Recent Winners (2026)

Madeleine Perrett (Adelaide University)

Reimagining Federalism: Indigenous Aspirations for Political Empowerment and Structural Reform in Australia ($6000)

This PhD examines what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples identify as necessary for genuine political empowerment and structural reform in Australia. Drawing on Indigenous voices, it identifies three key aspirations and analyses how these are constrained by Australia’s legal and political system. The research then critiques conventional federal theory, highlighting its limits in accommodating Indigenous Peoples and Nations. Finally, the thesis evaluates whether treaty federalism offers a viable pathway for recognising Indigenous political authority and supporting self-determination within the Australian state. This research informs reform debates that often exclude Indigenous perspectives, limiting the effectiveness and legitimacy of structural change.

Madeleine intends to use the scholarship to cover on-going living costs incurred while writing up the final chapters of her thesis 2026.

Bethany Treglown (Flinders University)

Environmental drivers and who eats who? Identifying driving forces of change that destabilize biological communities and trophic structure within temperate wetlands ($6000)

A key aspect of my research investigates how water changes in a freshwater wetland environment influence biological communities, their food resources and feeding habits. There are knowledge gaps around how hydrological changes influence the dynamic relationships between water, habitat, biological communities and trophic structure. My project investigates ecological interactions between environmental factors (including hydrology), biological communities, and trophic structure at three unique wetlands in South Australia. Using a suite of field surveys and laboratory methods, this project investigates environmental and biological community changes, as well as food web structure, across different wetland types in South Australia giving insight into biological community and trophic responses in a changing climate.

Bethany intends to use the $6000 to cover costs of a laptop to manage large data sets and for petrol.

Isabelle Slattery (Flinders University)

Second-hand Suffering: Investigating Secondary Traumatisation via the Events we Learn About Happening to Our Loved Ones ($6000)

Isabelle’s PhD investigates secondary traumatisation, a form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that can develop after learning about traumatic events happening to a close loved one. For example, if you learned your partner was in a car accident, you yourself might experience intrusive images of the accident, become fearful of driving, or start to avoid certain roads—all symptoms of PTSD—even though you weren’t there, and the accident didn’t happen to you. However, because research has mainly focused on firsthand trauma, such as the events that happen directly to us, we know little about these second-hand learned experiences. Isabelle’s thesis explores how common secondary traumatisation is, the symptoms people experience, what make these symptoms worse, and whether secondary traumatisation can be studied in a lab setting.

Isabelle intends to use the scholarship to support her living costs while completing the final writing stage of her Clinical PhD thesis.

Patience Castleton (Adelaide University)

Understanding the sexual and reproductive health needs of men from migrant and/or refugee backgrounds in Australia ($4178)

Australian sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care services lack appropriate, tailored support for men from refugee and migrant backgrounds, which inhibits their abilities to seek appropriate help and creates unfair gender norms and stereotypes around SRH. By better understanding the gaps in our current SRH care approaches and gaining insight into the experiences both consumers and providers have in migrant men’s SRH care, we will be able to develop greater SRH care opportunities. This, therefore, will help improve SRH outcomes for men from refugee and migrant backgrounds, alleviating the burden of SRH-related illness on healthcare services and communities.

Patience intends to use the funding to attend the World Congress in Public Health in South Africa.

Rebecca Hicks (Adelaide University)

Listening with Country/place: How relationships to Country/place shape South Australian educator dispositions, pedagogies, and ethical practice with consideration for applications within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land.($3000)

This project explores how teachers in South Australia develop meaningful relationships with place/Country while living and teaching on unceded Aboriginal land. The research investigates how educators navigate complex feelings that may arise including belonging, responsibility, guilt, grief and care, and how the inner work around Aboriginal-settler relations shapes their teaching. Through surveys, interviews, yarns and deep mapping with Adnyamathanha custodians, settlers and teachers, I seek to understand how deeper, conscious, respectful relationships with place/Country support more culturally responsive and relational forms of education and contribute to decolonising education.

Rebecca will use the funds for additional field work to strengthen relationships with Adnyamathanha research participants..

Lucy Macourt (Adelaide University)

Preparing the Next Generation of Instrumental Teachers: An investigation of Australian tertiary level instrumental pedagogy training. ($3000)

Music education is increasingly central to the careers of classically trained performers, yet formal pedagogical training remains underexamined in Australia and internationally. Many performers struggle to access sufficient preparation in instrumental teaching, often resulting in low confidence that may affect student outcomes—highlighting the need for more robust training. Despite this, research on how pedagogy is integrated into tertiary programs is limited. This thesis examines how Australian universities embed pedagogy within performance degrees, analysing curriculum design and institutional responses. It also explores the perspectives of students, graduates, and lecturers, and investigates how emerging performers engage with and interpret pedagogy-related work.

Lucy will use the scholarship towards travel costs to conference in Canada.

Sadie Hasan (Adelaide University)

Gut Microbiome and Tumour Microenvironment Interactions in Colorectal Cancer: Towards Next-Generation Cancer Prevention and Treatment Strategies. ($3000)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) rates are increasing, especially in younger people, making novel prevention and treatment strategies crucial. Our lab has recently discovered a bacterial biomarker of cancer in mouse models and patient samples. Building on this, we aim to engineer a probiotic ‘good’ bacterium that can restore a healthy gut environment and potentially prevent cancer from developing. Additionally, we investigate how CRC tumours avoid being detected by the immune system – a key reason why some treatments fail. By linking gut health to immune function, this project aims to improve both the prevention and treatment of CRC ‘

Sadie will use the funds to cover living costs in the period of final write up.

Rita Lindsay

Rita is in her second year of the Bachelor of Primary Education (Honours) and has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, with a GPA of 6.49 in her first year as an external student. Her commitment to education is strongly reflected in her extensive professional contribution to the Meningie Area School’s Ngarrindjeri Language Program, where she has been involved for over a decade. In addition to her ongoing work supporting language learning, Rita has played a key role in developing and delivering bespoke SACE Stage 1 and 2 curriculum, ensuring students at Meningie Area School can continue their Ngarrindjeri language studies through to the completion of secondary schooling. Her application clearly reflects her dedication to strengthening cultural knowledge, supporting her community and shaping meaningful learning pathways for future generations. See: https://meningieas.sa.edu.au/ngarrindjeri-language-program/