I am honoured that Ms Rachel Fishlock, CEO of Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia accepted our invitation to speak to us all this week.

Rachel is a proud descendant of the Yuin Nation and is the Chief Executive Officer of Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia. Driven by lived experience of systemic neglect as a child carer, Rachel aspires to create systemic change to the Australian mental health system, particularly for children and caring arrangements. She works to achieve the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  

Carolyn Nikoloski 
CEO, Mental Health Australia 

It recognises that structural change in the way Governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is needed to close the gap. 

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap contains commitments to independent oversight and accountability, including a comprehensive review of progress to be undertaken by the Productivity Commission every three years.  

The first of these reviews was released in early February 2024 and paints a grim picture.  

While the objective of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is to overcome the entrenched inequality faced by too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so that our life outcomes are equal to all Australians, the Productivity Commission’s Review of the National Agreement (the Review) found that governments have not fully grasped the scale of change required to their systems, culture, operations, and ways of working to deliver the unprecedented shift they have committed to. 

Those of us working in the community-controlled sector are not surprised by this Review’s outcome. The Review is a clear example of why the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration needs to be implemented in full and embedded into Australia’s mental health system. 

The Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration focuses on a ‘best of both worlds’ approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health, social and emotional wellbeing, and suicide prevention, promoting an appropriate balance of clinical and culturally informed mental health system responses.  

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presence and leadership in Australia’s mental health system is vital to achieving the highest standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes for our people. 

In 2022, the rate of death by suicide for our men was 2.6 times higher than that of non-Indigenous males, and 2.5 times higher for our women.¹ Reducing deaths by suicide and suicidal behaviour among our people, and ensuring high levels of social and emotional wellbeing, are issues of major concern – this work can’t wait. 

Full implementation of the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration would reflect a fundamentally new way of providing mental health, social and emotional wellbeing, and suicide prevention services to our people – exactly the kind of commitment Australian governments made when signing the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. 

As the Review found, we can’t keep making small tweaks to business-as-usual processes – we need to make substantive and systemic changes. Implementation of the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration is a great place to start.  

Find out more about Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia and our work on our website. 

Rachel Fishlock
CEO, Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia

1 https://www.aihw.gov.au/suicide-self-harm-monitoring/data/populations-age-groups/suicide-indigenous-australians 

The diary next week

• On Thursday I will attend the NDIS Disability Representative and Carers Organisation Forum. 
• On Friday I will be chairing the induction of members into the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Senior Officials Lived Experience Group, which is being established under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.  
• On Monday I will be meeting with the Australian Psychosocial Alliance, and with Suicide Prevention Australia.
• On Tuesday I will be meeting with KidsXpress and Uniting.

Mental Health Australia CEO, Carolyn Nikoloski, is delighted to invite Members to a special Mental Health Australia Member Connect online event - our first for 2024. 

Dr Ruth Vine is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Mental Health, in the Department of Health and Aged Care and has graciously accepted our invitation. On the cusp of her imminent retirement, Dr Ruth Vine will join me in conversation to reflect on her extensive career, and to hear some of her insights on the mental health reform that she has seen and led through her time in the sector.

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask Dr Vine questions and we’ll hear about her hopes for the future of mental health reform in Australia.

Event: Mental Health Australia CEO In conversation with Dr Ruth Vine
Date: Wednesday 13 March 2024
Time: 2:00PM - 2:45PM

Via Zoom: Click the button below to register for this exclusive member-only event

Mental Health Australia Members are invited to Save the Date for the Budget Special - Member Policy Forum - Thursday 16 May 2024 at Old Parliament House in Canberra.

Twice a year Mental Health Australia Member Policy Forums bring together mental health sector leaders, including Mental Health Australia members, policy makers, and other stakeholders to discuss and address critical issues surrounding mental health policy and reform. Through insightful discussions, presentations, and workshop sessions, these forums seek to foster collaboration and drive positive change in mental health policy and advocacy.

Some online attendance will be available. Registrations for in-person and online attendance will open in March. As this event will occur during a parliamentary sitting week, attendees are encouraged to book flights and accommodation early. 

Calls for new Human Rights Commissioner for Mental Health and Wellbeing

Australians for Mental Health (AfMH) has called for the creation of a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commissioner within the Australian Human Rights Commission in a pre-budget submission to the Federal Government. The newly formed role would have the power to initiate investigations, compel witnesses, and refer matters for prosecution in a bid to drive more accountability from governments on their mental health performance.

NMHCCF’s Official Statement on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Final Report

The National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) has released its NMHCCF Official Statement on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Final Report in response to the NDIS Review recommendations.

Reinforcing a sustainable, honest, and trustworthy NDIS

The Albanese Government will provide initial funding of $83.9 million to strengthen the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and make sure every dollar is going to participants who need it. The new funding will go towards the Crack Down on Fraud program and will boost fraud-detecting IT systems to better protect monies allocated to Australians living with disability who are on the NDIS.

Inaugural Meeting of National Disability Data Asset Council

The Albanese Government progressed its positive agenda to improve programs and services for people with disability by convening the first meeting of the National Disability Data Asset Council on Monday 19 February. The Council comprises three disability community members, three data experts, three Commonwealth representatives and three state and territory representatives.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Mental Health Services

New release from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Mental Health Services. This site describes the activity and characteristics of Australia’s health and social care services accessed by people with a mental illness.

Multi-million-dollar boost for child and youth mental health services

Queensland Minister for Health and Mental Health, Shannon Fentiman, says the Miles Government is investing $67.8 million in new and enhanced Child and Youth Acute Response Teams to improve mental health outcomes for young people.

UOW researchers to develop AI technology for suicide prevention in prisons

University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers Professor Bronwyn Everett, Dr Rebecca Bosworth and Professor Wanqing Li, have received funding through the NSW Government’s Small Business Innovation & Research (SBIR) program to explore the feasibility of AI based health monitoring as a suicide prevention tool in NSW corrections centres.

Spotlight shone on NSW homelessness crisis

NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said sobering analysis that has been released by Homelessness NSW lays bare the extent of the rising homelessness crisis. 

There has been an alarming increase in the prevalence of anxiety and affective disorders among young Australians aged 16-24 over the past two decades. While increased investment in youth mental healthcare services is needed to manage the rising demand, on its own, this won’t solve the problem and we need to adopt a new, more proactive approach that focuses on promoting young people’s mental wellbeing and preventing these conditions from occurring in the first place.

Join the team at Prevention United as they discuss how we can reverse the rising tide of mental ill-health by tackling the risk factors that contribute to poor mental health and increasing young people’s access to key protective factors. To register for the webinar, click on the button below. To access the Solutions Paper before the webinar visit https://bit.ly/3QYwuKL.

Leading youth mental health service, ReachOut, is launching its inaugural Social Impact Report 2022 - 2023. To mark the release of this new report, they will be hosting a webinar on 21 March. 

Karen Wilcox, ReachOut’s Director of Research and Impact, will be joined by sector experts Eleanor Booth, Managing Director and Founder of For-Purpose Evaluations and Amanda Third, Professor at Western Sydney University and Co-Director of the Young and Resilient Centre. 

Join the ReachOut team as they unpack the findings from the report and demystify impact measurement for digital mental health services. Discover strategies to overcome common challenges and barriers in impact measurement, and explore the skills to strengthen service through data-driven decision-making. 

Improving emergency department care for suicidal teens and their families

Youth suicide is a growing problem in Australia. There is increasing recognition that brief interventions and strategies may be an important aspect of a comprehensive treatment strategy. In a joint project between Deakin University and Monash Health, their teams are conducting research to develop a new intervention to support young people who present to the emergency department at risk of suicide, and their parents.

One part of the intervention will be a series of text messages to support young people and their parents in the days and weeks after they are discharged from the emergency department (ED). To do this, they are looking for parents/carers of a young person who presented to an ED for suicide-related concerns when the young person was aged 12-18, to complete a brief survey. Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in a follow-up interview. 

If you are in this group, or know others in this group, please complete this survey by clicking on the button below.

2024 Rural Mental Health Conference and website launch

The 2024 Rural Mental Health Conference has launched! The conference website www.anzmh.asn.au/rmhc is now live. We’re changing the way in 2024, opening with expressions of interest to present at the conference or register interest to attend the conference. Presenter applications will open on Friday 19 April, and there will be 60 presentation spots available. Registrations will open on Thursday 27 June, with a super early bird rate available for 60 registrations for a limited time.

Please encourage your colleagues to register their interest so they can get these important dates for the conference in their calendars now.

Preventive Mental Health Symposium - 10% discount on registration and sponsorship opportunities

The Public Health Association of Australia, in Partnership with Beyond Blue present the Preventive Mental Health Symposium to be held on Tuesday 12 March 2024 at the Pullman Albert Park, Melbourne. The symposium will be held as a hybrid event which will include in-person and online attendance and will include a mix of keynote speakers and panel discussions.

Discounted registration available until Wednesday 21 February.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available and offer a strategic opportunity to demonstrate the support your organisation gives to preventive mental health and to associate your brand with thought leadership, sector networking and partnership development.

blueknot Trauma Informed Diversity Awareness Masterclass

This experiential one-day professional development training goes beyond ‘standard’ LGBTIQ diversity training. This masterclass fosters the knowledge and skills to work competently and confidently with transgender people accessing therapeutic and other services. It explores the intersectionality of complex trauma, discrimination, and minority stress to build understanding on how these factors impact the health of transgender people.

Invite to Register – Mental Health for CMOs Webinar

Join a webinar to find out how the community sector can implement the National Safety and Quality Mental Health Standards for Community Managed Organisations (NSQMHCMO Standards).

When: Thursday 22 February, 12:00pm – 12:30pm AEDT

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is releasing a range of practical resources to support CMO service providers, consumers and carers, and accrediting agencies to implement the NSQMHCMO Standards. Accreditation to the NSQMHCMO Standards begins 1 July 2024. Click the button below to register.

Sector-led consortium opportunity is available on AusTender

The Department is undertaking a competitive tender process to commission an Australian mental health service provider, or a group of service providers led by a single provider (with extensive experience in the design and/or delivery of digital mental health service) to work directly with help seekers, carers, and their support networks to co-design a connected and fit for purpose approach to modernising Australia’s mental health service navigation. 

Scope of Practice Review

The first issues paper for the Scope of Practice Review has been released, and responses from the sector are sought by 8 March. This independent Review focuses on health professionals who currently provide or have the potential to provide primary care, and explores the available evidence of the benefits, risks, barriers and enablers associated with health practitioners working to their full scope of practice. 

Gaining the views of as many people as possible, representing the broadest span of professions and public perspectives, is essential to the success of this review.

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