We are pleased to announce a long list of deserving winners below. Several awards are still undergoing judging and will be announced over the coming months.

We look forward to celebrating with many of our award winners at the College Ceremony on 29 May, during Congress.

The College Medal of Honour – Associate Professor John Allan

The College Medal of Honour is the RANZCP’s highest and most prestigious award. It is presented for distinguished and meritorious service to the College, to a Fellow who has given a minimum of ten years’ active service in organisational and/or administrative areas of the RANZCP.

The selection panel recommended A/Prof. Allan for the award on account of his strong leadership, and longstanding and broad contribution to the College, including in committees, leading College education processes and as President between 2019–21.

The College Citation – Associate Professor Campbell Paul

Established in 1986, the College Citation honours special service to the RANZCP or psychiatry. The College Citation may be conferred upon Fellows of the College or medical or non-medical persons outside the College. A College Citation is given by nomination only.

The selection panel wished to recognise A/Prof. Paul’s impressive contribution to important areas of psychiatry, especially his outstanding international contribution to the development of infant mental health.

The Ian Simpson Award – Professor Andrew Chanen

The Ian Simpson Award was established in 1976 to honour Dr Ian Simpson, who was a foundation member of the ANZCP and who became ANZCP President in 1966. The award acknowledges the most outstanding contributions to clinical psychiatry through service to patients and the community.

Prof. Chanen received the award on account of his major development of services for borderline personality disorder and research work.

Honorary Fellowship of the RANZCP – Mr Andrew Peters

Honorary Fellowship of the RANZCP recognises exceptional and prominent contributions to psychiatry and mental health by a person who does not otherwise qualify for Fellowship of the RANZCP.

Mr Peters is the former Chief Executive Officer of the RANZCP, whose lengthy term concluded at the end of 2022. In recognition of Mr Peters’ 15 years of loyal service to the RANZCP, its members and staff as Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary, the Board agreed that awarding an Honorary Fellowship of the College was a most fitting and well-deserved acknowledgement.

The Margaret Tobin Award – Professor Jackie Curtis

Named in honour of the late Dr Margaret Tobin, this award is made to the RANZCP Fellow who has made the most significant contribution to administrative psychiatry in Australia and New Zealand over the preceding five years.

Prof. Curtis received this year’s award for her administrative expertise, international reputation and amazing achievements. She will deliver the annual Margaret Tobin Oration at the RANZCP 2023 Congress in Perth.

The RANZCP Senior Research Award – Professor Christos Pantelis

Established in 1978 to recognise excellence in research in psychiatry in Australia and New Zealand, the RANZCP Senior Research Award is presented to the Fellow or Affiliate who has made the most significant contribution to psychiatric research in Australia and New Zealand over the preceding five years.

In a field of strong applicants, Prof. Pantelis received the award for his significant early contributions to the understanding of the onset of psychotic disorders, long history of research excellence, and continuation of high-impact publication from multiple international collaborations.

The RANZCP Early Career Psychiatrist Award – Dr Jayson Jeganathan

The RANZCP Early Career Psychiatrist Award was established in 1979 to encourage and promote research in psychiatry in Australia and New Zealand. It is presented to the early career Fellow, Affiliate or trainee who has contributed the most significant paper published in the past two years.

Amongst a competitive field, the selection panel was really impressed by Dr Jeganathan’s sophisticated and innovative study, which developed and validated new techniques with clinical significance, and was published in a high-impact journal.

The Lived Experience Australia Award for Best Practice in Consumer and Carer Inclusion – Dr Calina Ouliaris

The Lived Experience Australia Award is awarded to the psychiatry trainee who has submitted the best reflection following completion of all five Collaboration, Communication and Cooperation between Health Professionals modules in Learnit. The award recognises best practice in consumer and carer inclusion.

Dr Ouliaris’ comments about the Circle of Care, given the experience of fragmented care that many service users/consumers and their family and carers experience, resonated with the selection panel. They also appreciated her emphasis on the importance of keeping the GP not only informed, but ideally included as a co-designer in treatment plans.

The Addiction Psychiatry Prize – Dr Carmen Nayer

The Addiction Psychiatry Prize is awarded to encourage achievements and excellence in addiction psychiatry.  

Dr Nayer’s literature review ‘Comparison of the characteristics of patients treated with sublingual vs. long-acting injectable buprenorphine formulations for the treatment of opioid use disorder: a retrospective cohort study’ was comprehensive and well written, with thoughtful discussion which summarised findings and implications well.

The Adler Nurcombe Trainee Prize – Dr Tacita Powell

The Adler Nurcombe Trainee Prize is awarded to an Advanced Trainee in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and/or Forensic Psychiatry for the most outstanding paper or poster presented at the Section of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry conference.

Dr Powell presented ‘Family therapy with adolescent forensic inpatients: A case study using an attachment and trauma-informed framework’ at last year’s Section of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry conference.

The Connell Werry Prize – Dr Michelle Adams

The Connell Werry Prize is awarded to an Advanced Trainee in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the most outstanding paper or poster presented at the Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry conference.

Dr Adams impressed the selection panel with her presentation ‘Describing complex child neurodevelopmental and psychiatric presentations with affinity scores: a novel statistical method to capture intra-illness heterogeneity and predict co-morbidities’.

The Medlicott Award – Dr Rosemary Williams

The Medlicott Award honours Emeritus Professor Reginald Medlicott, a leading forensic psychiatrist in New Zealand and inaugural president of the RANZCP, following its incorporation in 1963. The award seeks to encourage achievements and excellence in research in forensic psychiatry.

Dr Williams’ research ‘Does ending night-confinement reduce use of seclusion and prevalence of violence in a forensic psychiatric hospital? A retrospective observational study’ was considered well written, interesting and beneficial.

The Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Basic Psychiatric Trainee Prize – Dr William Pridmore

The Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Basic Psychiatric Trainee Prize is designed to promote excellence in advancing the quality of life in older people with mental illness. It is awarded to a psychiatry trainee for a draft article suitable for journal publication, published article, case review or study.

The selection panel was impressed by Dr Pridmore’s paper ‘Aducanumab for Alzheimer’s disease: Observations and opportunities’, which read well and was a good synthesis of the controversial trial of aducanumab.

The Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Prize for Best Mental Health Service Improvement – The Healthy Ageing Service, c/o Dr Terence Chong

The Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Prize for Best Mental Health Service Improvement encourages and promotes the highest clinical and ethical standards in the delivery of psychiatry of old age services and is awarded for improvements focused upon the needs of people with mental illness who are older.

The selection panel thought the model outlined in ‘Too old for early intervention? The Healthy Ageing Service’s mental health response’ could be very useful for psychiatry of old age community care, as a new service directing care to previously unsupported individuals.

The Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Psychiatric Trainee Prize for Scholarly Project – Dr Matthew Kang

The Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age Psychiatric Trainee Prize for Scholarly Project is awarded to a current or recent advanced trainee in psychiatry of old age, for meritorious research in the field of psychiatry of old age.

The selection panel agreed that Dr Kang’s paper ‘Cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light can assist earlier distinction between neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders and reduce change in diagnosis and misdiagnosis in a clinical neuropsychiatry service’ was important and would help to progress knowledge in the field.

The Faculty of Psychotherapy Essay Prize – Dr Calina Ouliaris

The Faculty of Psychotherapy Essay Prize is given for the best essay submitted by a psychiatry trainee or recent Fellow on a psychotherapy topic.

From a competitive field, Dr Ouliaris’ essay ‘Models of care for gender dysphoria in young persons: how Psychiatry lost and is finding its voice’ provided a sophisticated overview and mature critical analysis.

The RANZCP Psychotherapy Research Award – Dr Setareh Hakimi & Dr Kelsey Josling

Supported by the RANZCP Foundation and Faculty of Psychotherapy, the RANZCP Psychotherapy Research Award encourages research in psychotherapy among psychiatry trainees and recent Fellows in Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Hakimi and Dr Josling’s joint project ‘Transforming the Journey Together: Exploring the experience of psychiatry trainees using modified Adult Attachment Interviews (AAIs)’ project was well described, had a realistic budget and appropriately explained the sampling approach and qualitative methodology.

The gamadji nanggit Scholarship – Dr Samantha Jackson and Dr Reece Lancaster

The gamadji nanggit Scholarship (meaning ‘emerging leader’) is designed to support the next generation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander early career psychiatrists and trainees to increase their medical leadership skills. Made possible by a generous donation from Dr Alagappa Arumugam AM FRANZCP and Dr Banu Arumugam, this scholarship supports external leadership, management or career development training opportunities.

Dr Samantha Jackson is a Nyoongar woman from Perth. This scholarship will allow her to develop leadership skills specific to medicine and mental health. Dr Jackson hopes that eventually, opportunities such as this will lead to a more culturally competent field, and by extension to a community embracing of diversity.

Dr Reece Lancaster is a Bundjalung man, and is using the scholarship to explore more formal leadership and management education to complement his existing leadership experience. Dr Lancaster is passionate about contributing to the reparation of social and cultural disadvantage of First Nations People, particularly as he advances through the health care system.