Coming together to advocate and celebrate

There is no slowing down for the Mental Health Australia team as we head towards the end of the year. This week we had the pleasure of hosting our Annual General Meeting, the 2023 Grace Groom Memorial Oration, and our Members Policy Forum in the nation’s capital.

This year’s Board elections were strongly contested.

Ash de Silva, CEO of ReachOut Australia, was re-elected to the Board for another two-year term, and Professor Sharon Lawn was appointed for another two-year term as the Director nominated by a Consumer Member.

We also welcomed Dr Evelyne Tadros from Mental Health Coordinating Council and Associate Professor Melanie Turner from The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to the Board for two-year terms.

With heavy hearts, we also farewelled Georgie Harman from Beyond Blue on her last day as a Board Member of Mental Health Australia.

Following our AGM, we came together with members and guests from across the country to celebrate an evening to remember.

At the National Portrait Gallery, we hosted our 17th Grace Groom Memorial Oration with special guest orator, 2023 Australian of the Year, Taryn Brumfitt.

Each year we hold this event to pay tribute to the former Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Council of Australia (now Mental Health Australia) – Grace Groom – and to bring the sector together to recognise our collective efforts in advocating for mental health reform.

During the Oration, Taryn held the room captive with her story of reaching so many people across the world with the message of body positivity. Her courage in challenging societal norms, promoting acceptance and advocating for change, is truly commendable.

Following the Oration we announced the 2023 recipient of the Grace Groom Memorial Scholarship, Andy Lyu. Andy is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Mental Health Research at ANU.  Andy will use the Scholarship funds to co-design an online gatekeeper education tool for youth suicide prevention with parents, carers, and young people in China.

Our evening was also bittersweet, as we bid a heartfelt farewell to our esteemed Director of Policy and Research, Harry Lovelock. 

Harry joined the Mental Health Australia team in 2019, and in this time has been the driving force behind some of the most impactful initiatives and submissions that have shaped mental health policy during his tenure. He has tirelessly championed lived-experience and evidence-based approaches, ensuring that our advocacy work is grounded in sound research, and motivated us to push boundaries and continually challenge government, the sector and ourselves, in delivering on mental health reform. 

We are all grateful for the enormous contribution Harry has made to Mental Health Australia and the mental health sector more broadly and wish him all the best in his retirement next year.

Fortunately for us, we still had Harry for our end-of-year Member Policy Forum, held on Wednesday.

Over 60 member delegates joined Chair Matt Berriman, our Policy team, and myself to hear updates from government representatives and sector leaders, and inform Mental Health Australia’s pre-budget submission and policy priorities for the next year.

We were pleased to welcome some very special guests to lead some of our sessions, including Anthea Raven and Caitlin O’Brien from the Department of Health and Aged Care; representatives from the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum, Deputy Co-Chairs Jordan Frith and Roz Havard; Corri McKenzie, Deputy CEO from the National Disability Insurance Agency; Jack McDougall, Gayaa Dhuwi Engagement Officer; and Ashley de Silva, CEO of ReachOut. We were also able to share a message from the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, the Hon Emma McBride.  

As a sector, it is important for us to come together with a unified voice on policy solutions to provide the government that will deliver long-term change. We will continue to work together in 2024 on mental health reform to address the urgent need to increase access to affordable and accessible mental health supports, and advocate for a multi-year mental health reform roadmap - one that is co-designed with people with lived experience, and their families and carers, and the sector, and has strong accountability mechanisms in place, to ensure that we’re delivering on the change that is needed.

Have a good weekend.

Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia

The diary next week

• On Monday I will be meeting with The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and then Ruth Vine, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health from the Department of Health and Aged Care.
• On Tuesday I will be attending the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Senior Officials Safety and Quality Group meeting.
• On Wednesday I am presenting at the Prevention in Practice Summit in Newcastle.
• On Thursday I am meeting with Mental Health Victoria. 
• On Friday, I am meeting with the NDIA.

Submission on Primary Health Network program performance management

This week Mental Health Australia provided a submission on behalf of our members to the Australian National Audit Office’s audit of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s performance management of the Primary Health Network program. The submission particularly points to issues with inconsistent approaches across PHNs, which is creating inefficiencies in the PHN Program overall, and a lack of transparency and accountability with limited public data on PHN performance.

Mental Health Australia called for the Department of Health and Aged Care to review the PHN Program Performance and Quality Framework to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose, increase transparency in funding and commissioning across PHNs, implement recommendations of the Australin Public Service Commission Capability review to build the Department’s evaluation capability, and improve information and data sharing across PHNs to support national monitoring. Mental Health Australia looks forward to the outcomes of the audit.

Open letter calling for an end to racism

This week Mental Health Australia Chair Matt Berriman joined more than 600 business leaders, political elders and academics to lead a roll call of Australians who have signed an open letter calling for an end to the rise of anti-Semitism.

The double-page advertisement in newspapers across the country on Tuesday – including The Australian Financial Review and The Australian – pleads for compassion and tolerance to prevail.

Matt said, “We strive for mental health for all, not just specific groups, and foster an environment for all Australians to be mentally healthier.”

“We should be looking after each other and come from a place of empathy.”

FASSTT Witness to War telephone support line is now live

The Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT) Network has launched a new ‘Witness to War’ telephone support line to provide assistance to people affected by international conflicts including the current situation in Israel and Palestine. The Witness to War Multilingual Support Line will be delivered by trained bicultural support workers from across the FASSTT Network. 

Movember invests $100 million in the new ‘Movember Men’s Health Institute

Building on a 20-year legacy of investment in men’s physical and mental health - totalling close to $1billion globally to-date - the new Institute has ambitious goals to tackle preventable deaths head-on. Movember, the leading global men’s health charity, is proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary with the announcement of the launch of the ‘Movember Men’s Health Institute,’ a groundbreaking initiative designed to save lives and accelerate progress in the field of men’s health. 

Beyond Blue and Lifeline link up to support more Australians

Lifeline and Beyond Blue are linking up under a new partnership to make it easier and more efficient for people to find the support that best suits them. As community demand for mental health and crisis support rises and resources become increasingly tight, Lifeline and Beyond Blue have designed their new strategic directions to be complementary.

ABS: Mental health, social & emotional wellbeing data sources

The National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing 2017-2023 (the Framework) was developed by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA). It is intended to guide and inform Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing reforms. 

Study shows generational decline in Australia’s mental health

The mental health of Australians has been declining since around 2010 and this is seen in earlier generations, not just the youths of ‘Gen Z’, according to a new study led by the University of Sydney. It’s widely agreed that young people’s mental health has declined in developed countries in recent years. However, it has been debated whether this is an effect seen just in the post-millennium cohort, as well as whether it is a temporary shift that recovers with age, or a more permanent and worrying trend.

New funding to strengthen WA as global research hub

The Cook Government unveiled two key health and medical research appointments to bolster Western Australia as a globally recognised leader in the youth mental health and epigenetic ageing research spaces. Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson announced a funding package of $5.4 million over five years to support the Distinguished Fellows Program, which is aimed at attracting outstanding and innovative world-class research leaders to WA.

Multimillion-dollar boost for child and youth mental health projects

Three recipients will share in almost $4.5 million for innovation programs to boost care in child and youth mental health in Western Australia. Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson announced three winners of the Innovation Challenge - Child and Youth Mental Health, which is supported by the Cook Government’s Future Health and Innovation Fund (FHRI).

Nominations Open For LiFE Awards

The 2024 Suicide Prevention Australia LiFE Awards acknowledge individuals and organisations at a state and territory level, with all award recipients automatically proceeding to the national awards which are held at the 2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference.

Anyone can nominate someone for an award - and that includes self-nominations. Anyone who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to suicide prevention is encouraged to nominate.

Nominations close 15 January 2024.

COVID-19 Response Inquiry call for submissions and evidence

An independent Inquiry will be held into Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help better prepare and protect our country for the future.

It will review what worked well and what we can do better to improve Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics.

The COVID-19 Response Inquiry Panel invites interested people and organisations to make a submission and/or provide evidence to inform recommendations that aim to improve Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics.

The closing date for submissions is 15 December 2023.

NFP Sector Development Blueprint Issues Paper open for consultation

The Blueprint Expert Reference Group (BERG) is developing a Blueprint that will be provided to the Australian Government on what is needed for a sustainable Not-for-Profit (NFP) and charities sector.

Development of a NFP Blueprint was announced by the Australian Government in the 2022-23 October Budget. The BERG comprises of representatives from the social services sector, who have drawn from their expertise to develop an issues paper as the basis for broader consultation with community and across the NFP sector.

This issues paper has been published to the Department of Social Services Engage website.

Submissions close on Wednesday 20 December 2023.