The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced $65.2 million in funding over 5 years for 17 Australian Laureate Fellowships, including three Academy Fellows – Professor Felicity Meakins, Professor Tiffany Morrison and Professor Julie Henry. Professor Felicity Meakins Amplifying Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in Western Science with Language Professor Meakins aims to explore how Indigenous languages encode ecological…
Wednesday 30 July 2025 | Canberra The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia convened a Policy Roundtable exploring how integrated government data can support more effective, efficient policy development and the barriers to use and equitable access. The invitation only Roundtable connected researchers and other data users with funders and data custodians in government…
The Academy congratulates Dr Beverley Kingston AM FASSA and Professor Skye McDonald AO FASSA, who were both recognised in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List. Professor Skye McDonald was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to clinical neuropsychology, and to research into social cognition disorders after traumatic brain injury.…
Medicine on a Larger Scale: Global Histories of Social Medicine Edited by Warwick Anderson, Anne Kveim Lie and Jeremy A. Greene The book includes separate chapters by him and Hans Pols FAHA FASSA FRSN. This groundbreaking collection draws together case studies of social medicine in the Global South, radically shifting our understanding of social science…
Social Science Week is set to be bigger and more engaging than ever before with the addition in 2025 of Spark Grants. With support of the amazing SSW sponsors, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is offering grants of up to $1,000 to support engaging social sciences week events and activities across the…
On Wednesday 28 November, 2025, Immediate Past President Professor Richard Holden FES FASSA and Nobel Laureate and former Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University Professor Brian Schmidt AC FAA FTSE addressed the National Press Club on the topic ‘Securing Australia’s Sovereign Research Capability’.
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia’s Federal Election Series holds up a mirror to Australia’s evolving democratic system and the unique electoral landscape resulting from compulsory voting and preferential ballots. By convening leading researchers and political practitioners, the Academy has helped foster a collaborative space for in-depth analysis of the past 10 Federal elections, from 1996…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has deep concerns about the US Government’s moves to place conditions on and withdraw funding from collaborative international research activities. Academy President Professor Kate Darian-Smith FASSA said that the move could create significant challenges, with potentially negative consequences for both Australia and the US in bilateral and…
Friday 21 March 2025 | Canberra The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia convened a Policy Roundtable with the Australian Centre for Evaluation (ACE) on the topic of Advancing policy and program evaluation in Australian Government. The invitation only Roundtable connected research, government and industry stakeholders to explore how evaluation can support better policy…
‘Our goal is to better understand the world around and within us’ – Academy attends the 3rd General Assembly of the International Science Council in Muscat, Oman. The Academy’s international engagements for 2025 is off to a strong start with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration at the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue and the 3rd General…
The Academy’s International Committee Chair Professor Adam Possamai, and International Director Claire Rioult joined a delegation of nine representatives from Australian learned academies and university networks on a visit to French Polynesia arranged by the Embassy of France to Australia on 6 – 7 February. The delegation visited world-class research and higher education centres in…
Future Cities Making: Mission-oriented Research for Urban Sustainability Transitions in Australia Edited by Niki Frantzeskaki, Magnus Moglia, Peter Newton, Deo Prasad and Melissa Pineda Pinto This open access book describes the complex dynamics that coevolve in cities and from cities, to inform agendas for urban research and urban policy with a view to future city…
On 6 November 2024, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia’s Victorian Branch hosted a panel session on The Future of Higher Education. Featuring panellists Professor Greg Bamber FASSA, Dr Alison Barnes, Professor Allan Fels AO FASSA and Professor Jenny Lewis FASSA, the event sparked lively discussions about the challenges and opportunities facing Australian…
Stan Grant is talking to his country in a new way. In his most poetic and inspiring work yet, he offers a means of moving beyond the binaries and embracing a path to peace and forgiveness, rooted in the Wiradjuri spiritual practice of Yindyamarra – deep silence and respect. Murriyang, in part Grant’s response to the…
Academy Fellows recognised with 2025 Order of Australia honours
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia hosted the 2024 Shape the Nation Lecture on 28 November at The University of Western Australia, featuring Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM FAA FTSE. In what was her final public lecture as Chief Scientist, Dr Foley presented The Secret Sauce to a Better Australia,…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Workshops Program grants. Over $70,000 has been allocated to eight teams of researchers to host multidisciplinary workshops to develop innovative approaches, foster network connections and tackle critical issues in national research and policy. The funded workshops will bring…
Shaping Australia’s policy and future: Academy announces 20 distinguished social science leaders as 2024 Fellows The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has announced the election of 20 new Fellows. These scholars have made outstanding contributions across a diverse range of fields, including early childhood mental health, gender equity, Indigenous studies and economic policy. Each year,…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is proud to announce that its Geography education resource Water in the World has won the Not-for-profit Generated Resource category at the 2024 Australian Geography Teachers Association (AGTA) Awards. The awards, held during the 2024 AGTA conference in Darwin on 3 October, recognise outstanding achievements in the creation of educational materials…
The Politics of Gender Equality: Australian Lessons in an Uncertain World This open access book provides the first in-depth study of the development of federal gender equality politics and policy in Australia from the 1970s to the present day. Australia has a history of gender equality innovation, including granting women’s suffrage long before equivalent countries.…
Edited By Jaime García-Iglesias, Maurice Nagington, Peter Aggleton This book explores the relationship between COVID-19 and AIDS. It considers both how the earlier HIV pandemic informed our engagement with COVID-19, as well as the ways in which COVID-19 has changed how we remember and experience AIDS. Individual sections focus on sexual and intimate relationships, inequalities and injustice, the…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has announced the winners of the 2024 Paul Bourke Awards, recognising four of the nation’s most exceptional early-career researchers in the social sciences. Academy President Professor Richard Holden congratulated the awardees for their impactful contributions across diverse disciplines and the role their work plays in advancing our…
Ross Garnaut A new path for Australia, by eminent economist and author of the bestselling Superpower Could Australia become a full-employment, renewable-energy superpower? Ross Garnaut says yes, and it starts with taxing carbon. A levy on the big polluters will help fund Australia to become a carbon-free energy giant, lower the cost of living and…
Alan Petersen From SARS to Zika, and Ebola to COVID-19, epidemics and pandemics have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Each outbreak presents new challenges but the responses are often similar. This important book by Academy Fellow Professor Alan Petersen explores the dimensions, dynamics and implications of emerging pandemic societies. Drawing on ideas from sociology…