Current Classes
Class Schedule for Term 4 2026 is now active and enrolments are open. Term 3 finishes on Friday 18 September and Term 4 commences on Tuesday 6 October.
To join a new class, enrol through the Class Search page by clicking on the Enrol button, or contact the tutor directly. If you book online you may assume your enrolment is accepted unless the tutor advises otherwise.
If you are enrolled in a Term 3 class that you wish to continue attending in Term 4, you can use the Member Dashboard to re-enrol.
2026 Term dates:
| Term | From | To | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tue 27-Jan | Thu 2-Apr | 10 |
| 2 | Mon 20-Apr | Fri 26-Jun | 10 |
| 3 | Mon 13-Jul | Fri 18-Sep | 10 |
| 4 | Tue 6-Oct | Fri 11-Dec | 10 |
None.
2027 Term dates:
| Term | From | To | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wed 27-Jan | Thu 25-Mar | 9 |
| 2 | Mon 12-Apr | Fri 18-Jun | 10 |
| 3 | Mon 5-Jul | Fri 10-Sep | 10 |
| 4 | Mon 27-Sep | Fri 3-Dec | 10 |
How to Join Our U3A Learning Community
To attend U3A Brisbane classes, you must first Become a member or Renew your Membership. Membership is for a calendar year and costs $50 per annum. You may then enrol in classes via the Class Search page. District (suburban) classes are generally free of charge, but our City Campus classes require an upfront fee for the term. Most classes are held weekly for the 10 weeks in a Term, with 4 terms per year based on Qld school terms. For more information see our How to Join page.
Upcoming Special Presentations
What Queenslanders Prefer in Housing. A History of Designing Kitchens in Hot Summers
Presenter: Dr. Zhijian Sun (QUT)
Venue: City Campus
Do you remember the kitchen of your home when you were a child? Was it hot and stuffy during Brisbane's summer? Was it labour-saving for housework? How did your family use this space? In this engaging session, we will read old photographs, local newspaper stories and housing plans, to explore the history of Brisbane's postwar homes in the 1950s and 60s in our memory.
We will start from a simple but important question:
What can we learn today from Brisbane housing design in the history? What is your dream kitchen?
No special skills needed. Just bring yourself, your memories, stories, and detailed observation of everyday life.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Zhijian Sun is a Lecturer in Architecture at the School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. He recently completed his PhD in Architectural History at National University of Singapore (NUS), where he won the Best Paper Prize by Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography (SJTG). In 2024, he was a visiting scholar in modern design history at the University of Oxford. Prior to his doctoral studies, he graduated with a Master of Science from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Architecture from Southeast University. At the intersection of architectural history, environmental history, and history of science, his current work investigates how the care for people's fatigue and labour efficiency deeply impacted climatic design in Queensland's postwar housing.
Current Bookings: 23 (Maximum: 45)
Register for this Event
Too Big to Fail, Too Powerful to Regulate: The Rise of Australia's Mega Gambling Industry
Presenter: Quentin Beresford
Venue: City Campus
Australians lose more per head from gambling than any other nation. Serious social problems have resulted. Big gambling companies have taken over sporting codes and engaged in mass community advertising in an effort to normalise gambling. The problem has been decades in the making. Drawing on the findings from his recent book on the topic – Hooked Inside the Murky World of Australia’s Gambling Industry – Quentin will chart the rise of Big Gambling and show how government policy has been instrumental in the mass adoption of poker machines, the approval of multiple casinos and the penetration into society of online gambling. It’s a disturbing examination of how a powerful industry captured government and how both have dismissed warnings of the impending social damage.
Quentin Beresford
Quentin is a retired professor of politics and the author of more than a dozen books on Australian issues covering: corporate power, the environment, Indigenous issues and biography. He has won six national literary awards for his work. He is a frequent public speaker and a regular tutor at the University of the Third Age; most recently American Civil War, Origins and Aftermath.
Current Bookings: 50 (Maximum: 50)
Members on Waiting List: 15. Sorry, no further enrolments allowed.
Event Registrations
About U3A Brisbane
U3A is a worldwide self-help organisation promoting learning for personal enjoyment and wellbeing. Keeping the brain active, doing interesting things and making new friends are essential for helping older people to maximise their chances of independence, and this is what U3A does very effectively. U3A is making a very substantial contribution to society by helping its members to remain healthy and active for longer.
U3A Brisbane is one of many similar U3A organisations in Australia. Formed in 1986, we are a totally volunteer organisation, and provide leisure and educational courses to local seniors. We have over 3300 members and offer more than 200 educational courses each term, all of these at low cost. Most classes are in-person, but we also offer online classes.
Our City Campus classes are held at Level 3, 288 Edward St Brisbane, just a short walk from bus or train. Other City Precinct classes are held at various locations in the CBD. See our New Premises page.
We also have classes in surrounding suburbs and districts - in Logan, Southside, Northside, Westside and Wynnum.
For more information, see our How to Join page. See the Class Search page for information on all current classes, or download our current term's Class Schedule in PDF form. Our Site Map provides links to all pages on our website.