How much do you really know about your community in Australia?

Learn more about where you live, the language you speak and how the country is changing based on the 2021 Census results. You can search by place, LGA, state or even language.  

OzHelp is looking for someone to provide a superior service to client enquiries, linking them with support and/or counselling services via our CRM system Salesforce, and also provide administrative support to the Clinical Director and the Service Delivery Team.

Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride, says more than 3,000 Australians died by suicide in 2020, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) latest report: Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring. “The report provides insight into the mental health and wellbeing of Australians at the start of the pandemic, with the country seeing an average of around nine deaths by suicide per day. The report indicates that males are three to four times more likely to take their own life than females, while females are more likely to attempt suicide or be hospitalised for intentional self-harm.

This release is the second of three annual GEN batch updates for 2020–21 data. These updates include information about how many people are admitted to the different types of aged care, how long people tend to stay in aged care and their reasons for leaving, and whether the needs of people in aged care are rated as high, medium or low for different care domains such as assistance with activities of daily living or complex health care.

The Australian Government is working to reduce the number of younger people (under the age of 65) going into residential aged care, and to help younger people who are already in residential aged care to move into age-appropriate accommodation with the supports they need. The Younger People in Residential Aged Care dashboard tracks the progress being made towards these targets, using the most recent data available.

This report presents a comprehensive picture of people with younger onset dementia, using 2 linked data sets: the NIHSI AA and the MADIP. People with younger onset dementia were identified using pharmaceutical claims for dementia-specific medication. The linked data were then used to describe social characteristics from the 2016 Census, patterns of Centrelink payments, and patterns of health service use, residential aged care service use and causes of death.

Twelve community-led Village Hubs have been established around Australia, providing opportunities for older people to improve their mental and physical health through the benefits of increased community connections via an informal peer-support network. The Village Hubs deliver a wide array of activities and initiatives in both regional and metropolitan areas to a diverse audience of older Australians, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) and LGBTQI+ groups.

The Village Hubs are being managed by iLA as part of the Australian Government’s Seniors Connected Program. There are currently 12 Village Hubs across Australia, and iLA is inviting organisations to make referrals to the Hubs, as well as seeking partnership or support opportunities. To find out more, visit the website or contact villagehubs@ilaustralia.org.au

The Australian Government is making it easier for Australians to see a doctor by strengthening Medicare, the critical foundation of our health system.

In the first week of Parliament, Labor and the Liberals have joined forces to deny the disability community the opportunity to have disabled person as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The Productivity Commission has released the second Annual Data Compilation Report. It provides a point-in-time snapshot of data for monitoring progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, signed in July 2020. More information is now available, but further time and data are needed to say if lives are improving.

The Government has committed to ensuring veterans and veteran families have the services they deserve, committing an additional $70.6 million in funding over four years to increase Veterans’ Home Care fees for domestic assistance and personal care services. Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh said this funding will help to ensure important domestic assistance and personal care support through the Veterans’ Home Care program is delivered to the veteran community.

Hosted by WAAMH with support from the WA Mental Health Commission and Lotterywest, the conference will be held in-person at Perth’s Optus Stadium and virtually with interactive streaming and online networking on 7-8 November 2022, with the theme, ‘Working together: a shared purpose’.

Out From The Mist is an international music, short film, and photography competition that shines a light on mental illness.

If you have lived experience, either directly, or through a loved one, share your experience through the lens of art!

The 2022 competition is open from 1st July to 19th August 2022 and for the first time, entries will be open to music, vocal and instrumental.

Black Dog Institute is pleased to announce its Summit on Self-Harm to be held on
Thursday, 10 November 2022 at Doltone House in Sydney.

This full-day event will bring together leading international researchers, clinicians and lived experience experts to provide and share insights about self-harm.

Held virtually over two half-days, Perspectives 2022 will feature a line-up of Lived Experience speakers, leaders and advocates, including Fay Jackson, the Deputy Commissioner of the Mental Health Commission of NSW and General Manager, Inclusion at Flourish Australia.

This training program offered by BlueKnot builds on the trauma responsive leadership training program which introduced the concept of secure base leadership and focused on the foundation of understanding self in a leadership role.

Eating Disorder Core Skills: eLearning for Mental Health Professionals is comprehensive foundational eating disorder training developed specifically for mental health professionals. The five-hour, self-paced and interactive online training includes practical real-life scenarios and activities, videos from leaders in the field and people with a lived experience of an eating disorder, up-to-date resources and a formal assessment.

Systematic Tailored Assessment for Responding to Suicidality (STARS) is a person-centred, psycho-social, needs-based semi-structured interview. It was developed to provide a very initial insight into the complex world of a suicidal person to inform immediate collaborative and compassionate client care, including further examination of suicidality as necessary.

Final places are available, but going quickly.  

Cohort intake start date: August 1st 2022 (4 weeks to complete the course)

Structure: 12 – 15 hours online, followed by 1-day skills-based webinar

Entry criteria: must have some experience working with those in suicidal distress.

The 16th National Rural Health Conference will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2–4 August 2022.

The full program for the 16th National Rural Health Conference is now available online. The program includes details of keynote, invited and concurrent speakers. Keynote speakers now include well-known journalist and author Stan Grant.

Suicide Prevention Australia’s National Suicide Prevention Conference 2023 will be held over 1 – 4 May in Canberra. This event provides a gateway to unite suicide prevention experts to showcase evidence-based solutions and robust discussion, focused on solutions for saving lives.