Swimming Australia head coach Jacco Verhoeren wants to use this week's grand prix meet in Canberra as a stepping stone to a successful 2016 Olympic Games campaign.
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The premier swimmers from Australia and Japan will converge on the Australian Institute of Sport for a unique teams competition on May 15 and 16.
It is part of a four-day camp for the Australian Dolphins and the Australian world junior team in preparation for this year's world championships in Russia in July and August.
The 38-strong Australian team includes comeback king Grant Hackett and defending world champions Cate Campbell, James Magnussen and Christian Sprenger.
It is the first time the entire Australian team will be together since an orientation camp immediately after the national titles in Sydney in April.
Verhoeren said this camp was important for building cohesion within the squad looking ahead to not only the world championships, but also next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"The purpose of the meet is the first time after trials to bring the team together," Verhoeren said.
"Everyone in Australia is training in different places with different coaches and different programs.
"So a meet like this is very important to bring the national team and the world junior team together."
The swimmers from the Australian Dolphins, the world junior team and the Japan national team will be combined and split into three teams for the grand prix meet.
Hackett's vast experience will be vital to the group after his amazing effort to qualify for his sixth world championships.
The 34-year-old defied all expectations to finish third in the men's 400m freestyle at the national titles - after just six months back in the pool, he having retired in 2008.
The gold medallist in the 1500m at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games will be a part of the men's 4x400m relay.
"It's great to have a great name from the past to have him back in the team," Verhoeren said.
"Of course he will add value, but saying that, we have created over the last two years a great team culture already.
"What he achieved as an athlete is something that all these Australian athletes and the Japanese athletes are aiming for.
"He is a source of inspiration for everyone."
Verhoeren said it was too early to tell how Australia would perform at next year's Olympic Games, and he did not want to be drawn into medal predictions.
"We have a great amount of talent in the team," Verhoeren said.
"We never talk about medals or outcomes, we hope to count them after the meet.
"It is really keeping the team in the process of doing things they have a control on very well."
