Don’t miss out! Submit your abstract by 15 October 2025
The Inaugural ANZ Moral Injury Conference provides a forum that allows us to discuss experiences, and review concepts and ideas. The Organising Committee will be seeking to create a program that addresses a spread of issues and professional experiences that attract a broad discipline of attendees. The ANZ Moral Injury Conference will comprise three key streams, and you are invited to submit an abstract for inclusion into the program.
Key Dates
15 June 2025 | Call for Abstracts and registration launch |
15 October 2025 | Call for Abstracts close |
15 October – 1 November 2025 | Abstract review |
Early November 2025 | Program Release |
15 December 2025 | Early Bird Registration Deadline |
21 May 2026 | Conference Begins |
*Please consider that no extension in this deadline is foreseen.
Moral injury has been recognised as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual syndrome which arises when individuals are exposed to and/or impacted by events or actions that deeply conflict with their moral or ethical beliefs. Once recognised primarily in military veterans, we now understand that moral injury affects a wide range of professionals — police, paramedics, firefighters, doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and others on the frontline of human suffering.
Its impact can be devastating and enduring — marked by guilt, shame, betrayal, anger, and moral disorientation. Left unaddressed, moral injury can erode identity, trust, and hope, and significantly increase the risk of physical, psychological, social and spiritual harm.
ANZMIC will be a landmark event bringing together global and national experts to examine the latest research, clinical frameworks, lived experience insights, and treatment approaches. From identifying the signs to supporting long-term recovery, the program will span key aspects of moral injury across professions and systems.
This conference is essential for professionals in healthcare, emergency services, chaplaincy, psychology, academia, defence, law, and any field where moral complexity and trauma intersect.
Join us as we take a critical step forward in recognising, understanding, and responding to moral injury — towards a path of meaningful recovery.
Theme 1: “Recognition: Moral Injury among High-Risk Professions”
Once recognised primarily in military veterans, we now understand that moral injury affects a wide range of professionals including police, paramedics, firefighters, doctors, psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, lawyers, chaplains, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and other carers on the frontline of human suffering where moral complexity and trauma intersect. This theme is relevant for all emergency personnel, health and social care professionals and more.
Theme 2 “Recognition: Moral Injury Stressors within Organisations”
Organisations, both government and non-government, face the challenge of moral injury potentially impacting their employees and volunteers. Recognising and acknowledging moral injury can affect an organisation’s workforce with regard to wellbeing and subsequent organisational productivity. This theme will be important to assist health care facilities, schools, universities, military forces, public service personnel, veterans, churches and other non-government organisations concerning the operational stressors which can lead to moral injury.
Theme 3: “Recovery: Moral Injury Treatment Approaches”
Over the last decade a number of treatment and rehabilitation approaches have been developed nationally and internationally. This theme is an opportunity to highlight different methods that can be utilised for addressing moral injury.
Theme 4: “Recovery: Moral Injury Risk – Personal and Institutional Leadership”
Organisationally, we need leaders and managers to ensure that our people are minimally exposed to potentially moral injurious events within institutional contexts. Whilst we are aware of the need to take responsibility for our own safety and wellbeing within our personal lives, leaders should mitigate against potential morally injurious events occurring within the workplace. This theme is relevant to individuals, leaders and all levels of management.
Standard Oral Presentation:
The duration of the oral presentations will be confirmed following the review process.
Poster Presentation:
The format of the poster presentations will be confirmed following the review process.
The final presentation type will be selected by the Abstract Reviewers. Abstract Reviewers reserve the right to reallocate your abstract which was accepted as a standard oral presentation to a poster presentation should this be required. You will be advised of this and given an opportunity to confirm your acceptance.
Please submit your abstract 350 words no later than 15 October 2025.
Acceptance & Presentation
Acceptance of your abstract does not include any financial support. All authors will be expected to pay for at least one day registration at the conference. Presentation length for presenting authors will be 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for Q&A. (Total of 20 Minutes). A digital version of the abstract booklet will be available on the conference website.
Peer Reviewed Published Papers
Authors can prepare a full paper for one of two journals associated with ANZMIC, namely the Journal of Military and Veteran’s Health (JMVH) or the Journal of Religion & Health (JORH).
JMVH : https://jmvh.org/authors/
JORH: https://www.springer.com/journal/10943/submission-guidelines
New Submission
- Log in to the Presentation Portal via the Conference Website. You will need to create an online account first – enter your email address and password.
- You will be taken to a screen from which the submission process starts. Please read the instructions on this screen carefully. You will need to update your details before you can submit your abstract.
- Submitting an abstract is a multi-step process. Each step asks several questions. Some questions are marked “required”, and you will not be able to complete your submission until these questions have been answered.
- If you stop part way through the process, your submission will be held in temporary storage until you return and complete all the questions. When you log in again you can click on your incomplete proposal and resume submission.
Make sure that you submit your abstract by agreeing to the Terms and Conditions before pressing the “submit” button, any abstracts left in ‘draft’ mode will not be submitted for review. You will receive a confirmation email for each successful abstract submitted. If you do not receive an email, log in again to check your abstract in “Edit Abstract/s”. Please note once you have submitted your abstract you cannot edit it again. However, you can leave your submission in “draft” mode and make changes up until the time you submit it.
Amending a Submission in “draft” mode
You may wish to change your answers to some of the questions on the submission form, or even change the abstract itself.
- Log in to the presentation portal, and click on the “Edit Abstract/s” tab.
- You will see a list of the abstracts that you have in draft mode or have submitted. Click on the “Edit” button next to the draft abstract you wish to change and submit.
- Amending an abstract is just the same as for the original submission process, except that the online form will be automatically completed with the answers that you provided previously. You don’t have to change an answer if you do not wish.
- When you reach the final ‘Submit’ step, click on the button stating that you “Agree to the Terms and Conditions” and click “Submit”. If this button is not available, look at the steps on the left-hand table and address the missing information that does not have a tick.
- Successful presenting authors will be required to pay at least a single day registration
- No funding is available to support presenters, unless communicated from the organisers
- The topic is relevant and important to the chosen theme
- Subject matter is original or innovative
Abstracts must conform to the requirements as outlined:
- Abstracts should be no more than 350 words
- Authors must submit a separate abstract for each presentation put forward for consideration
- Abstracts sent by fax or email will not be accepted
- Accepted abstracts will be available online exactly as submitted
- A biography of the presenting author must be entered at time of submission
- Abstracts, if accepted into the program will be published in the conference handbook exactly as submitted
- All presenters are required to be registered and paid to confirm their presentation slot
- Submissions for abstracts close at 11.59pm AEDT, 15 October 2025
Prior to the Conference
- All presenters must be registered.
- Prepare your PowerPoint presentation in 16:9 aspect ratio.
- Save your presentation to a USB for upload in the Speaker Preparation Room onsite.
- Please do not send your presentation to Leishman Associates prior to the Conference.
At the Conference
- Collect your name badge from the Registration Desk upon arrival.
- Check-in to the Speaker Preparation Room, prior to your scheduled session to ensure your presentation is uploaded and all presenter requirements have been satisfied. Your presentation must be uploaded at least 2 hours before your scheduled presentation time; this may mean the day before your presentation.
- If you have audio and/or video in your presentation, please ensure you have the files saved separately as embedding the media does not always include them in the PowerPoint file. This will allow the Technical Team to re-embed and/or change the format of the video onsite if needed.
- If you are using custom fonts not found in the standard system fonts, please use the “Embed fonts in file” feature found in Save As/tools/save options. This will ensure that your fonts travel with the PowerPoint file when saved.
- Please ensure the contents of your presentation including photos, data, graphs etc. are generated by yourself, referenced or the appropriate owner has granted you permission to include their work for educational purposes.
- It’s important to note that presentations cannot be uploaded in the plenary room. It is your responsibility to check that your presentation has been loaded and is displayed correctly prior to the commencement of your session.
Each room will be equipped with the following:
- Data projector
- Screen
- Microphone
- Lectern
- Laser pointer
- Laptop (presenter view)
- Wi-Fi access
If you require anything additional to the above, please email your request to lucy@laevents.com.au and we will endeavour to meet your request.
During your session
- Arrive in the session room 10 minutes before the start of your session to introduce yourself to the session chair.
- The Session Chair will introduce you and your presentation title, so there is no need for you to repeat this.
- The Session Chair will keep you on time.
- Each session room is equipped with a windows-based PC, data projection facility and speaker monitor. Be sure to test your presentation in the Speaker Preparation Room.
After the Conference
Your PowerPoint slides (PDF Format) will be posted on the conference website post-conference. You are required to give your permission for your presentation to be uploaded to the conference website.