Many of the papers published in this issue represent the peer-reviewed research presented as part of the Academic Program of the PMI Australia Conference 2018 (PMIAC18) held in Melbourne, Australia on the 21^st and 22^ndMay 2018. With a theme of Diversity, Performance, and Wellbeing, the PMIAC18 conference integrated these papers into the Innovation & Trends track thus ensuring they were presented to a receptive audience of both academics and practitioners – an exemplar of successfully combining project management research and practice.