National Nutrition & Dietetics Research Summit 2026 Submission Guidelines

Dietitians Australia and the National Nutrition & Dietetics Research Summit 2026 Working Group invite the submission of abstracts for consideration in the scientific program at the summit.

The National Nutrition & Dietetics Research Summit 2026 will be held on 13 February 2026 in Melbourne / Naarm, plus virtual attendee options.

Submissions are encouraged to incorporate the summit theme of Evidence to Impact: Science with purpose.

Overview of submissions 

Maximum number of submissions 

Due to the condensed format of the summit program, there are limited oral presentation places available. To maximise opportunities for as many speakers as possible, submissions will be limited to 2 unique submissions per presenter. Additionally, a maximum of 1 oral presentation will be offered per presenter.

Presentation type preference 

You will be asked to select a submission category (research abstract or practice innovation) when submitting your abstract, as well as nominating your preferred presentation type (oral presentation or poster). The Working Group will endeavour to consider your presentation preference, however presentation types allocated will be dependent on the outcome of the review.

Attendance to present

All accepted presenters MUST register and pay to attend the summit in person before Sunday 18 January 2026 or risk being withdrawn from the program at the discretion of the Working Group.

Submission categories 

There are two submission categories to choose from when submitting your abstract for consideration in the program for the National Nutrition & Dietetics Research Summit.

The copyright for submissions remains with the author(s), therefore submission content does not need to be unpublished. It is the responsiblity of the author(s) to ensure that copyright regulations are abided by if the submission has been previously published or presented. 

Research abstracts 

Research submissions are traditional abstract summaries of the paper you wish to present of original research or project findings, papers reporting work-in-progress, methodological papers, case presentations, or professional practice issues.

Submissions must be structured based on the headings below to describe the research or project. The abstract should contain full sentences and not contain abbreviations, references, or images. The total word count for the abstract is 250 words.

• Background
• Aims
• Methods/processes
• Results/outcomes
• Conclusions/future directions

If your submission is accepted within this category, the information provided may be published in the summit program, on the summit app and on the summit website. Accepted research abstracts will be published in the Nutrition & Dietetics Journal supplement.

Abstracts and speaker bios may be edited according to Dietitians Australia style guidelines.

Practice innovations 

Practice innovations are submissions that share real life knowledge gained by researchers and practitioners through their work. These do not require formal research methodologies.

Submissions must be structured based on the headings below to describe the project. The abstract should contain full sentences and not contain abbreviations, references, or images. The total word count for the abstract is 250 words.

• Background
• Aims
• Intervention
• Outcomes
• Application into practice

If your submission is accepted within this category, the information provided may be published in the summit program, on the summit app and on the summit website. Accepted practice innovation abstracts will be published in the Nutrition & Dietetics Journal supplement.

Submissions and speaker bios may be edited according to Dietitians Australia style guidelines.

Presentation types 

The following section explains each presentation type in more detail.

Oral presentation 

For this presentation type, authors report original research or project findings, papers reporting work-in- progress, methodological papers, case presentations, or professional practice issues in an oral presentation format.

There are a limited number of oral presentation spaces available in the summit program. Oral presentations will be offered after consideration of the author’s presentation type preference, the results of the peer review, and in relation to the summit theme.

Key features

• One speaker per presentation. 
• Speaker must present in person at the event.
• Oral presentations will be live streamed to the virtual audience and will be recorded for distribution to all summit delegates.

Poster

For this submission type, the research or practice innovation is presented in the traditional hard copy poster format. The poster presentations must be printed and delivered to the summit venue at the expense of the author.

Key features

• There will be a poster display area in the foyer of the venue.
• Poster authors are encouraged to stand near their poster during break times to discuss and answer questions about their work. 

Important information 

Key dates 

Content areas 

Submissions are invited relating to the following content areas. Submitters will be asked to identify the relevant content area when completing the submission form.

Using the abstract submission portal

Please read the following information on how to use the online abstract submission form to submit, edit or withdraw an abstract.

Abstract submissions will only be accepted via the online portal.

Before you submit

We strongly recommend that the person submitting the abstract is the primary presenter.

You will be able to save a draft of your submission. However, once you have saved and finalised your submission, you will be unable to make further edits.

Step 1: Log into the abstract portal

You will be required to log into the abstract portal to submit your abstract. Your login details (username and password) will be the same as the ones you use to log into the Dietitians Australia member portal.

If you are not a member, you will be asked to create a free Dietitians Australia account before submitting an abstract.

Step 2: Complete the submission form

The submission form consists of five (5) pages, each containing groups of questions pertaining to your abstract. Mandatory questions will be marked by a red asterisk. All mandatory questions must be completed before you will be allowed to finalise your submission.

Each page of the form is explained in more detail below.

Page 1: Paper title

On this page you will be asked to

• Enter the title of your paper or presentation. The title should be as brief as possible but long enough to indicate clearly the nature of the abstract. If accepted, this title will be used in the final program.   
• Nominate your submission stream
• Select a content area
• Identify your preferred presentation type

Page 2: Author details

On this page you will be asked to

• Confirm your first name, last name, and email address. Please note that this information is liked directly to your Dietitians Australia membership account. You will be unable to edit the information in these lines within the submission form. If you need to make changes to this information, please do so within your Dietitians Australia membership account prior to completing the submission form. If you need support with changing the details in your membership account, please contact the Dietitians Australia membership team via info@dietitiansaustralia.org.au
• Enter your affiliation details
• Indicate the presenting author
• Enter co-author details. Please enter co-authors in the order that you wish for them to appear in publication.
• Enter a short bio for the presenting author.

Page 3: Submission details

On this page you will be asked to read all question prompts carefully and complete the required fields to outline the content of your submission. The specific prompts you see on this page will differ depending on your selected submission stream.

Important information

• Do not include author names, institution, or other identifiers in your text as all abstracts will be blind reviewed.
• Do not use tables or figures.
• References are not required. If you wish to include them, they must be included in the body of your text and included in the word count.
• Do not repeat the title of the submission within any other field.

Page 4: Additional Questions

On this page you will be asked to complete the mandatory fields to further support your submission.

Important information

• If you select ‘yes’ to the question ‘Does this topic pertain to First Nations communities’ you will then be asked to complete the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool. Further information and instruction about completing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool will be made available within the submission form. If you require further support to complete this, please contact the Dietitians Australia Education Team at education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au

Page 5: Agreements

On this page you will be asked to acknowledge relevant agreements and disclosures.

The first agreement will ask you to agree to the conditions outlined in the Submission Guidelines. In addition to the specifications already covered, this agreement refers to the following statements. 

• By submitting this abstract, I attest that the completed information is accurate. 
• I have disclosed all relevant financial relationships to Dietitians Australia and understand that this information will be provided to the participants of the activity. 
• My presentation will promote quality or improvements in nutrition and dietetics and will not promote specific proprietary business or a commercial interest. Content for this activity will be well-balanced, evidence based and unbiased. 
• I have not, nor will I, accept any honoraria or additional payments or reimbursement beyond that provided through Dietitians Australia. 
• If I am discussing specific products or services, I will use generic names to the extent possible. I will use trade names of several companies when available and not one single company. 
• If I have been trained or utilised by a commercial entity or its agency as a speaker for any commercial interest, the promotional aspects for that presentation will not be included in any way with this activity. 
• If I am presenting research funded by a commercial company, the information presented will be based on generally accepted principles and methods, and will not promote the commercial interest of the funding company. 
• I have read this form and I intend to be compliant with the letter and values of Dietitians Australia.  

Please note: If your submission is selected for the program, Dietitians Australia may use your presentation slides and videos and/or photos taken of you during your presentation to send to summit delegates. Dietitians Australia may also publish this information on the Dietitians Australia and summit website. 

Step 3: Submit the abstract

When you are satisfied with the details that you have entered, click the 'Save and finalise' button at the bottom of the page. This will officially submit your abstract, and you will be unable to make further edits.

Confirmation

A confirmation email will be sent to you only (co-authors will not receive a separate notification). If you do NOT receive a confirmation email, email the Dietitians Australia Education Team via education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au  

Submitting multiple abstracts

To submit multiple abstracts, use the same email address and password then follow the steps as above.

Due to the condensed format of the summit program, there are limited oral presentation places available. To maximise opportunities for as many speakers as possible, submissions will be limited to 2 unique submissions per presenter. Additionally, a maximum of 1 oral presentation will be offered per presenter.

Edit an abstract

If you have not yet clicked ‘save and finalise’ on your submission, you will be able to log into the abstract portal and edit your submission form. Edits can be made using this option until the call for submissions closes at midnight AEST on 7 September 2025. In order for your submission to count, you must ‘save and finalise’ your submission before midnight on 7 September 2025.  

Once you have clicked ‘save and finalise’, you will be unable to make further edits to your submission. Requests for edits to a submission after finalisation must be made in writing to the Dietitians Australia Education Team via education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au before 2pm AEST on 5 September 2025.

Notification

The person who submitted the abstract will receive notification of the outcome of the submission in late October 2025. If your submission is accepted, the notification will contain details about your allocated presentation type and further information about registering for the event.

All accepted presenters MUST register and pay to attend the summit in person before Sunday 18 January 2026 or risk being withdrawn from the program at the discretion of the Working Group.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals must be communicated in writing by the submitting author to the Dietitians Australia Education Team via education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au  

In doing so, the Education team and Working Group assume that all authors/presenters have been informed of the withdrawal. Once an abstract is withdrawn, it may not be reinstated.

Deferrals

All submission received will only be eligible for acceptance and presentation at the National Nutrition & Dietetics Research Summit 2026. Submissions may not be deferred to future Dietitians Australia summits or conferences.

Contact

For any enquiries regarding the National Nutrition & Dietetics Research Summit call for submissions process, please contact the Dietitians Australia Education Centre Team via email at education@dietitiansaustralia.org.au