FIRE Conference 2026 - Melbourne

The FAT FIRE Conference is a full day of open, practical and thought-provoking conversations with people who have already achieved Financial Independence, many of them at least a decade ahead of the traditional retirement age. Rather than listening to polished keynote speeches or financial gurus, you’ll spend the day hearing directly from a diverse panel of ordinary people who have taken different paths to financial freedom through business, property, shares and other investments.

They’ll share what actually worked, what didn’t, the mistakes they made, the opportunities they took and the mindset shifts that helped them along the way. Most importantly, this is an interactive conference. Throughout the day, panelists will be challenged with questions, real-life scenarios and controversial topics. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to ask your own questions and hear different perspectives from people who may completely disagree with one another. There is rarely one 'right' way to FIRE, and that is exactly what makes the discussions interesting.

 

Follow their FIRE Journey

The day broadly follows the different stages many people experience on their journey towards and beyond financial independence:

• Mindset & Skills Building - Developing the knowledge, skills, habits and mindset that create the foundation for FIRE.
• Saving & Grinding - Building your first meaningful pool of capital, increasing income, controlling lifestyle inflation and learning to live intentionally.
• Amplifying & Growing - Moving beyond simply saving money and using investments, business, leverage and other strategies to accelerate wealth creation.
• Protecting & Diversifying - Building resilience into your financial position so that FIRE can survive market crashes, inflation, changing circumstances and unexpected events.
• Living & Enjoying - Perhaps the most overlooked stage of FIRE which is deciding when enough is enough and figuring out what you actually want to do with your money, freedom and time.

The conversations go well beyond investment returns and FIRE numbers. Expect discussions around abundance versus scarcity, purpose after FIRE, raising children, inheritance, relationships, health, personal development, generosity and how to make the most of the time financial independence gives you.

 

Ask the Questions You Actually Want Answered

There will be dedicated participant Q&A throughout the conference. Instead of only hearing generic advice, you can ask panelists about their experiences, challenge their assumptions or dig deeper into something particularly relevant to your own FIRE journey. Some discussions may have clear answers. Others may result in five panelists giving five completely different answers. That’s part of the point.

 

Meet People on the Same Journey

The conference is also deliberately designed to give you time to talk with other attendees. Morning tea, lunch, breaks and networking sessions give you the opportunity to meet people at completely different stages of FIRE, from those just starting out to people who have already been financially independent for years.

Some of the most valuable conversations may happen away from the panel. You may leave with a new investment idea, a different perspective, an accountability partner, mentor, business connection or simply a group of people who think about life and financial independence in a similar way. The event is fully catered, including lunch, snacks, tea, coffee and non-alcoholic drinks.

 

VIP Experience

For those who want to engage deeper with the panelists, a limited number of VIP tickets are available. VIP attendees will receive front row seats, prioritised Q&A preferences and join the organisers & panelists for dinner afterwards in a roundtable format so you can ask more specific/intimate questions, explore topics in greater depth and hear insights that are difficult to cover in a larger conference environment. 

 

Giving Back

FAT FIRE is built around the idea that financial independence should eventually create abundance not just for ourselves, but also for the people around us. For that reason, all profits from the conference will be donated to charity. The charity is selected by the panelists and organisers and will be announced during the conference.

Details:
Venue - Box Hill Golf Club
Address - 202 Station St, Box Hill South VIC 3128
Date - Saturday, 14th November
Time - 9am ~ 5pm
VIP Dinner - 6pm onwards
Cost:
- $149person (Early Bird $109) - Includes drinks, snacks & lunch
- $379/person (Early Bird $319) - VIP seating, priority Q&A + dinner & roundtable
- $60/teenager (12yo+ teens must be accompanied by an adult with ticket)
- $10/child (6-11yo child must be accompanied by an adult with ticket)

 

The exact conversations will vary depending on the panelists and audience, but topics typically include:

Welcome & Introductions

• Why we created the FAT FIRE Conference
• Meet the panelists
• What does FIRE actually mean?
• Lean FIRE, FIRE, FAT FIRE and everything in between

1. Mindset & Skills Building

• The books, mentors and experiences that shaped our panelists
• Mental barriers they had to overcome
• Building valuable skills
• Personal development and continuous learning
• Getting outside your comfort zone
• Scarcity versus abundance

2. Saving & Grinding

• First jobs and early career decisions
• Building the first $100,000
• Increasing income versus cutting expenses
• Habits that made the biggest difference
• Lifestyle inflation
• Enjoying life while still pursuing FIRE
• Family assistance, privilege and starting advantages
• When frugality becomes counterproductive

3. Amplifying & Growing

• How our panelists started investing
• Property, shares, business and other asset classes
• Using leverage responsibly
• Building multiple income streams
• Common wealth-building myths
• Mistakes and investments that went wrong
• Moving from scarcity to abundance
• Knowing when you have “enough”

4. Protecting & Diversifying

• Portfolio construction
• Diversification across asset classes
• Asset protection and financial structures
• Emergency funds and opportunity funds
• Preparing for market crashes and recessions
• Inflation and economic uncertainty
• How much passive income is really enough?

5. Living & Enjoying

• What made our panelists finally pull the trigger on FIRE?
• Life after financial independence
• Finding purpose after FIRE
• Working because you want to rather than because you have to
• Family, marriage and children
• Raising financially capable kids
• Inheritance and giving while you are still alive
• Health and longevity
• Bucket lists and life experiences
• Big Hairy Audacious Goals
• Using money, resources and time to help others

 

 Cam & Trish – Family on FIRE

Cam and Trish are the couple behind FamilyonFIRE.com.au, where they have shared their journey towards Financial Independence since 2019. They reached financial independence in their early 40s while raising their three children through private schooling - without either of them being a top-income earner.

Cam was the main income earner, while Trish prioritised being present for their family and built small businesses around raising their children. Together, they focused on living below their means and investing strategically and consistently from their 20s.

Their FIRE journey has always been about creating more freedom, not simply retiring early. Cam transitioned to part-time work in his late 40s, giving them greater freedom to travel, snowboard, surf and enjoy their beach house, while still pursuing work they find meaningful.

They are passionate about showing other families that financial independence doesn't have to mean choosing between building wealth and being fully immersed in raising a family. For them, FIRE is about creating the financial freedom to enjoy life along the way - and having more choice about how you spend your most valuable asset: your time.

 

Wally Chiang

Made in Taiwan and assembled in Australia, Wally fell into the classic Asian misconception that good grades equal success, resulting in more degrees than he cares to count. After a career in corporate IT, he took the entrepreneurial path and founded his own digital marketing agency in 2012.

Through disciplined saving, property investing and building a business that could run without him, Wally achieved FIRE at age 41 in 2021. His focus has since expanded from building wealth to preserving it and becoming more self-sufficient. This included acquiring a 600+ acre hobby farm to learn practical skills such as hunting, bushcraft and permaculture.

More recently, Wally became a Christian, adding Faith to what he calls his Four Fs: Family, Farm, FIRE & Faith. These are now where he chooses to invest most of his time and energy.

 

 

Tarindu Paranagama

Tarindu achieved financial independence and stepped away from his career at just 38, after nearly two decades working across engineering, technology and leadership roles.

His path to FIRE wasn’t built on a big business exit or finding the perfect investment. Instead, it came from steadily growing his career, maintaining a high savings rate and consistently investing, eventually building a predominantly share-based portfolio. Along the way, Tarindu and his wife deliberately simplified their life, downsizing from a five-bedroom house near Brisbane’s CBD to a three-bedroom apartment as they geared up for more freedom and travel.

Since leaving full-time work, Tarindu has discovered that accumulating enough is only one part of FIRE. He’s now learning to become as intentional about spending money as he once was about saving and investing it—prioritising travel, health, friendships, volunteering and memorable experiences. That has included everything from exploring the world with his wife to celebrating turning 40 by strapping into an L-39 fighter jet and pulling 5G through the skies.

Tarindu hopes his story shows that FIRE isn’t about chasing the biggest number. It’s about creating enough financial freedom to design a life around what matters to you—and having the courage to actually live it.

 

 

Eric Kuang

Eric is an entrepreneur with a diverse background spanning business, property and technology. Always looking for the next opportunity to learn and build, he is currently fully immersed in the world of AI, exploring how emerging technology can transform the way we work, invest and create businesses.

While relatively new to the FIRE journey, Eric is already well on his way. Rather than trying to figure everything out alone, he believes strongly in surrounding himself with people who are further along the journey, learning from their experiences and applying those lessons to his own path.

Eric brings a different perspective to the FIRE Conference: that of an entrepreneur still actively building wealth, experimenting with new opportunities and discovering how the principles of financial independence can shape the decisions he makes today.