Conferences

WAFA is pleased to be part­ner­ing with AFAC23 pow­ered by INTER­SCHUTZ to deliv­er our 2023 Con­fer­ence. The WAFA 2023 Con­fer­ence will explore the theme ​‘Sus­tain­ing Diver­si­ty’, exploring:

Much work has been done in the past 30 years to increase the recruit­ment of women to the fire and emer­gency ser­vices, but the pro­por­tion of women in spe­cial­ist and senior roles remains low. How do we sup­port and empow­er women to plan and advance their careers in the sec­tor? How do we bring diver­si­ty to all areas and lev­els of the sector?

The chal­lenges of the increas­ing risk and impact of dis­as­ters and the oppor­tu­ni­ties of chang­ing approach­es to emer­gency man­age­ment and tech­ni­cal inno­va­tion are cre­at­ing new roles and mind­sets. Fire and emer­gency ser­vices need diverse rep­re­sen­ta­tion and diverse view­points to effec­tive­ly rep­re­sent and respond to com­mu­ni­ty needs. How do we grow and sus­tain a work­place cul­ture that is safe and inclu­sive for all?

About AFAC23 pow­ered by INTERSCHUTZ

The AFAC23 pow­ered by INTER­SCHUTZ Con­fer­ence and Exhi­bi­tion is Australasia’s largest and most com­pre­hen­sive emer­gency man­age­ment con­fer­ence and exhi­bi­tion. Brought to you by AFAC, Deutsche Messe, the Insti­tu­tion of Fire Engi­neers (Aus­tralia) and Women and Fire­fight­ing Aus­trala­sia (WAFA). The 2022 con­fer­ence and exhi­bi­tion attract­ed record atten­dance of over 3,000 emer­gency man­age­ment personnel.

On rota­tion around Australia’s major cities, our host agen­cies for 2023 are the: Queens­land Fire and Emer­gency Ser­vices (QFES), Queens­land Parks and Wildlife Services. 

AFAC pow­ered by INTER­SCHUTZ was recog­nised as the Exhi­bi­tion and Event Asso­ci­a­tion of Aus­trali­a’s Best Asso­ci­a­tion Event at the 2019 and 2022 EEAA Awards for Excellence. 

AFAC is com­mit­ted to fos­ter­ing an inclu­sive cul­ture, valu­ing diver­si­ty, and ensur­ing a safe and respect­ful work­place. AFAC encour­ages you all to com­mit to this and to call out any lan­guage or behav­iour that under­mines our approach.

Explore the pro­gram avail­able to WAFA delegates.

Con­fer­ence Program

Spon­sor­ship oppor­tu­ni­ties for WAFA 2023!

WAFA Awards. 

Why attend WAFA 2023