OCHRe News
25 August 2025
Dear OCHRe Members and Friends
We wish you a safe and happy weekend. If you have news you would like to share, please send it through to the team at ochre@uq.edu.au by Wednesday 2pm AEST.
OCHRe Central Hub www.ochrenetwork.org
News:
Expression of Interest – OCHRe Convocation Short Presentation (First Nations HDR students)
The Convocation Working Group is calling for EOIs for Short Presentations from First Nations students currently enrolled in a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) in health.
Context: OCHRe is holding its annual Convocation in Brisbane on the 29th & 30th October 2025 with the Theme | Voices of Country: Research, Resilience and Renewal. On Thursday 30th October there will be a session for HDRs to do a 3-minute presentation on their HDR Thesis.
Date: Thursday 30th October 2025
Session time: 10.10am – 10.40am
Rules: You must be currently enrolled in an HDR in an Australian University. You will have 3 minutes only for your presentation. You can only use one power point slide that is a static slide. Hence, you cannot add to the slide as you are presenting with images, graphs etc.
Assessment: A panel will assess each EOI and inform you if your EOI has been accepted by Thursday 4th September 2025.
Prize: A panel will assess each presentation. The First prize will be awarded $1,000 and Second prize, $500.
Note: Unfortunatley, OCHRe will not be able to provide funds for travel and accommodation expenses.
Closing Date: Monday 1st September 2025
Forms available to download from NEWS main page or request an application form, please email ochre@uq.edu.au.
Please submit your completed EOI to ochre@uq.edu.au by the above closing date.
You can also find the application form on our website - Main news page
OCHRe Scholarships:
Maali Hub | Current Offers
Indigenous Early / Mid Career Researchers | Health Research Related Support Fund Item
The Maali Hub Indigenous EMCR Health Research Related Support Fund is available to support Early to Mid-Career Researchers with project costs, health research related training, international and national conferences.
This is a continuous Open Round which opened on 1 March 2025 and closes on 30 November 2025.
Research support funding offered includes:
· $10,000 Research support costs
· $5,000 Training
· $5,000 International conference attendance
· $2,500 National conference attendance
Please submit your application to maalihub@ecu.edu.au.
NEXGEN Hub | Current Offers
Health Research Experience Scholarships Program 2025
Round 2 Applications opened on 9 March 2025
NEXGEN are pleased to announce the launch of Health Research Experience Scholarships Program (Round 2) 2025 as part of our OCHRe NEXGEN Hub.
For this round, NEXGEN Hub will offer 12 Health Research Experience Scholarships Program (Scholarships) valued at $10,000 each. These Scholarships will provide opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders enrolled in an undergraduate degree (including Honours) or a postgraduate coursework program, to gain or enhance their research experience and skills.
The offer will be offered exclusively to Investigators (CIs and AIs) named on the NHMRC Targeted Call for Research application (APP 2005944: OCHRe).
This is a continuous Open Round.
Opened | 9 March 2025
Closes | 30 September 2025 or when all Scholarships have been awarded, whichever is the sooner.
Contact | nexgen@sph.uq.edu.au
For further information and application forms for both offers, see OCHRe Website - https://www.ochrenetwork.org/scholarships
Scholarships & Bursaries:
www.ochrenetwork.org/opportunities
Smoking and Vaping Cessation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
UoN PhD Scholarship Opportunity for an Indigenous Candidate
This Indigenous-led national research project evaluates a mailed-out smoking and vaping cessation intervention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and adults.
Exciting PhD Opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students.
Are you an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student passionate about health equity, tobacco control, and making a real-world impact in your community?
Join Professor Michelle Kennedy and her research team at the University of Newcastle to undertake a fully funded PhD as part of the Which Way? Quit Pack project, the largest national smoking and vaping cessation trial ever conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Please send the email expressing interest to Emily.Princehorn@newcastle.edu.au by 5pm on 31 August 2025.
For more information click here
Indigenous Health Equity Unit, Onemda – In Partnership with Nairm Marr Djambana
PhD Scholarship Opportunity for an Indigenous Candidate
The Indigenous Health Equity Unit in partnership with Nairm Marr Djambana, is offering a fully funded PhD scholarship for an Indigenous student to undertake a community-led research project that supports the development and implementation of an evaluation framework for Aboriginal community programs. This research project will co-develop an evidence-informed evaluation framework for Nairm Marr Djambana, a gathering place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Frankston, Victoria, focussing on cultural identity, social and emotional wellbeing, and community self-determination.
Base Stipend: $52,300 per annum (2025 rate and tax-free if full time study)
Project Top-Up: $20,000 per annum
Relocation allowance: $2,000 for students moving from States or Territories other than Victoria.
For more information, contact Professor Cath Chamberlain on cacham@unimelb.edu.au or Warwick Padgham on padghamw@unimelb.edu.au
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Centres and Institutes, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
UoM PhD Scholarship Opportunity
Fostering a healthy start to life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Relighting the Firesticks is a community-based participatory research project. This research is based on our learnings and evidence from the pilot project, Healing the Past by Nurturing the Future (HPNF), and the scale up, Replanting the Birthing Tree (RBT) project.
For more information click here OR contact Professor Cath Chamberlain on cacham@unimelb.edu.au
Auora Education Foundation
First Nations Cancer Scholarship
A new generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in cancer.
Valued at $120,000 a year, these will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduate students, health professionals, and early-career researchers (ECRs) to undertake full-time postgraduate study (graduate certificate, master’s or PhD) or research in a cancer-related field. It's funded by the Australian Government through Cancer Australia and established by the Aurora Education Foundation and Cancer Australia.
Closes: 12th Sept 2025
For further information click here: https://aurorafoundation.com.au/our-work/indigenous-pathways-portal/scholarships/first-nations-cancer-scholarship/
Auora Internship Program | Paid internships that build your career and your impact
Are you a First Nations university student or graduate looking to take the next step in your career?
The Aurora Internship Program offers paid placements with purpose – giving you the chance to gain experience, grow your confidence, and contribute to work that matters.
Interns are placed in organisations working to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. From grassroots nonprofits to research institutes, government, and the private sector. You don’t need to have it all figured out, just bring your curiosity, commitment, and lived experience.
APPLY NOW OR LEARN MORE AT: aurorafoundation.com.au
Scan the QR code for full program details and how to apply.
(And if you’re unsure or have questions, the Aurora team is here to help.)
Webinars, Workshops and
Professional Development
Lowitja Institute
Online Courses
These online courses were developed to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers. They’re also highly valuable for non-Indigenous people working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and research sectors.
The following online courses are available:
Indigenous Data Sovereignty
Introduction to Ethics in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research
Community data literacy: Foundations
Introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research
Introduction to Indigenous Knowledge Translation
Introduction to Evaluation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Contexts
For more information and to apply click here.
University of Sydney | Central Sydney (Patyegarang) Precinct
Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion
Designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, our Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion aims to improve Indigenous health at a community level. This program will give you the knowledge and skills to identify community needs, develop a plan of action and execute it.
Our program is for Indigenous health practitioners who already have a role in promoting the health of their communities or hold equivalent qualifications. It is designed to give practitioners skills they need to help prevent illness and reduce the harms in the community.
For more information and to apply click here.
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CONFERENCES 2025
10th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium
8 – 9 October | Mparntwe (Alice Springs)
Research from the heart – shaping rural & remote health futures’
If you have research findings to share, this is your opportunity to contribute to a movement dedicated to improving rural and remote health in Australia.
Presentation Opportunities: Find the Right Format for You
Indigenous Wellbeing Conference 2025
20 – 21 October | Meanjin (Brisbane) Walking Together, Flourishing Together: Pathways to Indigenous Wellbeing
Join us in Meanjin (Brisbane) as we share solutions to the most important wellbeing needs of all First Nations Australian, Māori and Pasifika people.
OCHRe Convocation
29 – 30 October | (Meanjin) Brisbane
Voices of Country: Research, Resilience and Renewal
REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN
Indigenous Allied Health Australia
24 – 26 November | Sunshine Coast
Tradition to Transformation: Leading in Allied Health
For more information and to register, click here.
Australian Indigenous Doctors Association
27 – 29 November
For more information, click AIDA 2025 Conference
November 18th World Congress on Public Health
6-9 September 2026 | South Africa
Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability
For more information, click here
CONFERENCES 2026
World Indigenous Cancer Conference | 20-24 April 2026 | Rotorua, Aotearoa, New Zealand
For more information, click here
18th World Congress on Public Health | 6-9 September 2026 | South Africa
Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion, and Sustainability
Dor more information, click here
GRANT CONNECT
All Australian Government grant opportunities are advertised on Grant Connect including NHMRC, MRFF, ARC and many other grants. Below are some current opportunities.
For current list of all grants on Grant Connect click here.
MRFF 2022 Frontier Health and Medical Research Grant Opportunity
This grant opportunity offers funding to support medical research and medical innovation programs of research that deliver a ‘moonshot’ by creating a treatment for a currently serious and incurable health condition, through a series of linked projects. The program of research can propose to develop novel health technologies and/or re-purpose existing health technologies in a novel way.
We expect that expressions of interest will close on 31 March 2026, with the last grants awarded by 30 June 2027.
Total Amount Available (AUD): $400,000,000
Estimated Grant Value (AUD): $25,000,000
For further information, click here.
National Health and Medical Research Council
Partnership Projects – 2025
Partnership Projects will support collaborations, within the Australian context, that translate research evidence into health policy and health practice, to improve health services and processes
Minimum data closes at 17:00 ACT local time on the following dates:
PRC3 – 12 November 2025
For further information, click here.
ALIGN (Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics) & The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
Indigenous Visiting Research Fellowship
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) and The Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics (ALIGN) have collaborated to offer an excellent opportunity for an Indigenous Visiting Research Fellow. This opportunity will support an Indigenous researcher using advanced genomics to improve diagnostic outcomes for people with suspected genetic immune disease. Flexible funding of up to $300,000 over two years is available.
Fellows can range from PhD students who have completed their confirmation of candidature, through to post-graduate, mid-career researchers. Clinicians with an interest in research are also welcome to apply.
Applications for this program opened May 2025 and are reviewed on a rolling basis, so you may apply at any time.
Applications close: October 2025
For further information, view the website here OR scan the QR code
Employment
The University of Queensland –
UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health
Research Project Officer – Indigenous Health (Identified s25)
The UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health is seeking two full-time (or negotiable part-time) team members to join us through to June 2027, based in our Toowong office.
These positions are open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates and will work across either the Young, Deadly, Free project or the GLOWS project. Both roles focus on engaging with communities, collecting data, and supporting sexual health and wellbeing initiatives in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.
Closing Date: 9 September 2025 at 11:00pm AEST
The Kids Research Institute Australia
Project Manager, Precision Medicine
The Kids Research Institute Australia are recruiting a project manager (based in NSW) for the Aboriginal Precision Medicine project.
The project manager will with the team to co-design and implement an Aboriginal-led precision medicine program across the state. The role requires working closely with the Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics (ALIGN) team and a wide range of stakeholders, to coordinate and manage the project with a specific focus on facilitating research priorities, health service implementation, and capacity building initiatives.
For more information about the role please contact: Johanna Barclay, General Manager, Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics
Contact Email: Johanna.barclay@thekids.org.au
Closing Date: 3 September 2025 - The Kids Research Institute reserve the right to hire prior to the closing date.
For full position description, click here
University of Notre Dame Broome Campus
Positions available in Healthcare Education
Program Co-ordinator (Nursing)
Trainer and Assessor (Nursing)
Student Support Officer
For further information, click here
