When you set up a meeting in Outlook, you can see if other people are available and find and book an available room.

Different UQ departments may have access to different meeting rooms in Outlook.

If you can't find an available meeting room at your preferred day and time, you can ask your invitees to search in their area.

How to book a meeting

Select the option for your operating system:

Outlook for Windows

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Go to the 'Home' tab and click 'New Items', then 'Meeting'.
  3. Enter a title for your meeting.
  4. In the meeting request window, click ‘Scheduling Assistant’.

Screenshot of the Outlook ribbon menu's Meeting tab with the Scheduling Assistant highlighted

  1. Invite people by typing their name in the box under your name or by clicking the 'Add Attendees' button to bring up your address book.
  2. Click the 'Add Rooms' button. Make sure 'All rooms' is selected from the 'Address Book' drop-down list. Most rooms are listed in the form 'building number-room number' (e.g. 08-235), but some rooms are listed by room number (R), building number (B) and campus (e.g. R101 B38 STLUC).
  3. To check the availability of suitable rooms at a given time, select the room and then click the 'Rooms' button. Once you have a list of suitable rooms, click 'OK'.
  4. The rooms you selected should now be listed alongside your meeting invitees. Using the calendar, find a time and day when your invitees are available and a room is free. Set your meeting time by using the 'Start time' and 'End time' fields or by clicking on the calendar.

Screenshot of the Scheduling Assistant calendar view showing where attendees and rooms are free or in use

  1. If you selected more than 1 room, make sure you uncheck the box next to the rooms you no longer need.
  2. Go back to the ‘Meeting’ tab. Check the details of your meeting (title, invitees, room, time) are correct and click 'Send'.
  3. Some rooms will send an automated booking confirmation immediately. Some rooms are manually moderated by admin staff, who may take longer to reply.

Outlook for Mac

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Click the calendar.
  3. Go to the 'Home' tab and click 'Meeting'.
  4. In the meeting request window, click 'Scheduling'.
  5. Invite people by typing their name in the 'Add New' box under 'All Attendees'.
  6. Click '+' next to 'Add Room'. Most rooms are listed in the form 'building number-room number' (e.g. 08-235), but some rooms are listed by room number (R), building number (B) and campus (e.g. R101 B38 STLUC).
  7. To check the availability of suitable rooms at a given time, select the room and then click the 'Rooms' button. Once you have a list of suitable rooms, click 'OK'.
  8. The rooms you selected should now be listed alongside your meeting invitees. Using the calendar, find a time and day when your invitees are available and a room is free. Set your meeting time by using the 'Start time' and 'End time' fields or by clicking on the calendar.
  9. If you selected more than 1 room, make sure you uncheck the box next to the rooms you no longer need.
  10. Go to the ‘Appointment’ tab. Check the details of your meeting (invitees, subject, room, time) are correct and click 'Send'.
  11. Some rooms will send an automated booking confirmation immediately. Some rooms are manually moderated by admin staff, who may take longer to reply.

Centrally controlled teaching rooms

Centrally controlled teaching rooms can't be booked through Outlook. Use the web room booking tool (UQ login required) from Teaching Space Management to book a centrally controlled room.

UQ Book It

Rooms in the UQ Library and certain rooms and resources linked to your department can be booked through UQ Book It.

Some rooms in Outlook synchronise bookings with UQ Book It, which means you can book them through either system.

Learn more about booking rooms and resources with UQ Book It

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