While we wait for final confirmation of the 2026 dates, now is a great time to look back at what made last year’s Archicad Users Australia meetups so valuable. From September 2025, Archicad Users Australia restarted its bi-monthly events in Melbourne and Sydney, bringing together a cross-section of practitioners to discuss practical workflows, common challenges and approaches to improving Archicad use within studios. Each pair of events, Tuesday evenings in Melbourne and Thursday evenings in Sydney, formed a single conversation shared across both cities.
Each session included both returning members and new participants, ranging from early-career users through to senior practitioners. Several attendees joined for the first time, including some new to Archicad.
Across the four events, discussions centered on themes raised directly by users, including:
- Library and object management — how practices manage, customise and govern objects.
- Education and onboarding — approaches for training new staff and improving internal skill development.
- Studio culture — how teams organise documentation standards, shared modelling approaches, and internal quality expectations.
- File hygiene and performance — identifying indicators of file slowdowns and practices that improve stability and efficiency.
The format across all events was intentionally informal, encouraging open discussion rather than presentations. However, based on attendee feedback, the 2026 program will include a more structured approach. Participants indicated they wanted clearer visibility of discussion topics before each event and a more transparent way to help shape the agenda.
In response, an Archicad Users Australia MS Teams site has now been established. The community has been invited, and early engagement is underway. The platform includes an interactive list where members can propose and vote on topics for upcoming sessions, providing a transparent way to prioritise subjects and communicate themes in advance. Recording or streaming future events is being considered to broaden access while balancing reach while maintaining local attendance. This continues to be work in progress.
Local architects hosted all events. Foreground Architecture in Melbourne consistently offered their offices, while in Sydney, Fitzpatrick + Partners and Candalepas & Associates generously opened their doors. At every Melbourne event, BIMcontent.com provided refreshments.
These events would not have happened without the support of Graphisoft and Central Innovation.
Event dates for 2026 are now being confirmed, with sessions planned for February, April, and June. The combination of in-person gatherings and the growing online community is expected to support more structured and user-directed discussions in the year ahead.
