ABEN 2025 Annual Conference and Workshop
Thank you for your interest in the 15th Annual Australasian Business Ethics Network Conference.
Our Annual Conference and HDR workshop is scheduled for November 26-28th 2025, and is hosted by the School of Business at Charles Sturt University, in Bathurst New South Wales.
This will be a hybrid event offering face-to-face presentations and networking along with the option of online presentations.
Our conference offers a forum through which various governance, ethical and sustainability-oriented challenges in business and society can be discussed.
Conference Theme
In an age of disruption and seemingly endless poly-crisis, ethical business researchers and practitioners are “On the Road” and actively working to transform ideas into actionable solutions.
However, many problems that organisations need to face, do not have a clear solution, especially for matters related to ethical and sustainable practices. At times the answer may be a choice between two good options (or two bad options).
Moreover, sometimes the current ready-made solutions for these problems merely heighten tensions and result in unintended consequences.
Decision-makers managing contemporary issues are beginning to engage in meaningful debates around the complexities of ethical and sustainability problems.
These debates can foster a shift away from the conventional mindset of ‘business as usual’.
Ethical business researchers and practitioners need to navigate many complex trade-offs, U-turns, wrong turns, and dead ends on the sustainability road.
This naturally leads to the question, what is the best road to take when a decision-maker must balance an ethical perspective against the imperatives of traditional and emergent sustainable business practices?
Conference Aim
For our conference, we welcome broad inter-disciplinary and theoretical/conceptual and empirical contributions. We particularly welcome exploration of ethical issues from a critical perspective.
Thus, in addition to seeking submissions from academics and practitioners, in business ethics, governance, ethical decision making, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability, we also invites colleagues and postgraduate students (Masters and PhD) from a variety of disciplinary areas to share their ideas and research.
This includes, but is not limited to, Accounting, Business Education, Economics, Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, International Business, Law, Management, Marketing, and Operations & Supply Chain Management. Please ensure your presentation explores an ethical issue within your chosen discipline, and consider the business issue with a critical thinking lens.
What are sources of tension between ethical and sustainable decisions?
Below is a list of examples that could be explored as sources of tension and conflict that ethical and sustainable business decision-makers may need to address. These are only suggested topics for you to consider when preparing your submission for the conference.
- Trade-off between cost efficiencies and sustainability
- Workers’ rights, well-being & being ‘present at work’
- Indigenous connection to Country (land and water)
- Ensuring transparent and authentic statements of sustainability credentials
- Resource allocation and access
- Sustainable practices across sectors when “one size does not fit all”
- Economic development with environmental protection
- Climate justice
- AI and environmental costs
- Innovative sustainable tech development and adoption
- Waste reduction challenges: Implementing circular economy
- Scalability of sustainable solutions-lessons from the locals
- Production efficiency vs. sustainability solutions
- Short-term profits vs. long-term sustainability
- Accurate ESG ratings and valid metrics
- Public good vs. political expediency
- Social equity in sustainability public policies
- Differing perspectives of priorities; time-orientation
- Emotional and psychological safety
- Managing the ‘sliding doors’ moment of decision-making
Key Dates
Annual Conference: 27-28th November 2025
HDR Workshop: In the afternoon of 26th November 2025
Call for Papers now open
Deadline for 750 word Extended Abstract submission – 1st September 2025
Deadline for 2000 word Full Paper –1st September 2025 (optional)
Deadline for submissions for Jan Schapper Scholarship – 1 October 2025
Deadline for submissions to Postgraduate and HDR Student Workshop – 31 October 2025
Keynote Speakers
Clive Hamilton
Clive is an Australian author and public intellectual. Since 2008 he has been Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra.
For 14 years, until February 2008, he was the Executive Director of The Australia Institute, a progressive think tank he founded. He holds an arts degree from the Australian National University and an economics degree with first class honours from the University of Sydney. He completed a doctorate in the economics of development at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Read More
Isabel is an academic who has made it her purpose to promote ’Change Accelerators’.
She believes we have collectively contributed to the complex challenges we are now facing on Planet Earth, and it is time to expand our consciousness and rapidly change course, because the more we wait, the worse it will get. Read More
Isabel Rimanoczy
Post Graduate and HDR Workshop
The Postgraduate and HDR Student Workshop will be held from 12.30pm to 5:30pm (AEDT) on Wednesday 26th November.
There is no cost to attend the Postgraduate and HDR Student Workshop.
This will also be offered in hybrid (i.e., face-to-face and online formats).
Expressions of interest, a short biography and/or research summaries should be sent to Saeed Loghman (saeed.loghman@utas.edu.au) by 31 October 2025.
HDR Support for Attending the Conference
To encourage HDR engagement in not only the Postgraduate & HDR Student Workshop, but also the main conference, ABEN will offer a 50% registration fee subsidy for those students who want to attend the main conference – either in-person or virtually.
Registration
Early Bird Registration ends 31 October 2025
It is essential for all participants including delegates, speakers, and guests to register online with payment of the applicable registration fee.
Online registration will open in August.
Registration Fees
| Early Bird
Up until 31 October |
After October 31 | Conference Dinner
|
HDR Workshop Only | |
| In person* – full | $250 | $300 | $70 | |
| In person – student | $180 | $220 | $70 | Free |
| Virtual – full | $100 | $120 | ||
| Virtual – student | $80 | $100 | Free |
*In-person registration fees include catering (lunches and teas) but excludes the conference dinner.
Submissions
Extended Abstracts 750 words
Full Paper 2000 words
ABEN Members wishing to present at the Annual Conference should submit an extended abstract up to 750 words by 1st September 2025.
It is optional if authors wish to submit a full paper for review by the ABEN Committee. This possibility is available if institutional funding requires a full paper to be submitted for consideration. The deadline for a full paper is 1st September 2025.
The conference submission should include a title, author(s) name(s) and their institutional affiliation, contact information (email and telephone), main ideas of the paper, and selected bibliography (optional).
Authors will be notified of acceptance by 30th September.
Inquiries and further information
Inquiries concerning general information about the conference should be addressed to the conference convenor team at csu_school_of_business@csu.edu.au
For inquiries concerning registration and other issues please email submissions.aben@gmail.com
Jan Schapper Scholarship
As in previous years, the Jan Schapper Scholarship in Critical Business Ethics is being offered for a PhD student, early career researcher or other worthy recipient.
It comprises a $1,000 bursary and the waiving of the ABEN conference registration fee. The Scholarship was founded in 2015 to encourage critical approaches to business ethics at the ABEN annual meeting.
Papers are expected to be 8, 000-10,000 words including references, tables, and figures.
A decision on the award will be made by independent judges prior to the Annual Conference 2025.
If you would like to be considered for the scholarship, please indicate this when registering for the ABEN Conference.
Eligible participants should submit their paper by 1 October 2025 with the email subject: Jan Schapper Scholarship to: submissions.aben@gmail.com
For more information about Jan Schapper, please click here
Where to stay?
On Campus-Basic
On Campus Motel
Rydges-ABEN Special
On Campus-Basic
Single study bedrooms with communal facilities (bathroom/kitchen/common room).
5 min walk to conference building
$91.30/per person/per night ($83 + 10% GST)
Book directly, preferably by 10/11/2025: Temporary accommodation form – Current Students.Read More
On Campus-Motel
Double bed, private ensuite bathroom, with communal facilities (kitchen).
5 min walk to conference building
$135/per person/per night (including tax)
Book directly: Contact Roslyn Larnach, 02 63386999 or cpd@csu.edu.au.
Please indicate to be part of ABEN Conference. Read More
Rydges- Special offer for ABEN
Book before November 11 2025 to get the special rate
Book directly: CSU ABEN Accommodation | Rydges Hotels & Resorts
Stay between 25 Nov, 2025 – 29 Nov, 2025
To make a booking, please select your dates, number of rooms, number of guests and click ‘CHECK ROOMS’ Read More
For further information on accommodation and advice about your visit to Bathurst, please check out the Bathurst Tourist Information Centre
Frequently asked questions
To present your topic at the conference, you need to submit an extended abstract of approximately 750 words in length. You can also submit a full paper of 2000 words, if your organisation requires a longer submission. The submission date for either the extended abstract or a full paper is 1st September.
No, if you wish to submit a full paper of 2000 words, please do so by 1 September. Do not submit an extended abstract, then wait for it to be accepted, before submitting a full paper.
No, it is not currently the plan to publish the papers in a conference proceeding. We may publish a conference proceeding with the abstracts. The conference is aimed at discussion of ideas and seeking feedback before submitting them to a journal.
If you wish to submit a paper for the Jan Schapper Scholarship, your paper should be between 8,000-10,000 words.
Contact us
ABEN Committee
Dr Alessandro Bressan, Chair – alessandro.bressan@nd.edu.au
Dr Alice Gibson, Deputy Chair – alicemccancegibson@gmail.com
Dr Saeed Loghman, HDR Coordinator – saeed.loghman@utas.edu.au
Dr Melissa Wheeler, Secretary- melissa.wheeler@rmit.edu.au
Dr Jonathan MacKay, Marketing- mackayj@uow.edu.au
Dr Tracy Wilcox- HDR Coordinator t.wilcox@unsw.edu.au
Dr Cheree Topple, HDR Coordinator ctopple@swin.edu.au
Dr Felicity Small, Marketing- fsmall@csu.edu.au
Paper Submissions: submissions.aben@gmail.com
Charles Sturt Team
Email: CSU_School_of_Business
Associate Professor Alain Neher
Dr Lucia Wuersch
Dr Felicity Small