Prizes & Awards
Prizes & Awards
Each year, IFA Australia offers various prizes and awards with varying topics and focus.
IFA is calling young tax professionals - These 2025 IFA competitions are now open!
IFA Poster Programme for the Lisbon 2025 Congress for PhD students writing a thesis on international taxation. For further information see ifa.nl/research-awards/poster-programme. The Australian IFA branch will provide additional financial support for travel to the Lisbon Congress for any PhD students studying in Australia who are admitted to the IFA Poster Programme for Lisbon.
Deadline for submission to the Poster Programme is 31 March 2025.
For further information about all IFA competitions we kindly refer you to the IFA website.
IFA Young Professional Award of the Australian IFA branch for the Lisbon 2025 Congress. Deadline for submission to the IFA Young Professional Award is 15 May 2025.
IFA Young Professional Award - 2025
2025 AWARD FOR AUSTRALIAN YIN AMBASSADOR TO LISBON CONGRESS
The 2025 award for the Australia Young IFA Network (YIN) Ambassador to the Lisbon Congress is an essay prize to reward an outstanding YIN candidate with a trip to Lisbon to represent Australia as the YIN Ambassador to the Lisbon Congress, to be held between 5-9 October 2025. Read more about the Lisbon Congress here.
The Prize includes:
- Certificate recording the author as the recipient of the Richard Vann Essay Prize 2025 and YIN Ambassador 2025.
- the Early Bird Congress registration fee for the Lisbon Congress.
- a return economy airfare to Lisbon to attend the Lisbon Congress between 5-9 October 2025.
- AUD $2,000 to spend on accommodation of your choice in Lisbon at the Congress.
The essay can be on any area of international taxation. In addition to the essay, you are also required to submit a short proposal (no more than 300 words) on how you would use the opportunity in Lisbon to promote the IFA Melbourne Congress to be held in Melbourne on 18-22 October 2026, including through social media (Engagement Proposal).
The competition is open to eligible members, or to non-members who are eligible for YIN membership and submit a YIN membership application at the time of submitting for the Award.
Deadline for submission of essays is 15 May 2025 with the prize to be awarded by 15 June 2025.
Check your eligibility
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Richard Vann Essay Prize
Submission Deadline: 15 December each year.
The IFA Australia Richard Vann Prize is an annual essay prize offered in honour of the substantial and sustained contributions of Professor Richard Vann to the discipline of International Taxation and the International Fiscal Association (IFA). The prize encourages research and scholarship in the field of international taxation consistent with the objects of the International Fiscal Association. The winning applicant will receive AUD$5,000 plus one year’s free membership of IFA.
Any Australian resident studying or practicing in the field of taxation may submit an essay on any area of international taxation, and there is no limit by reference to the age or seniority or experience of, or position held by the applicant. The selection process is made by a judging panel appointed from members of the Executive Committee of IFA Australia, and the criteria to be used will include significance and originality of contribution, clarity and focus of the methodology, theory or approach of the chosen topic, structure and logic of argument (including persuasiveness and practicality of argument), practical relevance and presentation.
The rules for this prize can be found here.
Formatting requirements
Please ensure that your essay submission is in a .doc or .docx file format, and is:
- Double-spaced
- Times New Roman font
- Font Size 12
Graham Hill IFA Research Prize
Justice Graham Hill was the president of the 2003 IFA Congress in Sydney and a leading figure in tax in Australia for more than 30 years. The Australian IFA branch in association with the Australasian Tax Teachers Association established a prize in his memory known as the Graham Hill IFA Research Prize.
The Australian IFA branch will pay for one Australian doctoral student to attend an IFA Congress once every two years as part of the Poster program. This involves preparing posters explaining the subject of the thesis and discussing the thesis with interested participants in the Congress. The last recipient of the Prize attended the annual IFA Congress in London in 2019 – this was the 7th time the prize has been offered. The Prize is offered in alternate years with the Gordon Cooper Memorial Lecture Sponsorship.
Application is open to all doctoral students enrolled at Australian Universities working in subjects that have an international or comparative tax dimension. Applicants will have made progress on their thesis at least to the point that they have a detailed thesis proposal and have written at least one full chapter.
Gordon Cooper Memorial Lecture
IFA Australian branch provides occasional funding for a Memorial lecture at the Australasian Tax Teachers Association conference in honour of Mr Gordon Cooper, who was both a Chair and leader of IFA Australian branch for many years and the Patron of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association for many years, and in memory of Gordon’s Cooper’s passing in 2017. In both roles, Gordon Cooper generously provided his time, insights and leadership in supporting international tax in Australia and developing the next generation of tax researchers. The funding is to support travel expenses of a prominent national or international speaker for the ATTA conference.
IFA Global Research & Awards
IFA Global also supports various awards each year. These awards vary in topic and focus and have different eligibility requirements.
The Mitchell B. Carroll Prize is a tribute to IFA’s first Honorary President, Mitchell B. Carroll. This annual award is open to participants under 40 years of age and is awarded for work on international fiscal law, comparative tax law, or local tax law having an important relation with fiscal law in foreign jurisdictions.
The IFA President YIN Scientific Award was launched in 2014 and is open to Young IFA Network members under the age of 35 years. The Award is awarded for an article published in a qualified medium and furthers understanding of international fiscal law or comparative tax law, providing practical solutions to problems arising in cross-border transactions or situations.
The Maurice Lauré Prize is named in hour of Maurice Lauré, who was instrumental in the first implementation of the Value Added tax system, now applied in more than 160 jurisdictions. The Prize is open to all participants under 40 years and is awarded on papers on international indirect taxation.
There are also various research programmes supported by IFA Global. The current list which can be found here.