APMD Symposium 2026 – Call for Abstracts

The Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders (APMD) would like to invite you to the 10th anniversary APMD Symposium, to be held immediately prior to the 2026 Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) Conference in Ōtautahi, Christchurch, New Zealand.

The APMD 2026 Conference will be held from 10am – 4pm on Tuesday 24th November 2026 at the Te Pae, Christchurch Convention Centre. The Conference will include interactive discussions focusing on the latest research relating to the prevention of mental disorders.

We welcome Abstracts on any research related to prevention and mental health promotion. Please email your 300-word Abstracts directly to Katrina Champion at Katrina.champion@sydney.edu.au by Friday 21st August 2026. The template can be found here.

Registration is available as part of the SMHR 2026 Conference Registration. The NZ$115 registration fee covers room hire and catering. To register for SMHR and the APMD Conference please click here. If you are not planning to attend SMHR but would like to attend the APMD Conference, please contact Nicola Reavley at nreavley@unimelb.edu.au.

Confirmed speakers for the day include: 

  • Distinguished Professor Maree Teesson AC – Director of The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health & Substance Use, the University of Sydney
  • Professor Alison Calear (Australian National University) who will present on her work on parent and caregiver gatekeeper training programs.
  • Maja Havrilova (Prevention United) who will present on Prevention United programs that aim to build workforce capability for prevention.
  • A/Prof Amy Morgan (University of Melbourne) who will present new findings from a National Survey of Attitudes to Prevention.
  • Dr Joep van Agteren and Dr Matthew Iasiello, Be Well Co, who will present on their taxonomy of wellbeing.

We look forward to seeing you in Ōtautahi, Christchurch!

APMD Early Career Researcher Awards

The APMD award, sponsored by Manna Institute and Everymind, recognises excellence in research in the area of prevention of mental disorders and are intended for researchers whose work is beginning to make a significant impact, reflecting either scientific excellence or public impact (or both). The successful award recipient will be invited to present a paper at the Preventative Mental Health Conference to be held in Paramatta on March 26 & 27th 2026. Conference registration is included as part of the award.

The applicant will be an early career researcher working in the area of prevention of mental disorders. 

Applications must be made using the Award application form. The application will consist of up to five nominated papers and a one-page CV. 

Key dates

Applications must be received by 5pm on Friday 17  October 2025 and should be sent to info@preventionunited.org.au. The successful recipient will be presented at an APMD Networking event on the 26 November 2025 with the top 5 shortlisted nominees being sponsored to attend the event. 

APMD awards, sponsored by Manna Institute and Everymind

Australian Rotary Health and Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders Awards for Research Excellence

The ARH-APMD awards recognise excellence in research in the area of prevention of mental disorders and are intended for researchers whose work is beginning to make a significant impact, reflecting either scientific excellence or public impact (or both). There are three categories of award:

PhD candidate award

The applicant will be a PhD candidate who has published one or more peer-reviewed journal articles in the area of prevention of mental disorders. Applicants who have been awarded a PhD will also be eligible if the article was included as part of their PhD thesis. The awardee receives a certificate and $1000.

Early career researcher award

The applicant will be an early career researcher working in the area of prevention of mental disorders. The applicant will be less than 5 years (as at 31st March) from the date of the letter advising that their doctoral thesis was passed, unless career disruptions exist.  Career disruptions need to be justified. The awardee receives a certificate and $1500.

Mid-career researcher award

The applicant will be a mid-career researcher working in the area of prevention of mental disorders. The applicant will be less than 10 years (as at 31st March) from the date of the letter advising that their doctoral thesis was passed, unless career disruptions exist.  Career disruptions need to be justified. The awardee receives a certificate and $2000.

Applications must be received by 5pm on Friday 3rd November 2023 and should be sent to admin@australianrotaryhealth.org.au. Awardees will be notified by email by Friday 17th November 2023 and the awards will be presented at the APMD symposium linked to the Society for Mental Health Research Conference, which will be held in Perth on November 28th 2023. Download the application forms here.

Australian Rotary Health Awards for Research in Prevention 2022

Congratulations to Dr Aliza Werner-Seidler, Dr Mark Deady and Dr Wan Sim who were the recipients of the ARH-APMD awards recognising excellence in research in the area of prevention of mental disorders. 

 

Aliza received the Mid-career Researcher Award for her research in the prevention and treatment of
depression and anxiety in young people, the role of poor sleep and insomnia in depression, and the contribution of digital delivery formats to increase intervention access.

Mark received the Early Career Award for his research in improving access to evidence-based prevention and early intervention through digital technology, particularly in vulnerable high-risk workforces.

Wan received the PhD candidate award for her research in parenting interventions for the prevention of anxiety and depression.

The awards were presented at the APMD Symposium at the Society for Mental Health Research conference in Hobart (March 2022).

Primed for Prevention: a Consensus Statement

A joint consensus statement by headspace, the Black Dog Institute, Everymind, the Matilda Centre, the Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders and Prevention United highlights the need to increase investment and action in the prevention of mental disorders.

The Consensus Statement draws on research evidence to outline what can be done to prevent depression, anxiety, and other conditions from occurring. It highlights six priority areas for action that will make a big difference to mental health and wellbeing across the Australian population.

Awards for Research Excellence 2018

Australian Rotary Health and Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders Awards for Research Excellence 2018

Congratulations to A/Prof Philip Batterham, Dr Katrina Champion and Erin Kelly who were the recipients of the ARH-APMD awards recognising excellence in research in the area of prevention of mental disorders. Philip received the Mid-career researcher award, Katrina received the Early career award and Erin received the PhD candidate award.

The awards were presented at the Society for Mental Health Research conference in Noosa (November 28-30th).

Erin Kelly

Philip Batterham