Disability Child Health Equity Access
Improving Health Access and Mental Health Equity for Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disability
Published on the 08 October 2026 by UNSW Scientia PhD Project
This project is part of the UNSW Scientia PhD Scholarship Scheme
Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend and a one-off Global Mobility Grant to conduct international engagement activities.
Children with intellectual and developmental disability experience substantially higher rates of mental health problems than their peers, yet many face barriers to accessing timely, appropriate and effective support. This PhD project will develop a co-designed service pathway to improve access to mental health prevention and early intervention for children with intellectual and developmental disability and their families.
Working closely with people with lived experience, families, health professionals, educators and disability providers, the candidate will identify barriers to care, review international evidence, and design practical, scalable solutions to improve service access and coordination. The project will explore how health, disability and education systems can work together to provide accessible, inclusive and culturally safe mental health support.
The candidate will be supervised by leading researchers at UNSW, the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health, and University College London. The PhD will contribute to vital work to improve mental health outcomes and reduce lifelong mental health inequities for children with intellectual and developmental disability and their families.
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- Residency: Domestic applicants only.
- Degree program: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
You must meet the minimum requirements below to apply:
- An appropriate Bachelor degree with first or upper second class Honours from UNSW: OR
- A completed Master by Research, with a substantial research component and demonstrated capacity for timely completion of a high-quality research thesis; OR
- a qualification from another tertiary institution at a level considered equivalent by the Faculty Higher Degree Committee (HDC)
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Eligible applicants must contact the Primary Supervisor, Julian Trollor - z9702957@ad.unsw.edu.au. If he agrees to supervise you, you will be invited to submit a formal application to UNSW.
Your email should include:
- CV
- Official academic transcripts
- A brief introduction about you and why you are qualified for this project.
- What interests you about this project and the supervisor(s) expertise.
Research project overview
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Scholarship value
$39,991 per annum (2027 rate) stipend for 3.5 years
$25,000 Global Mobility Grant (one-off) -
Supervisory team
Scientia Professor Julian Trollor AM (UNSW, Primary Supervisor)
Associate Professor Jane Lloyd (UNSW, Co-Supervisor)
Dr Maryann Barrington (UNSW, Co-Supervisor)
Professor Vaso Totsika (University College London, Co-Supervisor)
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Global research partner
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Candidate residency
Domestic
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Degree program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
UNSW School | Research area
Faculty of Medicine & Health | National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health
Impact focus area
Pillar 8: Enable healthy lives
Learn more
Supervisors
Do you have questions?
The UNSW Graduate Research School manages all postgraduate research applications and scholarships. Get in touch with our team to discuss your research interests and the next steps.