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Overview

We are pleased to advise that the 28th Melbourne Money and Finance conference will be held in February 2026. We are also pleased to announce that APRA and the RBA have agreed to continue their longstanding financial support for the conference, for which we are most grateful.

The Melbourne Money and Finance (MMF) Conference has been a longstanding “prac-ac” conference series initiated at the University of Melbourne, and organised from 2006-2019 by the Australian Centre for Financial Studies. It is now organised by the Department of Finance at the University of Melbourne. First held in 1987, it has provided a forum for Australia’s financial experts to discuss key issues facing the financial services industry. It will be conducted at the Melbourne Business School, 200 Leicester Street, Carlton, Victoria.

Through the open exchange of views and opinions from delegates of various backgrounds, MMFC has been successful in identifying key developments in the Australian and global financial services sector relevant for public policy, academic research, and industry practices.

Twelve papers (limited in size to around 3,000 words) are selected for presentation and distributed to attendees to read prior to the conference. 45 minutes is allocated to each paper, with the presenter limited to 15 minutes, a discussant limited to 5 minutes and the remainder of the time (25 minutes) available for discussion and commentary by attendees.

Papers presented at some past conferences have been published in books and academic journals individually or together as a special conference edition.

The conference has a strong policy focus, aiming for papers drawing on empirical work, industry knowledge, and theoretical insights which are relevant for influencing policy and understanding current and likely future developments. Authors are expected to provide papers which are written in such a way as to be accessible and of interest to practitioners, regulators and academics.

The success of this conference series has also been attributable to the calibre of delegates attending and the quality of discussion under Chatham House rules.

The conference is by invitation only, and limited to between 70-80 individuals (one third from academia, one third from industry, one third from regulatory bodies). It provides an excellent forum for building relationships between academics, practitioners and regulators with common interests.

The theme of the conference is selected annually and is aligned with current issues affecting the financial services industry. In 2026, the theme will be based around “The Digital Economy, Technology and the Finance Sector”. It is planned that there will be an interesting mix of papers from academia, industry and regulatory agencies.