Organiser guide
Where To List Your Event For Free In Melbourne
Every place we could find that lists Melbourne events at no cost, what each one asks for, how long it takes and what it leaves out. Checked by hand, with the dates, so you can plan rather than guess. Start with the ones that take every event, then add the specialist ones that fit yours.
List It Free On Melbourne InsiderThe Options, Compared
| Where | Cost | How long | What to know | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Insider | Free | Straight away if complete, else within one business day | Melbourne and Victoria. Weekly and recurring events welcome. Gambling, adult and money-scheme events are held for editor review | The form on this site, no account |
| City of Melbourne What's On | See the site | Not stated on the site | City of Melbourne area; the page needs JavaScript to read | whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au, create a listing |
| ATDW via Visit Victoria | Free | 1 to 2 business days; submit 4 weeks ahead | Tourism events only. No weekly or monthly events, no industry events. 200-word limit, images 1600x1200 or larger | An ATDW account; the listing is sent to 100+ sites |
| Victoria 365 | Free | A few business days | Goes through ATDW, so ATDW's rules apply | Their form |
| OnlyMelbourne | Free; featured from $92.50 | Not stated | Melbourne | Their form |
| What's On In Melbourne (.com) | Free | 2 business days | Melbourne area. Asks for a 400 to 700 word description and an image under 2 MB | Their form |
| Eventfinda | Free | Within one business day | Australia-wide; has its own ticketing | Their form |
| allevents.in | See the site; paid promotion offered | Not stated | Global; Melbourne pages | Their form |
| UpNext | Free; $110 to $330 paid tiers | Not stated | Family-friendly events; may refuse | Their form |
| Eventbrite and Humanitix | Free to publish; fees on paid tickets | Instant | Ticketing platforms with discovery pages | An account |
| Triple R | Needs a current Triple R subscription | By email | Gigs, arts and community events; you must be a Triple R subscriber | Their form |
| Beat gig guide | See the site | Not stated | Gigs; needs an account | Their site |
| Your council's what's on | Free | Council review | Events inside that council area; some exclude licensed venues or cap ticket prices | The council site (Merri-bek, Yarra, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula and others have forms) |
| Time Out, Broadsheet, Concrete Playground | Free to pitch | Editor's choice, no guarantee; Time Out recommends 6 weeks' notice | Editorial picks, not listings | Email the editor |
Rows were checked against each site's own listing page on 6 October 2026, except where a cell says "See the site" or "Not stated": those details were not confirmed, so check the site before you rely on them. Sites change their rules; if one here is out of date, email hello@melbourne-insider.au and we will fix it.
Which Ones To Use, By Event
A weekly or monthly market
ATDW and the tourism sites will not take recurring events. Use Melbourne Insider (one listing covers every date), your council, and OnlyMelbourne.
A gig
Beat and Triple R are the gig guides people in music read; Melbourne Insider puts the gig on the tonight and weekend pages the rest of the city reads. Do both.
A community event or fundraiser
Your council first, then Melbourne Insider's community listing, then Eventbrite or Humanitix if you need tickets or donations.
A festival or a big one-off
All of them, starting with ATDW four weeks out (it feeds Visit Victoria), then Melbourne Insider and the City of Melbourne, then a pitch to Time Out and Broadsheet six weeks ahead.
ATDW, Explained In A Minute
The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse is the database behind Visit Victoria and more than a hundred other tourism sites. One ATDW listing is copied to all of them, which is why every council and tourism body tells you to use it. Its rules are the catch: the event has to be a tourism event, it cannot run weekly or monthly, the description stops at 200 words and the images have to be at least 1600 by 1200 pixels. Visit Victoria asks for the listing four weeks ahead and says approval takes one to two business days.
If your event fits, do it. If it does not, you are not missing out on local reach: ATDW is built for visitors planning a trip, and Melbourne Insider, the City of Melbourne and your council are built for people deciding what to do this week.
What A Listing Needs Everywhere
- A plain name people would search for, not a slogan
- A landscape photo without text on it, at least 1200 pixels wide (1600 by 1200 covers ATDW too)
- Dates, start and finish times, and the venue address
- The price, including "free", and where to buy tickets
- Two sentences anyone could understand, then the detail
- A contact email you check
Write it once, save it, and paste it into each form.
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