Preventive Mental Health Conference 2026

​Abstract Submission​​ Requirements

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Presentations require the submission of an abstract and will be peer reviewed. We welcome submission of abstracts for presentations relevant to one or more of the Conference sub-themes (outlined below).

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• A maximum of two (2) abstracts may be submitted per presenting author. The platform automatically limits the number of submissions per contact to two (2).

• All abstracts must be in original work and submitted in English and have a 300-word maximum.

• Abstracts submitted for presentation, if accepted, will be published exactly as received and should be checked for spelling and grammar prior to submission.

• It is the submitting author’s responsibility to ensure that the abstract uploaded to the server is the correct version.

• If the person submitting the abstract isn't the presenter or if there is more than one presenter, all correspondence will be sent to the person who submitted the abstract.

 

All presenters must register at the time of receiving their abstract acceptance

and pay the Conference registration fee.

 

Presentations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and mental health are particularly welcome.

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• We encourage abstract submissions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health. For these abstracts, first priority will be given to abstracts presented by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, followed by abstracts co-presented with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. Lower priority will be given to abstracts with no Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander authors. 

• For these abstract submissions, up to an additional 300 words will be permitted to outline the Aboriginal Governance structures used to ensure that Indigenous data sovereignty principles were adhered to in the research or program development and that the processes were culturally appropriate.

 

We encourage submitters to think about the story they are trying to relay, and how they will make the presentation dynamic to keep the audience engaged.

 

Abstracts should be submitted as a response to the following questions (maximum of 300 words):​

• What is the problem/issue that requires action? [Context and Aim]

• What do we know or have we learned to address this problem/issue, and how has this finding been derived? [Methods and Analysis]

• How has this been used in practice? [Outcomes]

• What actions should we take in the future to address the problem/issue? [Future actions]

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Conference Objectives

 

The objectives of the conference are to:​

• Raise the profile of preventive mental health and mental health promotion in Australia and support the continued growth and development of these fields.

• Build leadership and momentum for collective change.

• Showcase evidence-based and evidence-informed approaches to promotion and prevention in everyday settings and communities.

• Centre the voices of people with lived and living experience of mental ill-health, their carers, and the broader community in mental health promotion and preventive mental health.

• Promote multi-disciplinary collaboration between people in mental health, public health, and other sectors, particularly those working in research, practice, and policy development.

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Target Audience

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The target audience for this conference includes the following groups:​

• Leaders and decision makers working in State/Territory and Federal government mental health commissions, health departments and statutory bodies such as VicHealth, Preventive Health SA, Health and Wellbeing Queensland, and Health Way.

• People with lived and living experience of mental ill-health and those who love and care for them.

• Practitioners, researchers, advocates, and peer workers working in settings that have a role to play in mental health promotion and preventive mental health.

 

Conference Sub-themes​

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We welcome submission of abstracts for presentations relevant to one or more of the Conference sub-themes: ​

• Driving population-wide improvements in mental wellbeing through community awareness, engagement and co-design at local and national levels.

• Promoting and integrating First Nations knowledge and practices to strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.

• Achieving equity in mental health promotion and prevention by eliminating disparities across diverse communities.

• Creating mentally healthy settings and communities across the lifespan.

• Applying collective advocacy and action to drive systemic and social change beyond the status quo.

• Fostering partnerships, collaboration and coordination across communities, sectors, workforces and other stakeholders to enable a unified approach to mental health promotion and prevention.

• Laying the foundations for a strong mental health promotion and prevention system by building a skilled, sustainable workforce and strengthening key enabling systems.

• Moving from rhetoric to action in addressing social and commercial determinants, planetary health, and other major challenges in mental health promotion and prevention

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Presentation Types

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Long Oral Presentation (Face-to-face and Pre-recorded)​:

Presenters have a total of 10 minutes to present. Abstract submitted must have clear learning objectives and outcomes. There may be time at the conclusion of the session for audience questions.

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Rapid-Fire Presentation (Face-to-face and Pre-recorded)​:

Presenters have a total of 6 minutes presentation time using up to 6 PowerPoint slides. The title slide, conflict of interest, and reference slide are not included in your 6-slide limit. There may be time at the conclusion of the session for audience questions.

 

Conversation Starter Presentation (Face-to-face and Pre-recorded)​:

Presenters have a total of 3 minutes presentation time using up to 4 PowerPoint slides. The title slide, conflict of interest, and reference slide are not included in your 4-slide limit. There may be time at the conclusion of the session for audience questions.

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Tabletop Presentation (Face-to-face only)​:

Tabletop presentations act as a pathway for networking and sharing of information directly in an interactive setting. These are particularly suited to presenters talking about their on-the-ground experiences and for sharing and demonstrating the resources that they use. Presenters have 5 minutes to present and 5 minutes to interact with the 9 other people on their table. Once the time is up, the presenter will move to the next table and repeat their presentation, with each presenter presenting to several tables during the session. 

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Whilst every effort will be made to accept an abstract for the nominated presentation format, the Scientific Advisory Committee reserves the right to allocate a different presentation type if appropriate.

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Abstract review, selection and notification

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• All abstracts are submitted for peer-review. 

• Every effort is made to accept abstracts for the presentation type submitted. However, due to limited space a different abstract type may be offered than what was submitted.

• The contact person for each abstract will be notified of the outcome of their abstract submission via email mid November.

• Please note, concurrent sessions will only be available to delegates at the venue.

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Abstract submissions closed on Friday 17 October 2025 at 11.59pm AEDT.

Results of the review process will be sent to the Submission Contact mid November 2025.