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HUNTER INNOVATION FESTIVAL 2026 · 13 OCTOBER 2026 · NEWCASTLE

Yes, And…

Australia's longest-running regional innovation festival. 24 years. One region. One day where the Hunter's next decade gets built in public.

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Call for Speakers

600+

innovators

47%

decision-makers

43%

from outside Newcastle

95%

intend to return

Call for speakers

Put youR work on the main stage.

Apply to speak ➡

EOI closes 14 Aug 2026

Industry Pillars engineered for tomorrow

Manufacturing

Making the things the future runs on.

ENERGY

The transition is being engineered here, from the grid up.

HEALTH

Research, care and medtech, moving from lab to lives.

AEROSPACE

The Hunter's reach, from the runway to orbit.

From possibility to action.

For 24 years, the Hunter Innovation Festival has been where this region's boldest thinking gets a room. In 2025 we asked "What If?" and 600 people answered. In 2026 we stop asking and start building. "Yes, And..." is the language of people who take an idea and run with it. It's a commitment: to say yes to what the Hunter can become, and to add the work that gets us there. One day in Newcastle, on 13 October, where the region's builders, founders, investors and decision-makers move from possibility to action. This is not a conference you watch. It's a festival you join.

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Roadshow

Coming to a town near you!

  • "The Festival is a great opportunity to bring together all different parts of an innovation ecosystem from all over the country into a great place like the Hunter region."

    Vu Tran | Founder of BlackSky Industries, OneMRI and Co-Founder Go1

  • "I'm the founder of By Storm and we are making beauty and makeup accessible for the 700 million women who have been completely locked out of the beauty world."

    — Storm Menzies | Founder of By Storm

  • "The Festival is important just to bring people together from the from manufacturing in the region."

    — Oliver Kleyn | Founder Grolia

  • "This festival is really important as it brings everyone together across the Hunter and actually even broader than that. So it's really important that we're connecting, sharing and learning from each other."

    — Caroline Booth | Economic Development @ Cessnock City Council

  • "I feel that this festival is really important because it brings together like-minded people and we can share ideas and and think towards the future of what we can change."

    Jess Hodge | Founder of Resourceful Living