Te Pae hosts the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability's 2026 congress, 19–20 October

Lede

The ASID 2026 Conference brings the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability to Christchurch on 19–20 October 2026, hosted at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. The two-day programme is built around the theme *20 Years of the UN Convention: Reflect and Reimagine its Promise for People with Intellectual Disabilities*, marking two decades since the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) was adopted. It is a live, confirmed event with an open registration and a published master programme.

A note on identity: the initialism 'ASID' is shared with the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases. This is not that body. The infectious-diseases society's 2026 calendar sits elsewhere. The Te Pae October congress is unambiguously the intellectual-disability society (asid.asn.au).

Who runs it

The conference is owned by the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability (ASID), the peak body for intellectual disability research across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. ASID traces its origins to 1964, was incorporated as the Australian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability (ASSID) in 1986, and adopted its current Australasian name in 2010 specifically to embed New Zealand and the voices of people with intellectual disability into its work. Conference logistics and registration are managed through Leverage Management (EventsAir).

Who it's for

The programme is explicitly trans-Tasman and multi-stakeholder: researchers, advocates, policymakers, service providers, families, carers, and people with intellectual disabilities themselves. Content spans international keynote presentations and breakout sessions on employment, health, criminal justice, parenting, housing and support, decision-making, and building inclusive communities — a mix of new research, lived-experience insight, and contested policy debate.

Venue and logistics context

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre sits centrally at 188 Oxford Terrace in the Christchurch central city, on the banks of the Ōtākaro Avon River, within walking distance of central-city hotels, restaurants and the Te Pae precinct. The purpose-built centre opened in 2021 and is Christchurch's flagship convention facility, well suited to a mid-scale two-day congress with concurrent breakout streams and an exhibition/sponsorship floor. It is roughly a 15-minute drive from Christchurch International Airport, which carries direct trans-Tasman services — convenient for the conference's substantial Australian delegate base.

Why it matters for NZ MICE

This is a repeat trans-Tasman association congress landing in Christchurch rather than an Australian city, bringing an Australian-headquartered peak body and its delegates across the Tasman into a New Zealand venue. Its anchoring to the UNCRPD anniversary gives it a clear editorial and policy hook, and its multi-sector audience (research, government, service providers, community) makes it a visible example of Te Pae attracting values-driven, cause-anchored association business into the central city.