Annual Issues and Opportunities Workshop

Each year Mental Health Australia (MHA) hosts an Annual Issues and Opportunities Workshop attended by members of the National Register of Mental Health Consumer and Carer Representatives (National Register) and the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) and the Lived Experience Group from the National Multicultural Mental Health Project (Embrace). 

These two-day workshops aim to further develop the representative skills of mental health consumers and carers already participating in national policy initiatives. In particular, the workshops are designed to develop representatives’ advocacy, policy development and leadership skills. They also provide an opportunity to discuss national issues important to mental health consumers and carers, as well as network and share representative experiences. 

This year, 2024 workshop was held on the 8-9 May in Canberra (Vibe Hotel) and attended by 55 mental health lived experience representatives.  

The workshop theme was Times of Change: Celebrating milestones and embracing positive transformation. This was chosen by working group members to reflect the current environment of significant change in the mental health sector and for lived experience leaders, and the need for resilience and hope in navigating that change with a positive mindset. 

Mental Health Australia engaged The Social Deck, who supported the design and facilitation of the workshop, in collaboration with lived experience working group members and Mental Health  

The workshop was purposefully designed to take participants on a journey through appreciating the best of past and current work, dreams for the future, practical ideas and solutions, and how to work together to achieve purposeful change. It included group activities as well as more unstructured, narrative and storytelling approaches. 

The workshop report has been complied by the Social Deck.