Early bird registration is now open! To register fill in the form here: https://www.anpc.asn.au/apcc15-early-bird-registration-form/

The early bird discount ends 29 May.

To register and pay separately for the Conference Dinner, fill in the form here: https://www.anpc.asn.au/apcc15-conferenc…egistration-form/

The Call for Abstracts now open! Submission deadline is 1 May 2026.

Download the Abstract Submission form here.

Professor Rachael Gallagher
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University.

Abstract title – Into the wild: addressing plant extinction through establishment of new plant populations
Over the last three decades, vast international resources have been committed to conservation seed banking, to great success. Seed bank collections have grown rapidly since the millennium and seeds and plant germplasm are now routinely stored to safeguard species against extinction. Yet seed banks were never intended to be a ‘final stop’ along the road to recovery for plant species. Currently, when we do reintroduce or translocate plant populations, failure rates associated with their establishment can be unacceptably high. We also often do not know where to situate new plant populations relative to their historical distributions, given immense changes in climate and land use. New science is therefore needed to improve and intensify the strategic reintroduction and establishment of plant populations to the landscape. In this talk, I will outline gaps in ecological and conservation knowledge that hamper current reintroduction success, such as a lack of a comprehensive list of at-risk species and explore solutions – including new engagement with landholders and practitioners. I will also discuss how we might use emerging financial market mechanisms to fund initiatives that reduce plant extinction risk by establishing new populations.

More exciting speakers will be announced soon!

Sponsorship opportunities now available!

Your organisation is invited to partner with APCC15 and be a part of this premier event in North Queensland! The conference provides an excellent opportunity to promote the profile of your organisation, including your involvement in plant conservation, to representatives from government, academia, community groups and private organisations across Australia.

Click on our Partnership Prospectus below to discover the wide range of options available:

‘Restoration of tropical forests in the Daintree’ (full day) visiting Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, ClimateForce, Madja Boardwalk (Cape Tribulation), and Rainforest Rescue – Limit of 25 registrations.
‘Threatened plants of the Daintree’ – Daintree Boardwalks, Cape Tribulation (full day) – Limit of 25 registrations. Sponsored by the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment.
Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk at Mossman Gorge (half day) 9am to 1.30pm – 90 minute tour at Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre including a Welcome to Country smoking ceremony, Yalanji-guided rainforest walk and tea and damper. Followed by self-guided walks on 2.4km of walking tracks and boardwalks in the Gorge.
Cairns Botanic Gardens (half day) – Tour the botanic gardens with Interpretive Officer Cadel Boyce.

More details coming soon.

APCC15 Welcome Reception will be held on Monday 24 August @ Hemmingway’s Brewery 5-7pm

APCC15 Conference Dinner will be held on Wednesday 26 August @ venue TBC

Getting to Port Douglas

You can fly direct to Cairns Airport non-stop from Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Newcastle, Proserpine, Sydney and Townsville.

Several companies offer shuttle services between Port Douglas and Cairns Airport, providing both shared and private transfer options. Shared shuttles are typically less expensive, while private transfers offer more personalised service and convenience. Companies like SR Coaches, Excellence Coaches, and Cairns Port Douglas Shuttle offer these services.

Shared Shuttle Services:

Cairns Airport to Port Douglas: Shared shuttle prices can range from $57 to $65 per person, one way, depending on the company.
Port Douglas to Cairns Airport: Similar pricing applies for transfers in the opposite direction.
Exemplar Coaches and Limousines: Offers seat-in-coach airport transfers.
Cairns Airport Shuttle Bus: Operates a daily shuttle service.

Private Shuttle Services:

Port Douglas Transfers: Offers private transfers from Cairns Airport/City to Port Douglas for 1-3 passengers for $230 or 4-7 passengers for $260.
Exemplar Coaches and Limousines: Provides private transfers in sedans or people movers.
Excellence Coaches: Offers private transfers on 5-7 seater vehicles.

Schedules: Some shuttle services have fixed schedules, so it’s important to check their websites or contact them for specific times.

Bookings: It’s generally recommended to book your shuttle in advance, especially for larger groups or if traveling during peak season.

Luggage: Check with the specific shuttle service about luggage allowance and storage.

Airport Transfers: Some shuttles provide meet and greet services at the airport, where a driver will be waiting with a sign bearing your name.

The 15th Australasian Plant Conservation Conference (APCC15) will be held at the Port Douglas Community Hall in the Queensland Wet Tropics from 24-28 August 2026.

With the overall theme ‘Plant Conservation: Culture, Collaboration and Change’ APCC15 will explore these three spheres of native plant recovery through rainforest restoration partnerships, collaborations with Traditional Owner groups, impacts of climate change induced natural disasters, management of threatened species and communities, and biosecurity threats such as Myrtle Rust.

The conference will bring together from across the continent, people researching, working, or volunteering in plant conservation to address the challenges facing Australasia’s spectacular and diverse plant life, through information exchange and sharing best practice approaches. There will also be numerous workshops, social events and field trip options, which you can find more through the menu above.

Don’t miss out to be a part of the first edition of APCC to be held in the Wet Tropics, right on the doorstep of the Daintree.

Plenary Themes – click to expand

Sustaining Diversity

Australia is home to several biodiversity hotspots that are rich in unique flora, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. This plant diversity is impacted by a growing number and magnitude of threats, including more frequent and severe natural disasters driven by climate change. A key problem in modern plant conservation is how to approach research and recovery given the face of these ever-mounting threats and expanding threatened plant lists. Prioritising recovery actions to help sustain this critical genetic, species and community-level plant diversity is essential to the human and broader natural world. This theme will explore current knowledge and approaches for prioritising and managing threats to sustain diversity, while also considering the role of diversity of practice and perspective that is needed for long term plant conservation success.

Restoring Balance

The Australasian region stands at a critical crossroads in the 21st century including the impacts of extreme weather events, a growing ensemble of invasive plant species, pathogens and pests, and addressing the complex intersection of socio-economic pressures like land-use conflicts and managing dynamic environments, requiring adaptive strategies for success. As we reach the midpoint of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the call to revive the natural systems that sustain us has never been more urgent. Around the world and here at home, communities, organisations and leaders are rising to the challenge—forming powerful partnerships, driving innovation with cutting-edge technologies, and weaving cultural knowledge and respect for Country into the fabric of their efforts. This theme dives into the pressing ecological restoration challenges of our time, spotlighting the daring, practical and inspiring actions of those shaping a brighter future for our planet. Together, we can grow and thrive as #GenerationRestoration.

Collaborations and Culture

Collaboration plays a crucial role in plant conservation, especially in Australasia, where the rich living heritage of Indigenous cultures, community organisations, practitioners and world-class botanic gardens and research institutions offer opportunities for integrating diverse skills, approaches and perspectives. In plant conservation, these collaborations manifest in many ways, including scientific research, ex-situ conservation activities, joint management frameworks for in-situ conservation, on-ground restoration activities and policy development/advocacy. Central to the success of any of these activities is the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have stewarded the land and sea for many thousands of years, cultivating Country and creating profound systems of knowledge about plants and the ecosystems they are part of. This theme will explore how collaborations and partnerships, including those between Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge holders, systems and cultures, have helped create more resilient and biodiverse ecosystems, strengthened cultural ties, improved social equity, and delivered more effective and inclusive environmental stewardship and plant conservation outcomes.

Biosecurity, Invasive Threats and Post-invasion Challenges

Australia talks a big game about biosecurity, but the pressures of invasive species on our natural environment are steadily increasing. Much of our thinking about environmentally invasive species and their exclusion ‒ or their ‘management’ when exclusion fails ‒ is still based on historical strategies for weeds and some vertebrate animals. These remain important actual and potential threats and need more resources. But we face accelerating threats from pathogens and invertebrate pests, some of them very fast-moving and with broad effects on native biodiversity. This theme will explore how we need to rethink our readiness for invasive species, how we bridge the silos of knowledge and experience between different jurisdictions, departments and disciplines, and how we respond when biosecurity and containment strategies fail.

Draft Program

Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd – Pre-conference Rainforest Plant ID Workshop @ the Daintree Rainforest Observatory. More information coming soon!

Monday 24th – Pre-conference workshops @ Port Douglas Community Hall 2-5pm.

Workshop 1: “Assessing the extinction risk of Australian trees” with the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Australia Plant Specialist Group.
As part of the Global Tree Assessment the IUCN SSC Australia Plant Specialist Group will assess the extinction risk of 518 Australian native tree species not currently on the IUCN Red List. In this workshop we will provide an overview of Red Listing, our current work towards this goal and our remaining knowledge gaps. We will then have an interactive session where we aim to focus on a subset of these species and draw on data or expertise held by participants of the species, their distributions and threats. Participants will be acknowledged for their contributions via references in the final assessment and with the opportunity to opt-in to any publications that eventuate from the overall project. Facilitators: Tom Le Breton (University of NSW) and Rachael Gallagher (Western Sydney University).

Workshop 2: “Native Seed Collection and Storage in Tropical Australia“.
Targeted at restoration practitioners and Traditional Owner groups, this workshop will be centred around native seed (germplasm) collection and storage techniques for Tropical Australia. The National Seed Bank has expertise in collecting and banking seed in hot humid conditions, and in Traditional Owner engagement. It will involve the demonstration of practical seed collection techniques such as field seed banks. Facilitators: Tom North (National Seed Bank), Karen Sommerville (Australian PlantBank) and Marine Deliens (Rainforest Rescue).

Monday 24th – Welcome Reception @ Hemmingway’s Brewery 5-7pm.

Tuesday 25th, Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th – All day presentations and workshops @ Port Douglas Community Hall.

Workshop sessions will include:

National gaps and priorities for germplasm collection in Queensland: The ASBP Collections Review 2000-2020 identified ex situ seed banking activity in Queensland as a significant gap in the national network, with many bioregions having few or no plant species with collections secured in a conservation seed bank. How can we address the gap in ex situ conservation in one of Australia’s most floristically diverse states? What are the threats facing Queensland’s flora that an ex situ germplasm conservation program could address, who needs to be involved and how can it be resourced? Led by the Australian Seed Bank Partnership.
Barriers, successes and prioritisation in ex-situ plant conservation. This will be a facilitated session exploring barriers in ex-situ conservation, how to effectively prioritise target species in collections and research, and highlighting success stories that have resolved impediments and resulted in good conservation outcomes eg. Tuggeranong Lignum and Small Purple-Pea. Led by the National Seed Bank.
Working on Country. Led by Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation.
Priorities for seed conservation for the Asia-Pacific. Led by the Millennium Seed Bank.

Wednesday 26th – Conference Dinner @ Chilly’s Pizza & Trattoria from 7.30pm.

Friday 28th – Field Trips, both full and half day (see Field Trips tab above for more info), to the Daintree rainforest, Mossman Gorge and Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th – Post-conference Rainforest Plant ID Workshop, venue TBC. More information coming soon!

Accommodation deals available!

Receive a 10% APCC15 discount on five Eco Certified Mantra hotels within walking distance of the conference venue and reduce your environmental footprint!

Choose from Mantra Portsea, Mantra Aqueous, Mantra Heritage, Mantra in the Village and Mantra on the Inlet.

Click on this link then choose one of the five hotels, then enter stay details for up to four nights from 24th August and number of guests. Then click on “Other special rates and promo code”, choose “Promo code” from the drop down menu and enter APCC15, then hit Search and your Special Offer rates will show up.

Exclusive Tour Discounts are available for all APCC15 delegates!

The CaPTA group is offering all conference delegates an exclusive 15% discount on the best tours in Port Douglas and Cairns. Experience the breathtaking beauty of this region with unforgettable adventures designed to make the most of your time here. A unique conference promo code will be included with your registration details. Tours include Daintree Rainforest trips, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, adventure activities including zipline Daintree Rainforest canopy tour, and visiting Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas. View the Conference Tour Hub here.