The Australasian Tunnelling Conference (ATS2020), our premier industry event, will be held in Melbourne on the 29^th November – 2^nd December 2020 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC). The ATS2020 Committee would like to remind everyone that we are actively working to make ATS2020 a fantastic event and one that the industry can be proud of. The foundation of this success will come from our supporters, sponsors and exhibitors, as well as the presenters and attendees. It will be a busy 3 days, plus tours, and if you are spending extra time seeing what Melbourne and Victoria has to offer, then we hope you have a wonderful time.

In a reflection of the very healthy state of tunnelling market in this region, our technical program paper submissions were nearly 4 times oversubscribed. This has seen the committee undertake a detailed assessment process to reduce the numbers down to fit into our 3 day event and to provide a diverse range of high quality presentations across all aspects of our industry. This process means that many deserving abstract submissions will not be accepted for formal presentation as part of the program.

We are providing increased exhibition space from previous conferences and that gives us an opportunity for posters and/or screens to be exhibited for some of those authors who didn’t quite make it. This is a valuable way of communicating and can offer more opportunities to discuss with the author the contents and stimulate an exchange of ideas.  We thank everyone who submitted an abstract and if you were one of the many who were not accepted for formal presentation we thank you for your understanding of our need to reduce the numbers.

Having the additional exhibition area also provides an unprecedented opportunity for our specialist suppliers, subcontractors, manufacturers and consultants to present the latest industry innovations and meaningfully engage with the broader tunnelling community including our clients all in one place making ATS 2020 exceptional value and a do not miss event on the tunnelling calendar.

We look forward to seeing you from 29^th November to 2 December 2020 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.