Australia is forming a SIGACCESS Chapter for local networking for anyone interested in accessibility and assistive technology research. It is intended to bring together people working in both universities and industry with activities such as activities webinars, online roundtables for discussion and networking, and in-person events around relevant conferences in Australia.. Our first meet-up will be 2-3 pm May 22nd. If you are interested in joining the ACM SIGACCES Australian Chapter, please complete this online form. This will also mean that you will receive an invitation to the first meet-up.

SIGACCESS is the Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing run by the Association for Computing Machinery. It promotes the research and development of computing technologies that empower individuals with disabilities and older adults. The Australian chapter welcomes people outside the traditional digital assistive technology community to join the SIGACCESS Australian Chapter so we can create a more multidisciplinary, holistic approach to digital assistive technology.

The Australian Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Association is holding its Australian Assistive Technology Conference on Wednesday 11 November to Friday 13 November 2026 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The call for papers closes on 24 April and registrations are now open.

Please contact us if you are interested in contributing to a MATS exhibit at the conference.

MATS researchers are seeking students who are blind or have low vision for two studies relating to accessibility and STEM.

1.  Students (or ex-students) who have studied mathematics in year 10 or higher are invited to take part in a 10 minute survey about their experiences. Respondents can choose to go in the draw for a $100 voucher and/or register their interest in taking part in a (paid) interview or focus group. For further information and the survey link, go to https://www.accessiblemaths.org/get-involved/student-survey/

2. To test the use of TapeBlocks with children who are blind or have low vision, we are sending out free kits for primary school aged students to learn about circuits. We will run personalised online sessions with the student and a supervising adult when we will play with some pre-made blocks and make our own. This could be a fun school holiday activity! Register now as stocks are limited.

Congratulations to MATS Deputy Director, Louisa Willoughby, winner of  the Community Champion Award in the Shaping Australia Awards in recognition of the work she has done to problem-solve and raise the profile of Auslan and Deafblind signing in Australia. Thank you to our MATS members and collaborators for your votes. Impactful work is always done in teams and we would like to acknowledge the many community partners and individuals who have shared in Louisa's work as well as thanking everyone who cast their votes. 
The awards ceremony was at Parliament House in Canberra with lots of politicians and university leaders present, providing a valuable opportunity to raise the profile of disability research, Deafblindness and Auslan. 
The Australian newspaper has published an excellent story about Louisa's work: Positive signs for DeafBlind interpreters.

MATS is conducting research on Australian Government information communications. We want to hear from people with disabilities about how you find government information, what is hard or confusing, what works well,  and how government communication can be better.

People with disabilities are invited to have their say via survey or to sign up for a focus group or co-design workshop session.

A research team is working to help identify barriers to inclusion, highlight strengths, and provide evidence-based recommendations to create more supportive work environments for neurodivergent women in software engineering.

They are seeking neurodivergent women who are working in software development, particularly in agile teams, along with software development students, to complete a 20-30 minute survey. For more information, please contact Wei.wang7@monash.edu. Your help in sharing the call for participants is appreciated.

Study: Invisible Coders: Understanding the Experiences of Neurodivergent Women Across Software Engineering Practices.
Research Team: Wei Wang, Isma Farah Siddiqui (MATS), Dulaji Hidellaarachchi, Munazza Zaib
Funding: This study is approved by the MUHREC of Monash University (Approved ID: 49102)

MATS partner HumanWare has announced the launch of the 2026 HumanWare – Jim Halliday STEAM Innovation Bursary. This global program celebrates blind and low-vision students using STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) to drive positive change. Applications open early 2026.

https://www.humanware.com/en-australia/news/company-news/humanware-jim-halliday-bursary-2026/

Our thanks are extended to Dr Melinda Smith for her thoughtful and thought-provoking presentation titled "My Process, My Time and My Team - Airsticks are just part of the journey" as part of the MATS Seminar series. The presentation explored her role as a research assistant with the Airstick Design and Accessibility team in SensiLab, bringing her experience as a creator with cerebral palsy.

MATS seminars are available to our Members, Partners and Friends.

The Monash Faculty of IT is partnering with the Melbourne Recital Centre to present In The Round, a ground-breaking multisensory performance led by award-winning artist Dr Melinda Smith.

Taking place on December 4th, In The Round brings together musicians with and without disability in a shared act of creativity, showcasing music created in an improvised and collaborative way using the Airsticks, developed by MATS member Dr Alon Ilsar.

Register here.

Congratulations to MATS members Leona Holloway and her supervisors Kim Marriott and Matt Butler on receiving two prestigious awards for her PhD thesis on 3D printing for touch readers: the 2024 Mollie Holman Award for thesis excellence, awarded to one candidate per faculty by Monash University; and the 2025 ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award, an international award for the field of Human-Computing Interaction.

We are pleased to share two new publications from MATS members.

A framework for adaptive maps of public indoor spaces, written by Anuradha Madugalla and colleagues in the HumaniSE lab, was developed through consultation and feedback from 99 people with various disabilities.

Meanwhile, Jim Smiley presented Magnepins, an affordable DIY refreshable tactile braille display, at the UIST conference on User Interface Software and Technology.

Click here to learn more

Monash University Open Day is an annual opportunity to welcome prospective students to our campus. 
The 2025 Open Day was held on Sunday 3 August from 10am to 4pm. MATS members hosted a display of our research in the maker space on the ground floor of the Faculty of Information Technology Building at 25 Exhibition Walk, Clayton. All were welcome and we enjoyed chatting with our visitors about the importance of accessibility in IT.

In 2025, the MATS Seed Grant Scheme aims to support research that can provide a return on investment, with a requirement that the project leads to the submission of one or more external funding applications.

Funding requests can either be for a Small Seed Grant (up to $8,000) or a Large Seed Grant (up to $25,000).

Applications were due by Sunday 3 August 2025 at 5PM. Watch this space for announcements regarding the successful grant applications.

MATS is actively seeking PhD candidates with a lived experience of disability to undertake disability-led research. Scholarships are available to people with a disability or medical condition that affected previous studies through the Monash Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship scheme, with application rounds in May and October each year.

Congratulations to our newest graduates! MATS members Dr Samuel Reinders and Dr Ruth Nagassa co-designed innovative interactions with 3D printed models for accessibility by people who are blind or have low vision, while Dr Rebecca Fleming developed guidelines for the design of interactive digital systems to help motivate hearing people to learn Auslan.

We also welcome Lara Anderson to the MATS team. She brings invaluable experience as an occupational therapist to her PhD topic on accessible playgrounds.

Our project supporting the adoption of 3D printing for accessible education for students with vision impairments was featured on ABC News Breakfast and ABC News site.