In this Sector Update, find:

• Director of Engagement and Partnerships blog, from Vicky Choice
• Sector News
• Upcoming events
• Grants, community resources, and other opportunities

Our next Sector Update will be in 1 March. Let us know if you have anything you'd like us to include by replying to this email.

We are marching into March with momentum! 

Since our last Sector Update, our submission to the ACT Government’s Inquiry into climate change and a just transition has been published. You can read the submission here. 

Our submission recognises the important yet often overlooked connection between mental health and climate change. It also notes some disturbing findings, for example, a third of people who die in heatwaves – the deadliest form of natural disaster in Australia – live with mental ill-health.  

Moreover, policies to enable a cost-effective transition away from carbon-intensive resources, such as electric vehicle and solar panel subsidies, have generally favoured wealthier Canberrans. 

Our focus is on ensuring that mental health considerations are integrated into climate change policies, creating a more holistic approach to community wellbeing. 

Although we advocate for systemic shifts in climate change adaptation and mitigation in the ACT, something we can all do now is to take part in person-centred emergency preparedness, designed by the Queenslanders with Disability Network. This planning allows everyone – with a specific focus on people with disabilities – to ensure their safety during extreme weather events. 

Right now, we are rolling out our informal ACT Politics Training, facilitated by government relations expert, Louise Crossman. Held fortnightly on Tuesdays at 3pm (with occasional deviations), we will cover topics such as: 

• The ACT Legislative Assembly and government structure 

• The role of MLAs 

• How decisions get made 

• The ACT Budget (including how to read an ACT Budget Paper!) 

• Political parties 

Members are welcome to join – either in the MHCC office or via Teams. You can sign up for the series via Humanitix. 

Later this month we will be hosting an advocacy workshop for our member organisations. This roundtable discussion will be informative and outcomes-driven and will form the basis of our platform, leading into this year's ACT election. 

Coming up is an MHCC website refresh, which will include an events page promoting all the wonderful events and training provided by our members. In the interim, we will share these events on our socials, so please keep us updated on your events and training by emailing us communications@mhccact.org.au. 

- Vicky Choice, Director of Engagement and Partnerships MHCC ACT

In the news

A million ways to make a difference as charity grants go up for grabs | Riotact 
Australia's workers' rights shake-up: Key changes — and what's to come | SBSNews
Chief Psychiatrist releases mental health report in wake of ANU attack | Riotact 
Government confident voluntary assisted dying laws will pass, funds implementation taskforce | Riotact
Here's how much more men are paid than women and the biggest industry gaps | SBS News
Improvements in ED performance with almost two-thirds of patients starting treatment on time | Riotact 
LGBTQ+ Australians more likely to have experienced mental illness, new Australian Bureau of Statistics report reveals | ABC News 
New Head To Health For Tuggeranong | The National Tribune 
Number of young Australians in psychological distress continues sharp rise | The Guardian
Risky alcohol levels, illicit drug use among young women: Australia's drug use in charts | SBS News
'She blames me for the way we live': Mathew's constant battle against chaos | The Canberra Times
Strong support for tightening restrictions on alcohol delivery services, survey shows | ABC News 

MHCC ACT Policy Participation 

Seeking participants

AIHW Stakeholder Survey 2024

AIHW is asking for stakeholders to participate n in the AIHW’s 2024 Stakeholder Survey. This survey aims to give a better understanding of your engagement preferences, and helps the AIHW to know what AIHW products and topics you find most useful.  

Your feedback will allow the AIHW to ensure they continue to evolve in an ever-changing data environment.

Survey

Have your Say: Consciousness and the phenomenology of psychosis survey

Overview of study

Participate in a study exploring how changes in consciousness affect first-person experience of psychosis?  Changes in consciousness include changes in a person’s level of wakefulness, the quality of the things a person is aware of, and how well memory and decision-making work. If the difference between experiencing psychosis and not experiencing psychosis is related to such changes then perhaps these changes can help us understand the type of experiences people have when psychotic – such as hearing voices that are not there or having ideas about things that may not be true.  

We are looking for people identifying as mental health consumers (that is, people with personal experience of mental health issues) who have experienced at least one psychotic episode. All participants must be at least 18 years old and live in Australia. You will need reliable internet access on a computer or mobile device.  

Participants are asked to complete an (anonymous) online survey that will take approximately 20 minutes. 

Survey

Australian Mental Health Promotion Practitioner Competency Framework

Mental health promotion is a specialist field of endeavour that focuses on three outcomes:

• Promoting mental wellbeing.
• Preventing the onset of mental health conditions.
• Enhancing mental health literacy to promote self-care, and help-giving and help-seeking for mental ill-health, and suicidal ideation.

While the field has existed for some time, it has not always received the attention it deserves. Prevention United is keen to change this, and encourage more people to work in mental health promotion. We believe that having a Competency Framework is one way to achieve this. To ensure that the Competency Framework accurately captures the core knowledge and skills required to be an effective mental health promotion practitioner, we would like people already working in mental health promotion or related fields like health promotion and public health to provide their feedback on a Consultation Draft we have developed.

Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Information and Harm Reduction training

This one day training, provided by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT (ATODA), in conjunction with the Mental Health Community Coalition of the ACT, presents community workers with information about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) in the ACT and Australia and will introduce participants to harm reduction approaches to use with clients, as well as information about the ACT ATOD service system including referrals.

Upcoming events

Training and workshops 

• NDIS Review Town Hall Event 5 March, Adelaide or Online 

• Information Session: Model Rules 13 March, Online 

• Practical skills in responding to people who experience domestic & family violence 9 - 12 April, Canberra 

• Volunteer Recruitment Basics 16 April, 202 City Walk Canberra
• Wesley LifeForce First Nations Suicide Prevention Training 17 April, ACTCOSS 

• ACTCOS Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Education Workshop 15 August, Weston Community Hub Meeting Room

• Stepping Stone: CALD Adults Learning Elementary Computer and English Skills Multiple dates, Gunghalin Library 

• Lifeline Canberra - Accidental Counsellor Multiple dates, Canberra

• Lifeline Canberra - ASIST - Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training Multiple dates, Canberra

• Take Control – Live Well 3 week group program Multiple dates, multiple locations

Conferences and forums  

• 2024 Frontline Mental Health Conference Gold Coast, 4-5 March.

• Mental Health Australia CEO In conversation with Dr Ruth Vine 13 March, Online

• Elsie Conference: Celebrating 50 years of women's refuges in Australia 15 - 16 March, Sydney 

• 2024 Child & Adolescent Mental Health Conference 18-20 March, Gold Coast

• Perspectives 2024, Online, 19 - 20 March

• Annual Mental Health Services Forum 9 - 10 April, Sydney 

• AddictionZ 2024, Breaking the Barriers Conference 29 April - 1 May, Gold Coast

• National Suicide Prevention Conference 2024 30 April - 2 May

• MHomentum 2024 22-24 May, Gold Coast

• 34th Annual Mental Health Services Conference, 27 - 30 August, Canberra 

• 17th National Rural Health Conference 16-18 September, Perth

• 4th Indigenous Wellbeing Conference October, Auckland 

• APSAD Canberra 2024 30 October - 2 November, Canberra

Other 

• Celebrate Mardi Gras with Meridian 2 March, Canberra 

• Project Alchemy Exhibition Opening Now until 17 March 

• MENSLINK Big Night Out 2024, 15 March, Canberra

• RE-EMERGENCE: An uplifting film by disabled actors from across rural NSW about their experiences of Drought, Bushfires and Pandemic Various Dates, Goulburn, Merimbula and Queanbeyan

Submit an abstract for THEMHS Conference 2024

Anyone interested in mental health can submit an abstract for consideration for TheMHS Conference 2024 Canberra program.

Abstracts close today, 01 March however there may be an opportunity for an extended deadline. 

More information 

The Mental Health Services Awards of Australia and New Zealand Have Opened 

The Mental Health Service Awards of Australia and New Zealand recognise innovation, research excellence, best practice and lived experience leadership in mental health services. They also aim to reduce stigma by acknowledging responsible media reporting of mental health issues and encourage others to promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing.

Award winners are honoured at a prestigious ceremony each year, as part of TheMHS Annual Conference. They also receive a three- day conference registration, financial support to attend an ‘in person’ conference, and recognition on TheMHS website and media materials.

The next Awards will be presented at TheMHS 2024 Canberra Conference.

Award submissions close April 11. 

Editorial policy
Opinions expressed in articles included in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the policy position of MHCC ACT. Information included in this newsletter is for general information purposes only and should not be seen as an endorsement of any particular service.

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Acknowledgement of Country
MHCC ACT acknowledges all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Custodians and Country and recognises their continuing connection to land, sea, culture and community. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.