2025 New Researcher Grants

We are delighted to announce the successful applicants of the 2025 New Researcher Grants.

Understanding Funding Access, Needs and Service Pathways for Children (0-18 years) with Developmental Language Disorder in Australia 

Shaun Ziegenfusz

Recipient Name: Shaun Ziegenfusz 

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) affects approximately 1 in 14 people, or nearly half a million Australian children aged 0 to 18 years, yet many families struggle to access the speech pathology support their child needs. Speech pathologists regularly see the impact of this in practice, including delayed referrals, limited funding options, and families trying to navigate complex disability, health, and education systems that often do not work well together. 

 This project will explore the real-world experiences of parents/caregivers and speech pathologists to better understand what supports families are currently accessing, where the biggest gaps exist, and what barriers prevent children with DLD from receiving timely, evidence-based intervention. 

 Using surveys and interviews, the research will generate practical evidence to support advocacy and policy reform across the NDIS, Medicare, and education sectors. This work aims to help influence funding models, establish clearer service pathways, and better access to supports for children with DLD and their families. 

 Importantly, this research will equip our profession with evidence that can strengthen advocacy efforts and help drive meaningful systems change for children with DLD across Australia. 

‘A Community of Care’: Implementing a co-designed support group for people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) in Tasmania. 

Tracey Graney

Recipient Name: Tracey Graney

Support groups form an important part of care for people with PPA, but can be difficult to access in regional locations, such as Tasmania, where there have been no such groups available. In 2024 a team of researchers from University of Tasmania came together with local speech pathologists, people with PPA and their care partners to co-design a support group model that could work in the local community. Together we designed a ‘Community of Care’ and piloted this in 2025 with support of University of Tasmania speech pathology students. 

The Speech Pathology Australia new researcher grant will evaluate the scaling up of this group, to offer support to a larger number of people in Tasmania with PPA. If successful we hope our group will provide a model that could be used throughout Australia and internationally. 

Our research team also includes University of Tasmania academics Anne Whitworth and Jade Cartwright.