Society for Mental Health Research

What Society for Mental Health Research does

Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) is an Australian non-profit professional research society that serves as the peak body for mental health research across Australia and New Zealand. Founded in 1978 as the Australian Society for Psychiatric Research (ASPR) by Scott Henderson, Issy Pilowsky, Graham Burrows, and Peter Beumont, the society was renamed to Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research in 1995 and assumed its current name in July 2014 alongside a constitutional restructuring that granted it health promotion charity status and Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) registration. It operates from a single membership office in South Melbourne, Victoria, with an Executive Committee comprising academic clinicians and researchers drawn from leading institutions including Orygen, the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, ANU, the Black Dog Institute, and the University of Auckland.

The society's core deliverables are an annual scientific conference (now in its 46th year, rotating across Australian and New Zealand capital cities), a multi-tier awards program recognizing research excellence through named medals (Founders, Helen Christensen, Helen Herrman, Vera Morgan) and Rising Star, Early Career Scholar, Lived Experience, and Consumer-Led categories, and an Early Career Researcher (ECR) seed grant program administered with partners including the Anika Foundation and Australian Rotary Health. Additional services include an EMCR Committee, professional development workshops (such as the Pitch Your Project workshop), a newsletter and news submission portal, and advocacy linkages with NHMRC, the Mental Health Council of Australia, and government bodies.

SMHR funds its activities through three primary streams: annual membership fees structured by tier (Full Member $132/year, Full-Time Student $55/year, Part-Time Student or Emeritus $85/year, with discounted rates available), pay-what-you-can donations ranging from $10 to $1,000, and conference registration revenue. It does not publicly disclose revenue. Customer segments are predominantly individual researchers, clinicians, and students in the mental health field; institutional relationships (with universities and research centers) function as host affiliations rather than paying enterprise accounts. There is no technology platform, no AI or data product offering, and no app, with distribution handled primarily through the society's website (smhr.org.au), Facebook page, and email newsletter.

Name

Society for Mental Health Research

Legal name

Society for Mental Health Research Inc

Website

https://smhr.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Society for Mental Health Research is an Australian non-profit peak body, founded in 1978, that serves mental health researchers, clinicians, and students across Australia and New Zealand via an annual conference, awards program, ECR seed grants, and EMCR mentoring.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Research Society - Mental Health

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGACAA

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

Keywords

• Mental health research
• Scientific conferences
• Research awards program
• Professional research society
• Early career researcher grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees provide vital funds enabling the Society's Executive Committee to support the mental health research community. Membership runs from September to August annually.
2. Donations: Donations assist in supporting the important research activities of SMHR members, particularly early career academics.
3. Conference Registration: Revenue generated from conference registrations, with members receiving reduced registration fees as a membership benefit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) is a non-profit professional research society that provides membership services, an annual scientific conference rotating across Australia and New Zealand, an annual awards program recognizing mental health research excellence across multiple categories, and Early Career Researcher (ECR) seed grants of $10,000-$20,000 funded in partnership with foundations such as the Anika Foundation. Offerings are aimed at mental health researchers, clinicians, students, and people with lived experience across Australia and New Zealand. Membership runs annually from September to August, with tiered pricing for academics, clinicians, full-time students, part-time students, and emeritus members.

Product overview

The Society for Mental Health Research is a professional research society, not a technology product company. It provides a suite of membership services, events, awards, and research funding programs for mental health researchers in Australia and New Zealand. The core offerings include an annual scientific conference, an annual awards program recognizing research excellence across multiple categories, ECR seed grants funded in partnership with organizations like the Anika Foundation, EMCR professional development workshops, and membership benefits including conference discounts and access to funding opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SMHR Annual Conference Annual scientific conference bringing together mental health researchers, clinicians, and students from Australia and New Zealand to present research, network, and participate in awards. Members receive reduced registration fees.
• SMHR Membership Annual membership providing access to conferences at reduced rates, eligibility for awards, ECR support programs, and news announcements. Tiered pricing: Full Member Academic/Clinician $132/yr, Full-Time Student $55/yr, Part-Time Student $85/yr, Emeritus $85/yr.
• SMHR Awards Program Annual awards program recognizing excellence in mental health research including medals, travel grants, scholarships, and bursaries for researchers at all career stages across multiple categories.
• ECR Seed Grants Early Career Researcher seed grants providing financial support ($10,000-$20,000) for pilot studies and projects to help researchers develop competitive future grant applications.
• SMHR Donation Service Online donation portal accepting various amounts from $10 to $1,000 to support SMHR research activities, particularly for early career academics. GST not applicable for donations.
• EMCR Pitch Your Project Workshop Annual workshop and competition for Early and Mid-Career Researchers to develop grant writing skills and compete for seed funding at the SMHR conference.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supporting early career researchers through ECR seed grants and awards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Anika FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026SMHR partners with the Anika Foundation to support three $10,000 ECR seed grants for the 2026-27 financial year. These aim to support early career researchers to undertake high-quality research projects and pilot studies, strengthen their track record, and build capability in competing for external funding. Grant applications close 5pm, Thursday 23rd April 2026. Previously supported three $20,000 ECR seed grants for 2025-26.
• Anika FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to support three $20,000 ECR seed grants for the 2025-26 financial year. Funded two $20,000 grants for early career researchers working on adolescent depression and/or suicide prevention and mental health research.
• Manna InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMHR is pleased to partner with the Manna Institute, a virtual institute that brings together leading mental health researchers from seven universities in the Regional Universities Network (RUN). Both share dedication to addressing the mental health needs of Australians through promoting excellence in mental health research.
• MAGNET (Mental Health Australia General Clinical Trials Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAGNET is Australia's first clinical trial network focused on adult mental health. The network of world-leading researchers, carers, insurers, lived-experience experts, and First Nations representatives aims to support transformative research addressing major unmet needs in mental health by facilitating collaborative, large-scale trials.
• Psychosis Australia TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric partnership between researchers and the consumer and carer movement in Australia. Established to build on the work of the Australian Psychosis Research Network and the Australasian Schizophrenia Conference. Aims to transform the research landscape to improve lives of people living with psychosis.
• Australian Rotary HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian Rotary Health has a range of PhD Scholarships available for postgraduate students undertaking fulltime research. SMHR partners with Australian Rotary Health for various awards including the ARH Mental Health Impact Award and knowledge dissemination awards.
• Australian Society for Medical ResearchminorOthersASPR (predecessor to SMHR) established affiliation with the Australian Society for Medical Research
• Mental Health Council of AustraliacoreOthersSMHR is a member of the Mental Health Council of Australia, which is the peak body for the mental health sector. SMHR engages in advocacy to improve funding of mental health research through links with government, NHMRC, and the Mental Health Council of Australia.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Black Dog Institute: Australian mental health research institute that is a research partner and EMCR-affiliated institution with SMHR. Operates as a research producer and clinical service rather than a membership society, but shares many members and EMCR grant recipients.
• Mental Health Council of Australia: Australia's peak body for the mental health sector. SMHR is a member of this organization; an adjacent ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor, given MHCA's policy/advocacy focus versus SMHR's research focus.

Regional players

• Society of Biological Psychiatry: US-based international society for biological psychiatry research. Comparable as a psychiatric research society with conference, awards, and journal, but operates primarily in North America rather than Oceania.

Broad incumbents

• Australian Psychological Society (APS): Australia's peak professional body for psychologists. A much larger incumbent covering the broader practitioner and academic psychology community, with overlapping membership among mental health researchers SMHR serves.
• Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP): Principal professional college for psychiatrists in Australia and New Zealand. Has a designated RANZCP Representative on the SMHR Executive Committee, indicating close overlap of members and mental health research priorities.

Direct peers

• MQ Mental Health Research: International mental health research charity funding research and convening the research community. Directly comparable as a research-focused, donation-funded entity running grants, awards, and advocacy in mental health.
• Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR): Australia's peak professional body for medical research across all disciplines. ASMR is explicitly named as the historic affiliation of SMHR's predecessor (ASPR) and operates a directly comparable membership-conference-awards model.
• Australasian Neuroscience Society (ANS): ANZ peak body for neuroscience research. Comparable membership/conference/awards structure across the same geography, with adjacent but distinct membership overlap with SMHR researchers.
• Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD): Australia/NZ research society for the alcohol and drug field. Directly comparable as a discipline-specific academic membership body running an annual conference, awards program, and EMCR support across the same geography.
• Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation: US-based nonprofit funding mental health research grants and awards. Comparable mission and revenue model (donations, grants, events) with longer operating history, useful benchmark for SMHR's potential scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smhr2016
• Xx.com/smhr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Society for Mental Health Research