The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia welcomes social science enthusiasts to explore the program for Social Sciences Week (SSW) 2026, taking place from 12 to 20 September 2026.
Events will be held online and in-person across Australia, exploring a diverse range of topics including social cohesion, loneliness, AI, First Peoples’ Knowledges, housing, crime, sexuality and gender, youth, and migration.
SSW Principal Sponsor RMIT University will host the official launch at 6.30pm on Tuesday 15 September with a free event at The Capitol Theatre in Melbourne. The event The First Inventors: How People Shaped a Continent will feature a conversation between celebrated Eualayai/Gamillaroi author, filmmaker and academic Larissa Behrendt AO, award-winning author and historian Billy Griffiths and one of Australia’s leading archaeologists, Sean Ulm, on their new book The First Inventors: How People Shaped a Continent.
On Thursday 17 September The Great Debate returns to the National Library of Australia in Canberra with a stellar line up of debaters and judges, including Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Professor The Hon Bill Shorten. Professor Anika Gauja, Thomas Mayo, and Professor Graeme Orr will take on Professor Kim Rubenstein, Professor Andrea Carson, and Professor Lyria Bennett-Moses in a battle of words, to decide whether “Australian politics is alive and well”.
Melbourne locals should get in quick for a free ticket to RMIT University’s feature event AI Data Centres: Exploring the Buildings Behind the AI Boom. This panel discussion will bring together leading experts to explore the opportunities and challenges of Australia’s digital transformation, at The Capitol Theatre 5.30pm Thursday 17 September.
All events are open to the public, with most offering free tickets and many available online for national access. Access the full program here.