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ASC 2025, Member Highlights & Opportunities to Shine

ASC 2025 is almost here! Taking place in Perth in just a few months, this year’s theme “Advance, Support, Connect” captures the spirit of our vibrant community. If you haven’t registered yet, don’t wait - join us for the biggest gathering of statisticians and data scientists in Australia.

We’re also seeking AStat members to join the Accreditation Committee. This is your chance to make a real impact: support colleagues, uphold professional standards, and contribute to the growth of AStat and GStat recognition.

And don’t forget our Member Highlights section! This is your opportunity to share your stories, achievements, or reflections. We want to showcase the amazing work happening across our SSA community, and your voice matters.

Thank you for being part of SSA - let’s make this year’s conference and member stories truly memorable!

Beware - Phishing Scammers

The past fortnight has been a busy one for scammers!  

We are aware of several statistical societies being targeted around the world, including SSA.  Phishing emails have been sent out to some of our members that are impersonating me.  The scams may ask you to transfer funds, click on a link to pay an invoice (that "I" will reimburse you for), ask you to call a phone number (where you might be pressured to pay some money), or share other confidential information. The phishing emails may use enough information naming mutual colleagues or other SSA Office Bearers that they can read as plausible (if unusual) requests.

Be aware that the SSA Executive Committee and SSA staff will never contact you in this way to ask for money or other confidential information.  Please check email addresses carefully, do not click on links in suspicious emails, and verify information through other trusted channels.  

Please let us know of any suspicious emails as soon as possible.  I can be contacted on 08 8313 0234 if you have any doubts about the integrity of an email that appears to be from me.

Lynne Giles, SSA President

A practical LangChain tutorial for data scientists to inspect CSVs. Chatbots answer questions, agents perform actions.That’s exactly what we’re going to try out in today’s article. In this article, we’ll use LangChain and Python to build our own CSV sanity check agent. With this agent, we’ll automate typical exploratory data analysis (EDA) tasks as displaying columns, detecting missing values (NaNs) and retrieving descriptive statistics.

The master's thesis of Victhor Simoes Sartorio, which culminated in this paper, was funded by CNPq (National Concil for Cientific and Technological Development). They propose an automatic method for clustering multivariate time-series data based on mixtures of Dynamic Linear Models. Unlike traditional time-series clustering methods that yield static membership parameters, our approach allows each time series to dynamically change cluster memberships over time. 

Regular registration for ASC 2025 is now open!

Planning is well underway with gradual announcements via LinkedIn on keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and special sessions designed to spark new ideas and inspire collaboration. Keep an eye out!

Whether you’re keen to dive deeper into your field, expand your professional network, or simply soak up the vibrant energy of the ASC community, ASC 2025 has something for everyone.

Beyond the sessions, you can look forward to a lively program of networking opportunities and social events where conversations carry on well after the presentations end. Please note: there are only limited spots now for the Conference Dinner - don't miss out!

If you haven’t secured your place yet for ASC 2025, now’s the time!

Share Your Work in the Member Contributions Section

The Member Contributions section of our e-newsletter provides a valuable platform for SSA members to share their expertise, insights, and achievements with the wider Statistical Society of Australia community.

This section is designed to:

• Strengthen our community: Share your ideas and experiences to foster meaningful connections across the SSA network.
• Showcase your work: Highlight your research, articles, or professional accomplishments to inspire and inform fellow members.
• Increase your impact: Gain recognition and visibility for your work among statisticians, data scientists, and industry leaders.

All submissions are reviewed for potential inclusion in upcoming editions of the e-newsletter. Whether you wish to share recent research, publish a thought-provoking article, or announce a professional achievement, we welcome your contributions.

The Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) is inviting Expressions of Interest from AStat members who would like to join the Accreditation Committee.

About the Committee

The Accreditation Committee plays a key role in supporting the professional development of SSA members. Committee members are responsible for:

• Assessing applications for accreditation, and

• Promoting the value of professional recognition in statistics and data science.

Key Details

• Meetings are held approximately every six weeks via Zoom.

• Each meeting runs for around one hour.

• Preparation time varies between one to three hours, depending on the number of applications under review.

• Committee members are appointed for a three-year term, with staggered rotation to ensure continuity.

How to Apply

If you are interested in contributing to this important work and support your professional community, please send an Expression of Interest along with your resume to contact@statsoc.org.au.

We look forward to hearing from you!

CPD 209 – Statistical Communication Workshop

Date: 1 Oct 2025 – 8 Oct 2025

Time: 2 hours a week

Location: Online

Publishing Your Software

Date: 24 Oct 2025 

Time: 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM 

Location: Online

Belz Lecture and ECSS Showcase

Date: 27 Oct 2025

Time: 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM

Location: In-person: Theater 1, Old Geology Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria

Communicating Statistical and Data Science Insights to Non-Technical Audiences 

Date: 6 Nov 2025 

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM 

Location: Online

OceaniaR Hackathon 2025 

Date: 23 Nov 2025 

Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM 

Location: In-person only-The Australian National University. The Sciences Teaching Building, Building Number 136, 136 Linnaeus Way, Acton ACT 2601 

ICOTS 12 

The Statistical Society of Australia is thrilled to share exciting updates for the 12th International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS 12), to be held in Brisbane, 12–17 July 2026 — the first time ICOTS will be hosted in Australia.

We are delighted to announce the ICOTS 12 keynote speakers:

• Prof Mine Çetinkaya–Rundel – Duke University

• Prof Dianne Cook – Monash University

• Emeritus Prof Sir Peter Donnelly – Genomics PLC, University of Oxford

• Prof Rob Gould – UCLA

• Dr Elena Proden – UNITAR

These outstanding speakers will bring a wealth of expertise and perspectives to ICOTS 12, setting the stage for an inspiring and thought-provoking program.

Key dates:

• Abstract submission deadline: 31 August 2025

• Notification of acceptance: 30 September 2025

• Optional refereed paper submission deadline: 30 November 2025

• Final papers (refereed and non-refereed) due: 30 April 2026

All accepted abstracts will appear in the official Conference Program and online Proceedings. Oral presenters are encouraged (but not required) to prepare a full paper for the Proceedings. Refereed papers will be clearly labelled as such.

For more information and to submit your abstract, please visit: ICOTS 12 Submissions

We look forward to welcoming you to Melbourne in 2026 for this landmark event in statistics education!

Statistical Consulting Network Monthly Meet-Up

Last Friday of the month, 12-1 PM AEST. Come along with your thinking cap, maybe a problem, and some lunch! The Statistical Consulting Network invites you to their monthly meet-up, a virtual lunchtime meeting where statisticians can help each other out with challenging problems or just discuss topical issues.

This virtual meeting is held on Zoom at lunchtime on the last Friday of each month, 12-1 PM (AEST). We start each meet-up with announcements, or occasionally a special topic discussion, then discuss problems that attendees have brought along with them.

We also have a Slack workspace where members of the consulting network can communicate between meetings, or post problems or relevant materials they would like to discuss during a meeting.

Zoom link

Password: 660145

Slack Workspace link

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.