Annual Congress

1. Abstract submission closing date and notification timeframe:

The deadline for abstract submissions closes at 11:00pm (AEDT) on Monday 2nd February 2026. Authors will be notified if they have been successful within 3-4 weeks of the closing date and advised if they have been offered a Podium (oral), Rapid Oral or Poster Presentation.

2. Abstracts are invited to be submitted that relate to the congress theme: Elevate Cancer Nursing: Innovate, Integrate, Educate, Advocate

Abstracts are invited across the following categories:

• Innovate: Emerging Therapies, Technology & New Care Models
• ⁠Integrate: Multidisciplinary, Supportive & Coordinated Care
• Educate: Workforce, Training & Professional Development
• Advocate: Equity, Patient-Centred Care & Health Policy

Abstracts that relate to the congress theme are preferred. Abstracts describing the background/rationale and design of future projects will not be accepted.

At the point of submission, the author will need to nominate if the submission is a Research Project, Practice Innovation/Implementation or Case Study

Please refer to the definitions below if you are unclear which category your abstract belongs.

• Research Project: An activity that tests a hypothesis, allows conclusions to be drawn and develops or contributes to generalisable knowledge.
• Practice Innovation/Implementation: Interventions or programs designed to enhance the well-being or outcomes of patients, to improve service delivery, or enhance and promote nursing education.
• Case Study: An in-depth analysis of a particular patient or group of patients from which insights relating to nursing care were gained.

• The abstract must be 300 words or less exclusive of the title, author(s) names and institutional affiliation(s). Abbreviations may be used only if defined at the first use in the abstract. Abstracts over the word limit will not be accepted by the online submission system. References and images are not accepted in abstracts.
• The abstract must be written in English. 
• Reports of completed studies will be given preference in the selection of oral presentations, especially over abstracts that do not report results but indicate that they will be reported at the meeting or describe a trial methodology. Results of research will be given preference over descriptions of services for oral presentations.
• Once the abstract submission has closed each abstract is reviewed by a minimum of 2 - 3 expert reviewers. Abstracts are blinded so reviewers are not able to see authoring or organisational information.
• The CNSA will not permit the promotion of products in concurrent sessions. Affiliations to companies, not-for-profit organisations, employing agencies and web-based support organisations must be declared in the author's information. Failure to do so at the time of unblinding may make the submission invalid.
• Applicants should not assume that reviewers will be familiar with any previous work from an individual or research team.
• It is advisable to keep all emails sent to you regarding your abstract submission for reference if required. Once your submission is complete you can return and edit it until the closing date for submission. After this date, no amendments will be permitted.
• It is the responsibility of the submitting authors to verify that their submission has been received. You will be sent an automated email to confirm receipt of your submission. If you do not receive this confirmation, please contact the Congress Managers - [email protected]

Abstracts must be structured under the following headings:

Background / Introduction: Provide a brief overview of the context, issue, or gap your work addresses. Explain why this topic is important for cancer nursing and how it relates to current evidence, practice challenges or patient needs.

Aim: Clearly state the purpose of your project, study, initiative or innovation. What were you hoping to understand, improve or change?

Design / Methods: Describe how the work was undertaken. Include key methods, frameworks, tools or processes used, the setting, participant group (if applicable), and how data were collected or analysed. Keep this section focused on what you did and how you did it.

Results: Summarise the key findings, outcomes or insights. What did you discover or achieve? Highlight the most important and relevant results for cancer nursing practice.

Conclusion: Outline the main conclusion(s) drawn from your work. Describe any barriers encountered, implications for cancer nursing practice, and the lessons learned that may support future implementation or scale-up. Consider what other nurses should know if they intend to adopt or adapt this work.

Individuals may serve as a Presenting Author of more than one abstract. Only one author will be permitted to present an accepted abstract for a podium presentation.

Presenting authors must:

• Register for a minimum of one day of the Congress by the Early Bird Deadline for registration or the podium presentation will be withdrawn from the program.
• Be aware that the acceptance of an abstract does not constitute an offer of paid travel, accommodation or registration costs associated with attending the Congress.
• Verify that the work described in the abstract was approved by an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board for research papers and, if appropriate informed consent was obtained for all subjects.
• Verify that all co-authors (i.e. investigators) involved in the work described are noted and they are aware of the submission of the abstract, the content of the abstract, and support its data and findings.
• Present the abstract if it is selected for presentation at Congress (this includes being present during the scheduled time of a Poster Session). NB. The author or a co-author must deliver the presentation, it cannot be delegated to an attendee who is not listed as an author.
• Include their employing agency/institution affiliation in the author's details.
• Declare if they or the co-authors are employed or sponsored by a commercial interest/body (e.g. a pharmaceutical company). Sponsorship includes payment of Congress registration and associated expenses. CNSA reserves the right to review such abstracts for appropriateness and the final decision to include in the congress proceedings is the decision of the Program Committee.