Connections magazine: Share your story

Would you like to submit a story for Connections magazine?

Connections is published quarterly. The deadline for submissions for the Autumn 2024 edition is Monday 29 January 2024. Please read the information below and send your submission to communications@otaus.com.au 

In addition to our regular features, Connections provides a platform for members to tell their occupational therapy story. These are just some of the topics your article could be about: 

• Insightful research or study results  

• Industry trends or advancements in technology and practices 

• Innovations in education and training 

• Developments in specific fields of occupational therapy, such as mental health or aged care 

Articles should be of general interest to all OTs, regardless of their main area of practice or expertise. All stories must be about the work of OTs and how the author/s have contributed to overall OT practice and/or benefitted their clients. Any articles that are sales promotions for individual practices or too narrowly focused will be turned down. 

All submissions are assessed on their merit and relevance to inform and engage members/readers and are therefore vetted by the editorial and Professional Practice teams. This includes editing to ensure the article meets the editorial guidelines. We cannot guarantee articles will be published. We receive many submissions and require all content to be relevant and of a high quality. Contributions will be published at the discretion of the editor. Sometimes articles are declined because we have covered too many articles on that topic. 

Although your article may vary slightly depending on the content, below is an example of an ideal structure for a Connections article:

1. Introduction
2. Set the scene, pose a question or address an issue
3. Share experiences, innovations, opportunities or challenges
4. Discuss what it mean for the OT profession or an area of practice
5. Share results, next steps or a closing summary
6. About the author and photo

Make a sustainable switch – did you know you can opt out of a printed copy of Connections and change to digital only? Visit https://otaus.com.au/mypreferences on your member dashboard and update your preferences to opt out of printed Connections. 

Submission guidelines and tips: 

• Articles can run for either 650 words (approx.) for a one-page article, or 1,300 words (approx.) for a two-page article.  

• Articles should be written for a national audience and offer learnings that will be relevant beyond the publication date. 

• The tone of the article should be clear, confident and approachable—think ‘smart casual’. 

• Ensure you (and ideally another peer) have proofread the article so that it is free from error. 

• Multiple subheadings are encouraged to help structure the article. 

• Please supply a couple of photos with captions if available to illustrate your article. If people are included, first seek their permission to publish the photo. 

• Ensure photos are as high-resolution as possible (3MB/300dpi is a good guide). 

• Include a brief ‘About the Author’ section at the end of the article with one to two sentences that offer an overview/background of the author/s. 

• Connections is separate to the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 

• While references are encouraged, the article should be less academic and more of an engaging story. 

• Articles that are product or service promotions/advertisements will not be included.

• OTA reserves editorial oversight to approve articles and edit for clarity and brevity. 

If you have any questions or would like to float an article idea, please email us at: communications@otaus.com.au