We have hosted a good number of conferences over the years. The upcoming Foodservice Today & Tomorrow, on Monday 31 August at Rivers Edge Events in Docklands, is the one we are proudest of.

The brief this year was straightforward. Shorten the day, keep every session that earns its place. One room, one day and a program designed around leaders working through the same questions our members face right now.

The content opens with the economy. NAB’s Gareth Spence delivers the outlook that sits behind every planning decision our members make. Gareth leads NAB’s Australian Economics team and the NAB Business Surveys, following a decade at the Reserve Bank of Australia, so the read on the year ahead comes from someone who lives in the numbers.

From there, Matt Everitt of Vypr presents The New Value Equation: How Australians Are Dining in 2026. This is exclusive national research on where people are eating, what shapes their choices and how operators and suppliers can respond to shifting expectations around value and experience.

“One room, one day and a program designed around leaders working through the same questions our members face right now”

Then AI. Julian Moore headlines with AI in Action: Today & Tomorrow for Foodservice. The technology is already reshaping how operators run their businesses, connect with customers and find efficiencies, and the pace is only picking up. Julian moves past the hype and shows what AI can do today, building working tools live in front of the room and drawing on cases from businesses like yours. He was outstanding in our briefing session and we expect the room to leave with ideas they can put to work the next morning. Anyone who wants to go further can join Julian for a short workshop closer to the practical end, with real problems raised in the room and solutions built on the spot.

After lunch, sustainability carries real weight this year. FSAA Director and Head of Sustainability Gary O’Brien hosts a fireside chat with chef Markus Werner, joined by Dave Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific. Three clear perspectives and one honest conversation about where the industry is heading and what it will take to get there.

John Hart OAM closes the day with a panel that pulls the themes together. Markus Werner, Jenny Thomas (Simplot) and Nicholas DiMartino of Delre National Food Group take on a direct question: what will separate the winners from the rest in Australian foodservice by 2030? Keeping the whole day moving is our MC Nerida McPherson.

Doors open at 9am for registration and networking, FSAA Chair Ken Hartley opens proceedings, and we finish with networking drinks so the conversations that start on stage carry on afterwards.

This is a day for operators, suppliers, manufacturers and chefs who want a clear read on the year ahead and the one after it. We have shortened the day. We have not shortened the thinking.

Tickets are available now through the FSAA website. We would like you in the room.