NISSL organises and promotes various activities, including:

NISSL lectures/seminars
In response to arising issues, NISSL organises public lectures, as well as supporting existing ANU lectures. Major public lectures are generally used to showcase major, agenda-setting contributions of ANU academics and Visiting Fellows. Where appropriate, NISSL jointly organises lectures with other organisations.
Conferences, workshops and roundtables
NISSL initiates, and supports existing, cross-disciplinary conferences, workshops and roundtables, including those in joint participation with other organisations.

Summer school for teachers
NISSL, with the Humanities Research Centre, organises a biennial History, Civics & Law Summer School for Australian secondary school teachers. This 5-day residential program offers teachers the opportunity to be brought up to date with research by some of the country’s leading experts.

In the alternate year NISSL supports the Freilich Foundation in the running of the Bigotry & Tolerance summer school for Australian teachers (secondary & primary).

Both summer schools are held in late January and both offer travel/accommodation scholarships to assist interstate applicatants.
Short courses
NISSL seeks opportunities and organises short courses on request from government and non-government organisations. By drawing on its members’ expertise, NISSL has the capacity to provide courses on a broad range of topics with either a multi-disciplinary or focussed approach. It can provide short courses as the need arises, and at relatively short notice.
Publishing program
NISSL works with academics and commercial publishers to ensure that conference proceedings are properly refereed, edited and appropriately published. It seeks opportunities to publish the results of its other activities.
Links with media
 NISSL develops, with the assistance of ANU Public Relations and other ANU contacts, relationships with key media in order better to broadcast the outcomes of its activities. It also encourages key media personnel to participate in the intellectual life of ANU by way of the Visiting Fellowships program, or through workshops and short courses.