The Australian Protection Symposium (APS) 2026 invites industry professionals, utilities, consultants, manufacturers and researchers to submit abstracts for presentation at the 15th APS, taking place on 4–5 August 2026 at The Star Gold Coast.
APS is a technical forum dedicated to advancing Protection, Automation and Control (PAC) systems across modern power networks. We welcome practical case studies, technical innovations and forward-looking insights that contribute to strengthening protection practices across the industry.
Speakers whose abstracts are accepted will receive complimentary symposium registration.
Go to Abstract submission form
Key dates to Remember:
- February | Abstract submissions open
- 10th April | Abstract submissions close
- 24th April| Notification of acceptance
- 8th May | Authors to confirm participation
- 17th July | Papers due
- 17th July | Presentations due
APS provides a respected technical platform for protection professionals to share practical experience and industry insight.
By presenting at APS 2026, you will:
Contribute to Industry Advancement
Share real-world lessons, challenges and solutions that strengthen protection practices across the industry.
Position Yourself as a Technical Leader
Demonstrate expertise and elevate your professional and organisational profile within Australia’s protection community.
Influence Future Practice
Engage in technical discussion with peers and help shape best practices in PAC systems.
Gain Peer Recognition
Present to a focused audience of engineers, utilities, consultants and manufacturers.
Receive Complimentary Registration
Accepted speakers receive full symposium registration at no cost.
APS values practical, experience-based contributions that deliver measurable industry benefit.
Suggestions for Paper Topics:
Innovation and advancements in PACs
- Use of new protection algorithms
- Innovative application of conventional elements
- Design, delivery and lifecycle of multifunctional and/or centralised PACs
- Wide-Area Monitoring, Protection and Control
- AI Applications and data-driven techniques in Protection Systems
- Protection system design for hybrid AC/DC networks
- Virtualised or software-defined protection systems
- Non-conventional instrument transformers
Practical Experiences
- Protection system maloperations – Causes, trends and mitigation
- Fault / Event investigation
- Lifecycle efficiencies
- Application of Artificial Intelligence tools to PAC lifecycles
- PAC interfaces (CBs, ITs, communications)
- Interoperability challenges and lessons learned
- Remote testing, monitoring, and maintenance practices
IEC 61850 – Digital Substations
- Practical experiences and case studies
- Networking and Time Synchronisation
- Interoperability testing and multi-vendor environments
- Engineering, configuration, and maintenance workflows
Cybersecurity and Resilience
- Cybersecurity frameworks for PAC systems
- Secure architectures for substations and control systems
- Incident response and recovery in OT environments
- Balancing security, availability, and protection performance
Modern Grid Challenges
- Inverter Based Resources (IBR) integration into power systems
- Testing of Protection Relay Response in IBR/EMT Environments
- System stability and mitigating network congestion
- Management of ageing primary and secondary infrastructure
- Protection considerations for microgrids and islanded operation
- Adding data centre loads to networks
Others
- Health and safety advancement through PAC configuration
- Education and integration of new colleagues into PAC industry
- Standards and Regulation
- Digitalisation of systems
- Communication Technologies assisting Power Systems Performance
Go to Abstract submission form
Submission Guidelines
Abstracts should:
- Be 300–400 words
- Clearly describe the technical content and practical relevance
- Avoid purely promotional material
- Highlight real-world implementation, lessons learned or measurable outcomes
The Technical Program Chair and Steering Committee will review submissions based on technical merit, relevance and industry value.
Submission Format
While APS encourages written papers for inclusion in the official proceedings, we recognise that time constraints sometimes prevent a full paper submission. We therefore accept:
- Full paper submissions (preferred) — accepted papers will be included in the APS proceedings and are eligible for the Best Paper Award.
- Presentation-only submissions — suitable for authors who cannot provide a full paper but still wish to present.
Best Paper Award
To encourage high-quality written contributions, APS 2026 will present a Best Paper Award to the most outstanding written submission. Details on award criteria and judging will be published shortly.
Presentation Format
- 20–25 minute technical presentation
- Followed by Q&A discussion
- Presentation slides required prior to event
- Papers will be included in APS proceedings
Call for Papers Checklist Before Submitting:
Please make sure you have the following information ready before submitting your abstract:
- Contact details for the corresponding author (the person who will receive all communication regarding the submission)
- Presentation Title – should be no more than 20 words
- Category of topic
- Abstract – no more than 400 words, images are not allowed
- Name and affiliation of all authors linked to the submission
- Biography of presenting author(s) – biography word limit is 120 words
- After submitting your abstract via the Microsoft form, you will receive a confirmation from event organisers, please have your Photo of presenting author (recent professional portrait photo of each presenting author) ready to send to organisers on return email. Photos should be no larger than 200 px wide and should preferably be a jpeg file. Photos of non-presenting authors are also welcome.
Complementary Registration:
Speakers are entitled to complimentary registration to both conference days and invited to the social networking evening and drinks. However, we require you to formally register as to maintain accurate records.
Submit your Abstract via below form :
Go to Abstract submission form
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