Latest News ~ SSA Events ~ Career Centre ~ Member Contributions ~ Other Events

Welcome to the Latest Edition of SSA eNews

As we move into the second half of the year, there is much to share from across the SSA community. This edition brings together Society news, professional opportunities, member achievements, and updates that reflect the breadth and vitality of the statistical profession in Australia.

Preparations for ASC2025 continue to progress, with exciting developments already taking shape. If you are considering attending, now is an ideal time to explore the program and engage with early opportunities to participate.

We are also pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 Betty Allan Travel Award, supporting early career women and non-binary members working in statistics, data science, or AI. The award provides funding for travel to conferences or research visits that will enhance professional development.

In addition, we take this opportunity to advise members of the upcoming Annual General Meetings of the Australian Statistical Publishing Association Inc (ASPAI) and the Statistical Society of Australia Inc (SSAI), to be held — in that order — on 28 August 2025, from 1:00pm to 1:30pm AEST via Zoom.

We continue to encourage members to share their work, initiatives, or milestones for inclusion in future editions. SSA eNews provides a valuable platform to connect with peers, contribute to the community, and highlight the impact of statistics across diverse fields.

Thank you for your continued involvement in SSA. Together, we advance, support, and connect the statistical community.

Notice was given to members on 5 June 2025 that the Annual General meetings of the Australian Statistical Publishing Association Inc (ASPAI) and the Statistical Society of Australia Inc (SSAI) will be held – in that order – on 28 August 2025, from 1.00pm to 1.30pm AEST, via Zoom.

At the ASPAI AGM a special resolution to dissolve ASPAI will be put to members, and the email on 5 June provided the necessary 12 weeks’ notice of the tabling of this resolution.

The intention to dissolve ASPAI, with its functions to be undertaken jointly by SSA and NZSA, has been endorsed by both the SSA Executive Committee and Central Council and by the equivalent bodies in NZ.

The exact wording of the special resolution to dissolve ASPAI will be provided to members no later than 21 days prior to the AGMs and the meeting papers will provide the background to this resolution and explain how the functions of ASPAI are to be undertaken in future.

The AGMs will be followed by a short presentation (30-minutes) with the speaker and topic to be advised.

Teresa Dickinson, PSM

SSA Secretary

Join Us at ASC2025 – Abstract Submissions Now Open

Excitement is building for the Australian Statistical Conference 2025, and with registrations now open, it’s a great time to start planning your involvement. Visit www.asc2025.net to secure your spot, explore the evolving program, and find key details about the venue, schedule, and speakers.

We’re currently inviting abstract submissions for contributed talks and posters at both ASC2025 and the Statistical Education Symposium. Submissions are encouraged across all domains of statistics and data science — from methodological research and real-world applications to advances in teaching and communication.

The deadline for submissions is 15 June 2025, so don’t miss your opportunity to be part of this major event in the statistical calendar.

We look forward to seeing you there — as a speaker, presenter, or attendee.

ASC2025 Scholarship Applications – Opening 15 August!

The SSA is pleased to announce scholarship opportunities to support student and early-career statistician participation for SSA members, provided by our branches.

Applications Open: Friday, 15 August

Applications Close: Friday, 22 August

Results Announced: Friday, 29 August

Please note that most scholarships require applicants to have an accepted abstract, so don’t forget to submit yours by 15 June!

The Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) and ASC2025 Scientific Programme Committee are delighted to open nominations for the Horizon Lectures, to be given at ASC2025 in Perth, 1 - 5 December 2025. The Horizon Lectures aim to recognise emerging leaders in Australia’s statistics community and their contributions to advancing statistical practice across academia, government, and/or industry. Lectures will be awarded to mid-career statisticians working in any discipline who have made an impact within their field(s) of expertise and have demonstrated leadership in building capacity in statistical expertise within Australia.

Up to two Horizon Lectures will be awarded for presentation at ASC2025. All Lectures will be presented together as a plenary session to all conference delegates. Lectures can be on any area of statistics in line with the awardee’s expertise. Each awardee will receive up to $2,500 to cover conference and travel costs.

Nominations involve a written statement (up to 1,000 words) summarising how the nominee meets the award selection criteria. Nominees must be a member of the SSA and be employed as a statistician in Australia. Nominations must be supported by another member of the SSA.

Full details on eligibility, award selection criteria and submission are available in the nomination form. Nominations must be submitted by 5pm AEST, 30 June 2025 to asc2025@statsoc.org.au 

Late nominations will not be accepted.

Questions about the Horizon lectures should be sent to ASC2025 Scientific Committee at asc2025@statsoc.org.au

One of the most persistent challenges is the translation gap between data science and development teams. Data scientists typically build models in Python or R environments, while developers work in enterprise stacks like Java, .NET or ReactJS. This division creates natural communication barriers as teams operate with different tools, standards, workflows and technical vocabularies.

In today's data-driven world, charities recognise the importance of using data to guide their decisions and demonstrate their impact. However, many lack the resources to access the expertise needed to make sense of this data. Enter Statisticians for Society - a pro bono initiative that connects professional statisticians with charitable organisations, providing vital support at no cost.

Applications Now Open: 2025 Betty Allan Travel Award

The Betty Allan Travel Award supports early career women and non-binary statisticians or data scientists working in Australia, helping them pursue travel opportunities that will advance their careers — including conference attendance or professional visits, anywhere in the world.

This national award honours Frances Elizabeth (Betty) Allan, CSIRO’s first statistician, who made foundational contributions to Australian statistics before her career was cut short due to the gendered laws of her time.

Eligibility:

Open to early career women or non-binary members of SSA and/or CSIRO staff working or studying in statistics, data science, or AI in Australia. “Early career” is defined as up to 10 years active in the field, with allowances for career interruptions.

Deadline:

11 July 2025, 4:00 PM AEST

Travel can take place any time within 12 months of the award.

Apply now and tell us how this opportunity will support your career development.

Access Form

Submit to: contact@statsoc.org.au

For more detailed information please view our website.

For the first edition of the National Speaker Series, we heard from Dr Sarah Hunt, Senior Data Scientist at Canva. Sarah took us through her career journey, how the data team at her work is structured and how she uses experimental design to answer questions about new Canva features being tested. It was interesting to hear about the different data-related roles in her organisation and how they interact. I also enjoyed hearing how even answering seemingly simple research questions can become complex when the experiment takes place in a production environment. There was a lot of engagement from the 90+ attendees, with question time lasting as long as the talk itself.

Elena Tartaglia - Vice President

SSA Vic & Tas Council

Showcase Your Work in Our New Member Contributions Section

We’re excited to announce a new opportunity for our members to share their expertise, insights, and achievements with the wider Statistical Society of Australia community. The Member Contributions section in our e-newsletter is your platform to:

• Build a Stronger Community: Share your ideas and foster meaningful connections within the SSA network.
• Showcase Your Work: Highlight your research, articles, or professional achievements to inspire and inform fellow members.
• Amplify Your Impact: Gain recognition and visibility for your work among statisticians, data analysts, and industry leaders.

All submissions will be reviewed for potential inclusion in an upcoming edition of the newsletter. Whether you have groundbreaking research, a thought-provoking article, or news about recent accomplishments, we want to hear from you!

Join us for the second instalment of the SSA’s National Speaker Series, proudly hosted by the QLD Branch.

This upcoming session will explore statistical methods used to estimate the size of hidden and hard-to-reach populations in sensitive contexts. Drawing on real-world applications from Iran in areas such as HIV, reproductive health, and mental health, this talk will highlight both methodological approaches and the broader implications for public health research.

National Speaker Series Hosted by QLD Branch: Estimating Size of Hidden Populations in Sensitive Contexts: Applications in HIV, Reproductive Health, and Mental Health- Lessons from Iran

Date: 27 Jun 2025

Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: Online

Tips for Interview Success

Date: 19 Jun 2025

Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Location: Online

Take a Data Plot and Make It Better

Date: 20 Jun 2025

Time: 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Communicating Across Disciplines: A Workshop for Statisticians and Data Scientists

Date: 10 Jul 2025

Time: 1:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: Online

Everything That You Should Know About Quarto, But Did Not Know You Should Ask

Date: 11 Jul 2025

Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: In-person: University of Adelaide, Ingkarni Wardli (IW) Rm 5.57

Step-by-Step in Survey Weighting

Date: 14 Aug 2025 - 4 Sep 2025

Time: Weekly 1 hour meetings taking place Thursdays

Location: Online

Submit a Paper for ICOTS 12 — Brisbane, 12–17 July 2026

The 12th International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS 12) will be held for the first time in Australia, right in the heart of Brisbane from 12–17 July 2026. SSA members are strongly encouraged to propose a paper to feature in one of the ICOTS 12 Main Topics.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the global conversation on statistics education, spanning research, practice, and innovation in teaching and learning.

Important Dates

Due date for Main Topic paper proposals: 31 July 2025

Notification of outcome: 30 September 2025

Due date for contributed and other paper proposals desiring refereeing: 31 August 2025

Acceptance by: 30 September 2025

An optional refereeing process is available for all accepted papers. Refereed papers will be published in the official ICOTS 12 Proceedings.

Due date for papers requesting refereeing: 30 November 2025

Referee reports returned by: 31 January 2026

Additional due date for contributed papers not desiring refereeing: 31 January 2026

Final papers for Proceedings due: 30 April 2026

Visit the ICOTS 12 website to explore the Main Topics (under Scientific Programme) and access submission guidelines.

Whether you’re focused on research, practice, or pedagogy, we invite you to share your work and help shape the future of statistics education.

Celebrate 140 Years of the International Statistical Institute

This year marks a remarkable milestone for the International Statistical Institute (ISI) as it celebrates 140 years of global impact in statistics and data science. 

To commemorate this occasion, the ISI invites members, partners, and statistical professionals to a special anniversary webinar on 24 June 2025. The event will honour the Institute’s rich history, celebrate the achievements of the global statistical community, and explore the future of the discipline in an increasingly data-driven world.

Date: 24 June 2025

Time: 14:00–15:30 CEST

The 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings will be held from August 2-7, 2025 in Nashville, TN. SSA is a Friend of the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies, and our members might be interested in the following if attending the JSM:

Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) sponsored Invited Paper Session: Innovations at the Interface of Statistics, AI, and Real-World Evidence by COPSS Emerging Leader Award recipients, on Monday, August 4, 2:00-3:50 PM at CC-C104A, Music City Center. Speakers and Discussants include Abhirup Datta (Johns Hopkins University), Shu Yang (North Carolina State University), Jennifer Bobb (Kaiser Permanente Washington), and Anru Zhang, (Duke University).

COPSS Florence Nightingale David Award Lecture, Tuesday August 5, 2:00-3:50 PM at Dean Grand Ballroom A1, Music City Center. Katherine Ensor (Rice University) will deliver the COPSS F. N. David Award Lecture titled, “Brave New World: Fact or Fiction.” Scott Holan (University of Missouri/U.S. Census Bureau) will be a discussant.

COPSS Awards Ceremony and Distinguished Achievement Award, Wednesday August 6, 4:00-5:50 PM at CC-Dean Grand Ballroom B&C, Music City Center. James Robins (Harvard School of Public Health) will deliver the Distinguished Achievement Award and Lecture titled “My forty years toiling in the field of causal inference: Report of a great-grandfather.”

Podcast Feature: Dr Hadley Wickham on Designing the Tools That Shape Data Science

In this episode of the SSA Podcast, we’re joined by Dr Hadley Wickham, Chief Scientist at Posit and the driving force behind the Tidyverse — a suite of powerful R packages including dplyr and ggplot2. These tools have revolutionised how statisticians and data scientists work with data, enabling cleaner workflows, reproducible analysis, and impactful visualisations.

Out Now: July Issue of Significance Magazine

From the high-stakes world of Broadway investing to the cultural impact of Chinese astrology on marriage and birth rates, the July 2025 issue of Significance offers data-driven insights across a fascinating range of topics. You’ll also find interviews with leaders in public engagement, official statistics, and data innovation — plus a critical look at gunshot detection technology.

STEM Women’s Development Scholarships

We’re offering partial scholarships for women in the STEM Industry ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per person, for one of four leadership and workplace skill development programs.

These scholarships are aimed at encouraging more women to increase their impact at work, progress their career, and step into leadership roles.

Application Deadline: Friday 6th June 2025.

Stay Connected – Follow SSA’s Official LinkedIn Page!

We’re excited to invite you to follow the official Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/statsocaus/

By following us, you’ll gain access to:

• Regular updates on SSA events and conferences
• The latest industry news and trends
• Exclusive career opportunities and professional development resources
• Member highlights and community insights

Stay informed, connect with fellow statisticians and data professionals, and be part of the growing SSA network. Follow us today!

The SSA Career Centre is your go-to platform for connecting statisticians and data scientists with prospective employers.

For Employers:
Advertise job openings to a highly targeted audience of statisticians and data professionals. Once registered, employers can:

• Post and manage job advertisements.
• Search for and manage prospective candidates.
• Create a detailed company profile to enhance visibility.

Advertising fees start at just $130, providing an affordable way to reach top talent.

For Job Seekers:
Boost your career with tools designed to help you stand out:

• Post your résumé anonymously for potential employers to view.
• Set up personalised job alerts to be notified when roles matching your criteria are advertised.
• Take advantage of our free résumé review service to refine your profile before uploading it.

Whether you’re hiring or seeking, the SSA Career Centre makes connecting easy and efficient. Register today to get started!

Whether you’re looking to sponsor an event, support a conference, or explore a long-term partnership, we’re excited to work with you. Collaborate with the Statistical Society of Australia to connect with our vibrant community of statisticians and data professionals.

Reach out to Jodi Phillips at events@statsoc.org.au to start the conversation and explore possibilities.