Bursary

On behalf of the team at Suicide Prevention Australia, thank you for your interest in receiving financial support (a bursary) to attend the National Suicide Prevention Conference 2025 (NSPC) from Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 May, Perth Convention Centre.

Suicide Prevention Australia values the insights of people with lived/living experience of suicide*, and the important contributions they make to discussions and activities that involve suicide prevention. We understand that there are many barriers that can make it hard for some people to attend the conference and bursary funding can assist individuals with a lived/living experience of suicide to participate.

*For eligibility, we define a lived/living experience of suicide as: having experienced suicidal thoughts, survived a suicide attempt, cared for someone through suicidal crisis, or been bereaved by suicide. We know that many people with a lived experience of suicide also identify as mental health consumers and/or carers.

Please note that bursary funding is not available two years in a row. If you received a bursary to attend the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference in Adelaide, please do not proceed with your application.  Thank you for understanding our approach to equity.

We understand that the content discussed in these pages may be distressing. If you feel you need support, please contact:

• Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours/7 days), or
• Chat to a crisis supporter via text message on 0477 13 11 14 (6pm – midnight AEDT) or
• Online at lifeline.org.au  (7pm – midnight AEDT)

Am I ready to attend the conference?

Please think carefully about the potential impact of being among 700+ people, most of whom will be talking about suicide in some context, such as researchers, academics, and service providers, as well as people who have a lived/living experience of suicide.

For some attendees, the added layer of being away from home and their normal day-to-day routines and support structures may sometimes contribute to distress. This can be even more challenging after spending all day in a conference and then returning to a hotel room alone. Connecting with people socially is important.  On the other hand, some people find attending a conference to be overwhelming, and may choose to spend time alone to reflect at the end of each day.

We recommend reviewing these additional resources as you consider your readiness:

A Guide to Self-Care

and

Guidelines for talking safely about suicide.

 Eligibility criteria

Provision of bursaries is completely dependent on Suicide Prevention Australia receiving bursary funding from state and territory governments and other sponsors. The conference organisers cannot guarantee the availability of bursary funds for the 2025 National Suicide Prevention Conference.

If funding is available, there are usually many more applications for bursaries than there are funds.

For this reason, bursary applicants must apply for a bursary.

The eligibility criteria includes the following:

• Have a lived/living experience of suicide
• Face financial constraints that prevent you attending National Suicide Prevention Conference without a bursary
• Not have received a bursary for the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference
• Be able to attend all three days of the conference (20 – 22 May 2025)
• Be aged 18 years or older
• Be an Australian resident.
• You must complete the post-conference survey.

When is my application due?

Bursary applications must be received either online or via email no later than 8.00pm AEST (Sydney time) on 24 October 2024.

We will notify you of the outcome of your application via email early 2025.

What does a bursary cover?

The bursary is a contribution towards the expenses required to attend the conference. This can include flights, accommodation and/or registration. However, applicants may not require all three.

You will be asked to indicate if you require a full or partial bursary in your application.  Please note, if you do not indicate the elements of the bursary that you require, we may consider your application incomplete.

Up to four nights’ accommodation and breakfast will be included – check-in Monday 19 May, check out Thursday 22 May 2025. Any additional nights will be at your expense.

Meals served during the conference include morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and the conference dinner on Wednesday 21 May 2025 will be covered in the bursary. Bursaries do not cover personal expenses such as costs associated with dry cleaning, room service, pay TV, movie hire, mini-bar, tips or meals that are not included as part of the conference.

If your bursary application is successful, Suicide Prevention Australia’s travel partner will liaise with you before securing desired flight times and dates. Please note unless an airline changes your flight, your bursary does not cover any expenses occurred due to changing flight times and dates.

What will you ask me?

We will ask questions to help the selection panel understand your reasons for wanting to attend the conference, and what makes it difficult for you to attend without financial support. This is why you will be asked to provide some personal information.

Every question is important and will assist bursary funders to ensure there is equity across different communities, and who receives bursaries. The more information you share with us about your need for a bursary, the more informed decision the selection panel can make. The content of your answers is the most important, not how well you write. However, you should only share information that you are comfortable sharing.

We acknowledge that completing this online form can be difficult for some people. If you feel like you may need some guidance, we recommend reaching out to someone in your network to help you to complete the application.

Starting the application

We encourage you to complete your application in one sitting. Some questions will require open-ended answers, so you may want to consider typing your answers into a Microsoft Word document first and then copying and pasting them into the application.  Technology is not always 100% reliable.

To give you an idea of some of the questions on the application, below are a few of the questions.

Why is attending this conference important to you? (100-200 words or less)

What are the financial constraints you face that prevent you attending NSPC without a bursary? (100-200 words or less)

How do you expect to use the learnings from the conference in your personal or professional life, or in your community? (100-200 words or less)

Important Information

If you would like to withdraw your application after you have submitted it, please contact ASN Events via email to jeffrey.c@asnevents.net.au

If your application is accepted and you receive a bursary to attend the National Suicide Prevention Conference 2025 but are no longer able to attend, please contact ASN Events immediately via email to jeffrey.c@asnevents.net.au. This will allow another bursary applicant to attend the conference instead.

If you will require accessibility or support assistance at the National Suicide Prevention Conference 2025, please let us know so that we can arrange reasonable adjustments.  Please inform ASN Events immediately via email jeffrey.c@asnevents.net.au

Please note:  the information you provide in your application may be shared with the selection panel and the bursary funding body throughout the shortlisting process.

Please view the Suicide Prevention Australia Privacy Statement for more information.

To learn more about Suicide Prevention Australia and our role as the peak body for the suicide prevention sector, please visit our website.

To begin your application  2025 BURSARY APPLICATION FORM