, the conference committee made the brave choice to completely change up their program to enable the event to come to Hobart such was the desire from the member base to bring their event to Hobart.

With a program that is more traditionally based on the plenary and concurrent session model, the program was changed to be focused solely around the plenary sessions to allow space for the exhibition.

So what did this mean for the conference program? Essentially the program was carefully curated to ensure all plenary sessions were targeted at the key knowledge outcomes identified in the lead up to the event.

What were the outcomes of this change? Initial feedback we received from the conference organisers was positive with delegates were able to focus on key messaging without being stretched across multiple sessions.

The Association of School Business Administrators represents associations of business administrators who are employed in non-government schools throughout Australia and New Zealand.

With a conference theme of “It starts with us”, delegates were given the opportunity to reflect upon, challenge and develop the skills and passion that they bring to their role.

This biennial conference plays a pivotal role in developing the skills and knowledge as well as enhancing delegates awareness and understanding of emerging global issues impacting schools in a changing and increasingly uncertain world.

With delegates drawn from across Australia, Hobart really did take the opportunity to shine with delegates experiencing some of Tasmania’s best food and beverages over the three day program.

A busy social program allowed time for delegates to visit all the exhibitors whilst also getting them offsite to explore Hobart.

The facts

  • 930 Delegates
  • Plenary only
  • 100+ exhibitors over the Mezzanine Level Spaces

Social functions

  • Welcome Reception at Mona
  • 2 x Happy Hour sessions held amongst the trade exhibition
  • Dinner at Princes Wharf 1 (PW1) – the theme? ‘A Walk on the Wild Side’ of course