Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) is bringing the industry together on 4–5 March 2026 for its first national Utility Safety Conference – an event built around damage prevention, collaboration, and improving safety. 

BYDA has lined up a plethora of national and international speakers who are experts in utility safety, regulation, and infrastructure risk. 

This two-day event will be a national forum focused on the practical changes needed to drive down utility strikes and lift safety standards across the civil construction sector. 

This year’s theme ‘Connected. Protected. Respected’ highlights the role everyone plays in reducing underground risk. Contractors are key to turning plans into safe, effective action on the ground. The conference acknowledges the roles we all play and explores how better connection across the industry can protect people and infrastructure. 

This is BYDA’s first-ever national utility safety conference, and it marks a pivotal moment in the industry’s approach to damage prevention. It’s a chance to set new benchmarks, have honest conversations, and shape how we move forward together. 

Contractors are often first on site, and the link between planning and delivery and the people operating near or around critical infrastructure. This conference puts contractors in the same room as asset owners, locators, engineers, planners and regulators, all working toward the same goal: zero damage, zero harm, and zero disruption. 

The program is built to spark discussion and break down silos between organisations and roles – it’s a chance to gain practical insights into what’s working, and what’s not, in the field. 

The event will cover key industry challenges, such as: 

• Preventing utility strikes through better planning and communication 
• Building stronger safety systems that work on project sites 
• Addressing skills and training gaps across the workforce 
• Strengthening collaboration across organisations and roles 

If you want to stay ahead of safety and compliance requirements, build stronger partnerships and be part of a safer, more efficient future for civil construction, then this is your event. 

This inaugural event will take place at the RACV City Club in Melbourne from 4–5 March 2026, but industry early bird registration is only open until 30 November 2025, so don’t wait to secure your place and register now to dig into safety at the BYDA Utility Safety Conference 2026. 

To register, head to byda.com.au/byda-utility-safety-conference