family and child support

Perspectives Newsletter - September 2015. Australia’s first royal commission into family violence will wrap up public hearings after four weeks of evidence from victims, advocates and support services. We’ve learnt that the impacts of early experiences of family violence and child abuse are often both significant and long-term. However, until recently, society has continued to ignore and stigmatise the daily challenges often experienced by the five million Australian adults living with the effects of childhood trauma and abuse.

The Mental Health Council of Australia has welcomed the release of Australia’s first National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. “The National Report Card gives us a snapshot of where Australia currently is and takes a whole-of-life approach, looking at physical health, employment, relationships, education, housing and homelessness, community participation, family and child support and justice. This shows us that we’ve come a long way over the last 20 or so years, but we still have a long way to go”, said Mr Frank Quinlan, CEO of the Mental Health Council of Australia.