Australia's sport industry will come together next month to share ideas, strategies, best practice and explore new approaches to help sport further inclusion and diversity. 

Over 125 sports leaders and practitioners from different areas of sport, government, academia and the community will come together on Friday 7 October, in Melbourne, for the 2016 Diversity & Inclusion in Sport Forum. The initiative is aimed at equipping the sporting industry to meet the many challenges and opportunities in this area.

Topics to be addressed will include: gender equity, reconciliation action plans, homophobia, casual racism, disability, refugees and migrants, collective impact, junior sport, violence against women, social inclusion frameworks, social network analysis, Indigenous player welfare, transgender and inclusion strategy.

The format is for the 16 invited speakers to talk across these topic areas in 15 minute TEDx style presentations. Each talk will be followed by questions and information sharing between the speakers and attendees.

Speakers include: Kate Jenkins (Sex Discrimination Commissioner), Peter Downs (Director Play by the Rules), Tim Soutphommasane (Race Discrimination Commissioner), Carmel Guerra (Chief Executive of the Centre for Multicultural Youth), Lynne Anderson (Chief Executive of the Australian Paralympic Committee), Andrew Purchas (Pride in Sport Index), Merrilee Barnes (Australian Sports Commission), Patty Kinnersly (Our Watch), among others.

The pioneering forum is supported by the Centre for Multicultural Youth, Monash University, Victoria University, Australian Sports Commission, Play by the Rules, Oliver & Thompson Consultancy and Australian Human Rights Commission.