We are delighted to have your involvement in the Open House Melbourne Weekend 2025: Stories of the City

 

This Collaborator Portal is your go-to online guide for participating in the Weekend 2025. Here you will find key dates + deadlines, resources for review and download and tips + tricks for making your program the best it can be.

 

This page is regularly updated, so bookmark this link or save it somewhere safe for quick + easy access!

 

Last update: Friday 13 June

Key Dates Timeline

Wednesday 25 June 2025—Open House Melbourne Weekend Program Launch

12pm, Wednesday 2 July—First Release Ticketing

10am, Saturday 5 July—Second Release Ticketing

Monday 14—Volunteer + Signage allocations confirmed

Saturday 26 + Sunday 27 July 2025—Open House Melbourne Weekend

14 August— Volunteer and Collaborator Thank-You Event

Collaborator Briefing Recording

Whether you’re a long time Open House Melbourne Collaborator or new to the community, it is important to be across Weekend key dates and next steps including important logistical, operational and risk information, as well as marketing and program updates ahead of the Program Launch. Download the PDF presentation for quick reference here.

Watch

Collaborator Marketing Kit

A range of editable design assets are now ready for you to start preparing for Program Launch on Wednesday 25 June. Please review the Style Guide to ensure your use of the Stories of the City identity and Open House Melbourne assets are within the guidelines.

Fonts, colour codes and design files have been supplied if you wish to add your program details to posters or social assets. Other generic assets are available too. You’re welcome to use anything supplied here.

IMPORTANT: The Weekend Program is under embargo until 6pm Wednesday 25 June. Please do not announce, share or promote your participation in the program until then.

Download

Ticketing for pre-booked programs

Ticketing links for all pre-booked programs are currently being built in Humanitix. These are scheduled to go live with the program at 6pm, Wednesday 25 June.

Tickets are released to the public across two dates—

12pm, Wednesday 2 July
10am, Saturday 5 July

This allows time for people to review the program and effectively plan their Weekend and to increase equity of access.

When your program becomes fully booked, a waitlist will be activated and rolls through automatically as cancellations are processed.

Reminder emails are sent to registered ticketholders 48 hours prior to your event.

Access to Humanitix for ticket scanning

Collaborators running pre-booked programs are responsible for checking in attendees on the day. This task can be delegated to your volunteers (if allocated) but you must have a clear understanding of how Humanitix works to ensure you’re best prepared.

Download the Humanitix for Hosts app on your mobile—this useful resource can support you through the process. The primary contact for each program will be sent an invitation from Open House Melbourne via Humanitix to access your individual event/s.

Pre-Weekend—independently monitor booking numbers and have up to date attendee information without having to contact our team.
During the Weekend—digitally check in guests on the Weekend through the app.

Review our tutorial for additional instruction and join the online briefing for Humanitix—Wednesday 16 July at 10am for troubleshooting and questions. Add to Calendar.

Watch now

Volunteers

We are currently reviewing all volunteer requests and allocating shifts to programs as required.

Volunteers are rostered for 3-4 hour shifts and can assist with greeting visitors, queue and group management, assembling signage, checking attendee lists, way-finding and directions and sharing building information.

While we endeavour to meet all volunteer requests, the support of Open House Melbourne volunteers is not guaranteed. As such, we expect you can run your program or event without the support of a volunteer.

You will be notified of your Volunteer allocation in mid-July.

Signage

We are currently reviewing all signage requests and allocating as required. 

Open House Melbourne signage ensures visitors can find you and your program. A stock of A-frames and flags is allocated to Collaborators to use over the Weekend for wayfinding. All Collaborators are required to display Open House signage across the Weekend.

It is the responsibility of the Collaborator to collect and return signage within the scheduled timeframes provided below. Alternatively, if you are a repeat Collaborator, options to purchase signage will be available.

Collection is from the Open House Melbourne office, located at Collingwood Yards, 35 Johnston Street, Collingwood.

Collection: Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 July between 10am and 4pm
Return: Monday 28 + Tuesday 29 July between 10am and 4pm

Types of signage

A-frames

These are great to mark tour meeting points across your site. These aren’t too heavy, but can be a bit awkward to carry.

Dimensions: 600mm x 900mm

Weight: no more than 5kg

 

'Old' L-shaped flags

These are our trusty flags that, if you’ve participated in the Weekend before, you’ll be most familiar with! They are visible from far away and are a great marker on the street for ‘open access’ sites. They have an extra heavy base so are perfect for those spots that may be more prone to windy weather. All parts pack into one canvas bag.

Dimensions: Approx. 600mm x 3000mm

Weight: Approx. 10kg including base

'New' feather banners

These are the newest addition to our signage stock. Once assembled, they will stand about 2.5m tall. They are visible from far away and are a great marker on the street for ‘open access’ sites. Best for more sheltered spots as the base isn’t as heavy. The flag and poles pack into one bag and the base plate is separate.

Dimensions: 600mm x 2500m

Weight: comes with a 5kg base plate, with a cut out handle for easy carrying

Assembly instructions

Corflutes

You provide the A-frame, we provide the corflute inserts! Let us know how many empty a-frames you have to fill and we’ll supply what we can. You can mix and match with your own signage too.

Alternatively, save yourself the trip to Collingwood and instead, we can supply the artwork files for you print your own Open House Melbourne branded signage to use this year and into the future. A great option for repeat Collaborators.

Corflute dimensions: 600mm x 900mm

Key Contacts for the Weekend

Precinct Managers (and Assistant Precinct Managers)

On the Weekend, your main contact is the Precinct Manager (PM) assigned to your area. Precinct Managers, with the support of Assistant Precinct Managers, oversee the volunteers in your area and are best placed to assist with troubleshooting any issues or incidents.

  1. If your allocated volunteer doesn’t show up, call your PM.
  2. If something isn’t right with your signage, call your PM.
  3. If you have another non-emergent question, call your PM.

Contact details for your PM will be emailed to you. Please refrain from contacting them until the Weekend.

Event Operations Centre (EOC) 

The EOC number is: 0494 139 815

The EOC located at Collingwood Yards and is a direct line to the Open House Melbourne core team in case of incidents or emergency. The EOC can activate an emergency or communication response or operational support.

This number is only active over the Weekend.

In case of emergency, always contact emergency services – call 000. As soon as practicable, notify the EOC and your PM.

In the lead up to the Weekend, your first point of contact is the Open House team via info@ohm.org.au

Important info for the Weekend

Collaborator Risk Management

For successful participation on the Open House Melbourne Weekend, we expect all Collaborators to consider and plan for the mitigation of risks to public, staff, volunteers and visitors, inherent in attending the venue or event.

This resource provides a recommended series of steps to ensure compliance and a happy patron experience.

Learn more

End of day report

Please complete this form at the end of each day. This helps us to accurately capture visitor numbers while they’re fresh in your mind, prompts to notify of any incidents and ensures you have the opportunity to reflect and provide feedback so we can ensure your program is running smoothly!

The link will be updated prior to the Weekend. 

Incident Report Form

Please report any incidents that occur across the Open House Melbourne Weekend, no matter how small they seem at the time. This helps to ensure incidents are resolved in an appropriate and timely fashion and prevents similar incidents occurring in future so we can all have a safe and enjoyable Weekend.

The link will be updated prior to the Weekend. 

Volunteers Day on a Page

This information is provided to all Building Volunteers so they can be prepared for a great Open House Melbourne Weekend. If you have been assigned a Volunteer, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with this information so you’re prepared to brief them.

Volunteer Day on a Page

Collaborator FAQs

Whether you’re in individual or an organisation, you’ll become a Collaborator when your submission is accepted into the program. We’ll then support you to supply the required information for the print and digital program and ensure you’re prepared to deliver your event successfully during the Weekend.

 

For successful participation on the Open House Melbourne Weekend we expect all Collaborators to:

+ Hold necessary permissions and insurances to undertake the proposed program/event during the Weekend (26 + 27 July 2025) and agree to the Collaborator Terms + Conditions
+ Open their building space for a minimum of six hours across the weekend and/or accommodate a minimum capacity of 50 people for events/tours
+ Have a knowledgeable, responsible person/s (on-site or online) to oversee the delivery of the program/event and engage with the public during the Weekend;
+ Submit all required content/information about the planned experience to meet Open House Melbourne deadlines for print and digital program and logistical planning;
+ Where required, host Open House Melbourne Volunteers during their allocated 3-4 hour shift to provide event support and collect visitor data;
+ Promote their participation in the Weekend across platforms including website and social media and will where applicable, display Open House Melbourne signage onsite during the event.

The Open House Melbourne Weekend 2025 will take place across Saturday 26 + Sunday 27 July 2025.

Open House Melbourne programming including Designing with Country, Modern Melbourne, This is Public and the Heritage Address will take place in the evenings surrounding the Weekend.

We’ll send the program live on Wednesday 25 June. The program is under embargo until then so please keep your involvement under wraps until then.

 

You will be notified about your volunteer allocation in late June.

In 2025, all ticketing for pre-booked programs will be managed by Open House Melbourne via Humanitix. We will work with you to understand your capacity for oversubscription to account for attrition.

A small fee of $7 will apply to all tickets to contribute to the ticketing administration costs.

Open House Melbourne will create a ticketing link for your program to include in the digital program and for you to share with your networks.

Tickets are released to the public across two dates—2 + 5 July. This allows time for people to review the program and effectively plan their Weekend.  Two releases of tickets are scheduled to increase equity of access.

When your program becomes fully booked, a waitlist will be activated. Offers of available tickets due to cancellations will be processed automatically as an offer to the next person on the list.

Reminder emails for ticketed programs will be sent 72 hours prior to your event.

You will be given access to your event via the Humanitix app which shows up-to-date registration numbers and provides scanning permission.

On the Weekend, your team (with the support of Open House Melbourne volunteers) will be responsible for checking in attendees by scanning the QR on their ticket.

If you have any questions about ticketing, please contact us via info@ohm.org.au.

Open House Melbourne undertakes comprehensive marketing and PR activities in the lead up to and during the Weekend. We have an established database of 48,000+ email subscribers, 600,000+ annual website visits and an audience of over 58,000 across social media channels. Learn more in our 2024 Event Report here.

You will be provided a marketing kit including branding guidelines and digital and print assets to share with your networks to promote the Weekend.

For tailored benefits and services, please enquire about Partner and Sponsorship packages with Katie Evans, Partnerships + Communications Manager via katie.evans@ohm.org.au or +61 3 8648 8612.

Collaborator registration fees ensure we can continue to deliver the much-loved Open House Melbourne Weekend into the future. Registration fees contribute to administration costs, insurance, accessibility services, event management, volunteer recruitment and signage.

The fee structure is as follows:

  • $65 (Individual)
  • $120 (not-for-profit or community group)
  • $260 (school, for-profit, local government)
  • $440 (higher education, State government)

To discuss a payment plan or any other aspect relating to fees, please contact us via info@ohm.org.au or +61 3 8648 8612.

The Open House Melbourne Weekend celebrates good design by opening up buildings, places and spaces, inspiring public engagement in conversations about the future of our city.

Open House Melbourne is the largest and longest-running Open House program in Australia. The Weekend provides you the opportunity to:

  • take an active role in advocating for the value of good design in our built environment
  • contribute to broad public discussion around the role of design in creating better futures
  • reach a broad cross-section of the community
  • gain access to new audiences.

Contact us

If you have a question that’s not answered here, please contact us via info@ohm.org.au or 03 8648 8612.

Note: we’re frequently out of the office for meetings and site visits so please email us if you can’t get through via phone. We aim to respond within 48 hours so please be patient but don’t hesitate to follow up if you haven’t heard back from us in this time.

Contact us