Specialist Tracks

We've had a wide range of specialist tracks covering a range of technologies, industries and professional fields.

• Education (2015 - 2025)
• DjangoCon AU (2013 - 2020, 2023)
• Scientific & Data (2014 - 2017, 2019 - 2025)
• Data & AI (2025)
• DevOops (2020, 2021, 2023)
• Security & Privacy (2018 - 2021)
• OpenStack (2013-2015)

Noting that some tracks have changed organisers and name but covered similar topics.

We welcome tracks on a wide range of topics - so assume yes!

We have two rules of thumb for topic relevance:

• Related to the use of Python in some way, shape or form.
• Not a commercial or vendor-specific platform or product pitch.

We have two office hours sessions scheduled.

• Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 6pm AEDT
• Thursday 15 January 2026 at 6pm AEDT

We're hosting office hours in the Python Australia Community Discord server.

Head on over to pythonaustralia.org and click the big "Join the Python Australia Discord" button. We recommend joining the server a few days before the office hours - but the mods will be available for quick approvals if you're joining last minute.

LOVE your enthusiasm! Write that idea down and save it, but please don't submit it just yet.

We'll open CFP early in 2026 for everyone to submit their session ideas.

In our experience, running a specialist track involves an hour or two a week, with some extra time required during program review to select talks.

Most effort is asynchronous, so you can schedule it in around your work and life. Occasionally we'll schedule a call with track organisers, typically on a week day after work (AEDT/AEST timezones)

We don't have a formal mentoring program for track organisers, but we're happy to share our experience and teach you along the way. The PyCon AU core organising team does all the heavy lifting when it comes to logistics, and we hope that makes it easier for you to organiser the track you're dreaming of.

Drop us an email if you're uncertain and we'll chat through your questions.

Naming things is hard - our house rules are primarily about being open and transparent about what makes a track successful. There are exceptions to every rule, and we'd love to hear from you if the house rules don't quite work for your circumstances.

Email program@pycon.org.au with your track proposal.

Make sure you include the information outlined in the track organiser companion guide, including contact details for both track organisers.

Email us anyway! We often get similar track ideas proposed, and its possible we can introduce you to a like minded co-organiser to shape your vision together.

We have a two step process to shortlist and then select the specialist tracks for PyCon AU 2026.

• Shortlist: We'll pick a unique set of strong specialist tracks to include in the CFP. If multiple similar tracks are proposed, we'll likely select one track on a particular topic.
• Selection: Once the CFP closes, we'll finalise the specialist tracks based on the talks accepted. Tracks that don't receive enough quality proposals can still explore running half-day blocks in the schedule.