Kia Ora NZPSA Members,

After consultation with our School and Faculty and with the NZPSA Executive, we have made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s Annual Conference until 8-10 February 2022.

Please know that we did not make this decision lightly. We were hugely excited about hosting the conference this year, especially after the disappointment of last year. The uncertainties associated with the current COVID community outbreak have led us, however, to accept that postponement is the best and safest option, for the following reasons:

The reality is that the conference can only take place if the country is at COVID Alert Level 1 at the time. There is no guarantee that this will be the case. Even if the country is moved to Alert Level 1 before the conference, there remains a significant risk that things could change quickly, requiring a cancellation of the conference.

If the conference cannot take place once we have had to pay deposits and invoices, this would leave our School and Faculty exposed to substantial financial costs. It is neither prudent nor fair to expect the School and Faculty to take on this risk.

While we are very aware that many members are excited about this year’s conference, the current uncertainties will almost definitely have some impact on the number of people who are prepared to pay for registration, flights and accommodation. The likelihood of a smaller conference later this year would reduce the benefits of the conference. It also represents another (though smaller) financial risk.

As a result of these considerations, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the conference until 8-10 February 2022. We hope that by this time there will be more certainty that large events can proceed with confidence.

By setting this date now, we seek to provide members and potential delegates with as much certainty as possible in their planning. Papers that have been accepted for this year’s conference will be automatically carried over to the new conference date. We have asked the authors of accepted papers and panels to contact us if they are unable to attend the conference at its new date.

The revised deadline for paper submissions and panel proposals is Friday 12th November at 5pm.  Submission and other conference details can be found at: https://nzpsa.com/2021-nzpsa-conference

Yours sincerely,

The NZPSA 2021 Conference Organising Committee
(Julienne Molineaux, Kate Nicholls, Peter Skilling)