Media Releases

More than one in five Australians have experienced discrimination in the workplace due to mental illness, according to new research by the Mental Health Council of Australia ( MHCA ). The research has been conducted as part of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign. “When 22% of people surveyed tell us that they have witnessed discrimination in the workplace, relating to mental illness, it shows that we have a serious problem with stigma in this country,” MHCA CEO Frank Quinlan said today.

The Mental Health Council of Australia ( MHCA ) has today welcomed the mental health policy launch from the Australian Greens, using the occasion to ask why the other major parties have been silent on mental health during this election campaign. “Despite there being almost three million registered voters who will experience mental illness this year, the ALP and the Coalition are yet to release any significant mental health policy,” MHCA CEO Frank Quinlan said today.

beyondblue and the Mental Health Council of Australia are stepping up their campaign to end practices in the Australian insurance industry that may discriminate against people with a mental illness. The organisations are urging more potential victims of discrimination to come forward, share their stories and participate in the move to redress this issue. beyondblue CEO Kate Carnell AO said Australians with an experience of mental illness are regularly denied insurance cover, forced to pay higher premiums or have their claim rejected because of their illness.

MHCA ’s new publication calls on a whole of community response to mental health reform The Mental Health Council of Australia today called on the entire community to get behind mental health reform, now that it has dropped from the political election agenda.