Additional Registration Options

Mentor Program

The Congress provides a valuable opportunity to make connections and share knowledge and to facilitate this, the Organising Committee are offering a Mentor Program. This is simply an opportunity for you to catch up with your mentor/mentee over a coffee or lunch break and have a conversation, share ideas, challenges and opportunities. There is no expectation beyond the opportunity for a chance to make a connection and share a conversation with a colleague who shares a similar interest. If you would like to be mentored or would be keen to be a mentor, please indicate your interest on the registration form and also your main subject area of interest. Closer to the time of the Congress, we will facilitate contact with your designated mentor/mentee so you can make arrangements to meet at your convenience during the Congress.   

Congress T-Shirt

You have the opportunity to take home a great souvenir from the Congress – the official Congress t-shirt featuring the unique Congress artwork. T-shirts are AU$30 each and must be ordered in advance when registering online for the Congress. 

Onsite Childcare

ISBE 2024 is a family-friendly Congress and will be providing a complimentary childcare exclusively for the care of young children of delegates between the ages of 12 months to 12 years, during designated hours, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. 

A specialised childcare service provider will provide a safe and fun environment for the children requiring care during Congress hours. Children will be entertained and supervised by qualified and experienced childcare educators.

The childcare service will be open during the following dates and times:

Note the timing is subject to change and will reflect the final scientific program schedule.

Places are limited and will be available on a first come basis.  Advance booking is required. Please indicate your needs on the online registration form and the Congress Office will be in contact with you. 

Important information

• All children must be signed in and out by a legal guardian.
• Guardians must be contactable at all times via mobile phone.
• Meals will not be provided. Parents are to provide a healthy snack for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. No nut products.
• Parents must return to feed or collect their children for the lunch period.
• Childcare staff do not have facilities to change nappies. Nappy change facilities are in the venue parents' room and parents will be required to return to change their child.
• For children aged two and under who require an afternoon sleep, please bring along his/her pram or stroller.

Parents room

For those of you who will have a young child or children but do not wish to use the childcare service, a parent's room is available in both the Convention and Exhibition Centre and feature everything you needed to change or feed in privacy and comfort. 

Who is eligible to access the services?

All Congress delegates are eligible to access the childcare.

What is the cost for the childcare?

There is no cost for delegates to use the childcare.

How do I book?

You can now make your bookings while completing your online registration.

Sustainability

The Congress Organisers recognise the event itself, and delegates’ travel, impacts on the environment and so as a sustainability legacy initiative, we have created an option where you can donate to TreeProject, a community based, Victorian, not-for-profit organisation which plants trees for environmental benefits.

When you donate to TreeProject, you will be helping to: 

• Tackle salinity and erosion 
• Develop healthy soil structure 
• Prevent excess water entering our ground waters and causing salinity 
• Improve water quality and help to keep our waterways healthy 
• Repair ecosystems 
• Restore our waterways 
• Conserve biodiversity 
• Provide habitat for wildlife corridors 
• Fight climate change 
• Offset carbon 
• Produce the very air we breathe 

Every $2 you give gets 1 seedling in the ground, $10 can assist in capturing in capturing carbon,$25 can assist in improving a wetland, $50 can assist in helping an eroded waterway. 

You can make a donation when completing your online registration, or later by going to the following site TreeProject. For Australian tax payers, the donation is tax deductable.

For further information on TreeProject, please visit their website.  

Carbon Offset 

We encourage you to consider participating in your airline’s carbon offset program. 

Paper Reduction 

As much as possible, the Congress will reduce the amount of printing in both the lead up to and onsite. Delegates are encouraged to use electronic resources, such as downloads from the website and app, where possible.  

All printing produced for the Congress will be done on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) graded paper. Note pads and pens will not be provided onsite at the Congress. 

Plastic Reduction  

Delegates are encouraged to bring a water bottle onsite which can be refilled at the numerous water stations within the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Delegates are also encouraged to bring a coffee keepcup.  

Congress Recycling  

Lanyards, name badges and satchels will be recycled so we encourage you to return these to the Registration and Information Desk upon completion of the Congress.  

Venue 

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has been awarded a 6-star Green Rating by the Green Building Council of Australia for the venue’s innovative environmental design and operational features. Built from the ground up with the environment in mind, the MCEC was the first convention centre in the world to be awarded this and also have achieved Gold Accreditation with the world’s sustainability benchmarking organisation, EarthCheck. To find out more about the MCEC initiatives in place, click here.