Inside this edition you'll find

A message from MHCC ACT on recent staff changes, reflections on the last year and how you can get involved in sector advocacy and development
Mental health sector must reads of reports, press releases and perspectives published within the past month.
Training, events, opportunities and resources curated by us, for professionals, practitioners and people like us.

Hello friends,

As you may be aware, MHCC ACT has undergone significant staffing changes in the last few months. We have recently brought on two new team members, Stephen Dunkerley as COO and Angel Hellyer as Communications and Program Manager, as well as a casual to assist with administration. We are currently finalising the selection of our new CEO and hope to announce them in January. Recruitment is also underway for additional support staff.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us during this period. We particularly thank former Board member Kylie Burnett for her incredible work to ensure continuity through this period of low staffing.

While the staffing changeover unfortunately reduced our capacity to engage with our sector in the last few months, we are now resourcing and prioritising our planned projects and a range of exciting events and opportunities in 2025. There is more about some of these in this newsletter!

We look forward to engaging with you over the coming months.

Stephen and Angel

Festive season closure

We will be closed from Saturday 21 December 2024 to Sunday 5 January 2025 inclusive.

We wish all our members, supporters and everyone else in the community mental health sector, a safe, happy and restful festive season.

AGM and Annual report

Our AGM is scheduled for 30 January 2025 and we will send formal advice and invitations to members soon.

In preparation for the AGM, we have been developing our 2023–24 Annual Report. In collating the report, we have been impressed by the incredible work of former MHCC ACT staff members and the impact they have had on our sector and our community.

Key outcomes that will be highlighted in the annual report relate to:

assisting our sector through the process of commissioning of psychosocial services in the ACT
working with ATODA to deliver the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs – Mental Health Alliance
representing the sector on ACT government inquiries
publishing discussion papers on Foundational Supports and the Mental Health Outcomes Framework
advocating for the needs of our members, the sector and Canberrans through our ACT Election Platform 2024
providing a range of professional development opportunities
engaging with a wide range of government stakeholders, national and cross-jurisdictional bodies and our fellow peak bodies
coordinating Mental Health Month ACT.

Look out for our Annual report in January for more information.

Get involved with MHCC ACT

ATOD-MH Alliance

After an excellent first year of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs – Mental Health Alliance (ATOD-MH Alliance), we are actively seeking additional members to join and participate in the Alliance’s three working groups:

Peer support, lived and living experience
Capacity building
Complex and co-occurring cohort.

These working groups are the ideas engine-room for driving ground-up system reform and policy development by the ATOD-MH Alliance. Members making a real and practical difference in the lives of carers and consumers!

We are particularly looking for a mental health sector co-chair of the Capacity Building Working Group. Can you help us build our sector?

For more information on this opportunity and the required contribution of working group representatives, please get in touch with us at communications@mhccact.org.au.

We are excited to deliver on a range of projects for the Alliance in 2025, including bus tours, workshops and an online community of practice.

Connecting with People training

EOIs to help change the narrative on suicide while upskilling our sector by becoming a Connecting with People (CwP) trainer close soon!

We are giving up to eight people working for MHCC ACT member organisations the opportunity to undertake the three-day CwP Train the Trainer course for free so they can become trainers in this internationally recognised suicide and self-harm mitigation and prevention program.

Valued at around $3,000 per individual, participants will become accredited to deliver Compassion at Work and Community Suicide Awareness training modules. These modules equip professionals and community members with the tools to engage meaningfully with people experiencing suicidal distress.

Express interest by 20 December 2024 by completing and submitting the online EOI form.

Find out more about the CwP program

Express interest in becoming a CwP trainer

This training is delivered with assistance from the ACT Government under the Connecting with People program.

Perinatal Mental Health Alliance

We will soon be launching a new Perinatal Mental Health Alliance to bring together organisations in the perinatal mental health sector, focusing on residential services, screening and data, and service system improvements to enhance the service delivery of care, support and treatment of ACT parents and their infants in the perinatal period.

We'll give more information in future updates.

Mental health must reads

In October, we released three reports from Ipsos surveys related to mental health:

We also released a survey on ACT citizen’s opinions on topics linked to mental health.

Other reports, publications and media on mental health issues and perspectives from the past month include:

Reports

Healthy Centre Review of Bimberi Youth Justice Centre 2024
Scanlon Foundation Research Institute’s 2024 Mapping Social Cohesion Report
Be Part of the Ripple: Listening to the voices that matter! report from Prevention United on their Youth Survey
ACT Drug Trends 2024:
- Key Findings from the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) Interviews
- Key Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) Interviews

Statements and strategies

Media

Huff and puff: warnings over drug laws lack substance | The Canberra Times

If we've missed a punchy press release, longer form opinion piece or an article you think our network should see next time, please let us know by replying to this email or emailing communications@mhccact.org.au.

Training

ATODA Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Information and Harm Reduction Training

Do you work with people who use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD)? Do you want to learn more about drug trends, values and attitudes towards people who use drugs and need some up-to-date information to have more informed conversations with your clients?

Join ATODA’s popular one-day ATOD information and harm reduction training for workers in the ACT. Upcoming sessions are on 25 February, 25 March and 6 May.

Volunteering and volunteer management

Volunteering ACT is running a range of training sessions related to volunteering, including Essentials for Volunteer Managers.

Events

Buy a Cuppa for a Carer this December

This holiday season, Carers ACT has teamed up with Two Before Ten to launch the new Cuppa for a Carer campaign. This initiative encourages Canberrans to donate the cost of a coffee to support the unpaid carers in our community.

Donations from this campaign will fund services like respite, counselling, and wellbeing programs, delivered by Carers ACT to the carers of the region.

You can donate at participating Two Before Ten cafes or online.

Opportunities

Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs – Mental Health Alliance

As noted above, we are seeking additional members to join the ATOD-MH Alliance's working groups:

Peer support, lived and living experience
Capacity building
Complex and co-occurring cohort.

We are particularly looking for a mental health sector co-chair of the Capacity building working group.

For more information, email communications@mhccact.org.au.

Connecting with People training

As noted above, we are giving eight people working for MHCC ACT member organisations the opportunity to become trainers in the internationally recognised suicide and self-harm mitigation and prevention program, Connecting with People.

Learn more

headspace Youth Reference Group

The headspace Youth Reference Group (YRG) is looking for young people to volunteer in 2025. The YRG:

meets monthly to give headspace advice and guidance on how to run the service
organises community engagement activities like events, stalls at schools and festivals, resource development and social media campaigns
receives professional development opportunities including Mental Health First Aid.

Learn more

Resources

Be Nice to Brain

FARE Australia has released Be Nice to Brain, a new digital health campaign about the link between alcohol, mental health and wellbeing.

Suicide Prevention Implementation Hub

Life in Mind Australia has launched a Suicide Prevention Implementation Hub to support the Australian suicide prevention sector to harness implementation science and help close the research-to-practice gap. The hub has been created in collaboration with suicide prevention and implementation experts, and people with lived and living experience.

BodyKind Online Education

Butterfly is pleased to share the launch of BodyKind Online Education (BKOE). This evidence-informed, strength based, digital eLearning program was developed for Australian secondary schools to support body image and online safety of young people aged 12 to 16.

It incorporates videos, quizzes, and other activities to innovatively and safely explore topics such as appearance-based content and teasing, misinformation, AI and the role of algorithms, and provides positive strategies like critical thinking, self-compassion, online safety features, help-seeking and reporting. It also includes digital resources for educators, parents and caregivers.

BKOE will be available for schools in 2025.

Mental Health Promotion Competency Framework

Prevention United, with the support of the Victorian Department of Health, has launched Australia’s first Mental Health Promotion Competency Framework.

The framework addresses the need for a skilled workforce in mental health promotion, alongside traditional mental healthcare services. It outlines the essential competencies for both specialist mental health promotion practitioners—those whose primary role is to promote mental wellbeing—and mental health promotion workers—individuals in other roles who contribute to mental health initiatives in sectors such as education, workplaces and community settings.

The framework aligns with a broader shift in Australia’s mental health policy, recognising that mental health is not only about treatment but also about prevention and promoting mental wellbeing.

Seeking input

Survey of Community Attitudes to Prevention of Mental Health Problems

The University of Melbourne is conducting a study about community attitudes on mental health prevention as well as actions taken to support mental health.

They are surveying both a representative sample of the Australian community and a sample of experts in prevention of mental health problems.

ACT Volunteering Strategy Priority Actions

Volunteering ACT is seeking feedback on how best to prioritise its actions in the Volunteering Strategy Action Plan.

Human Rights Survey

The National Mental Health Consumer Alliance is conducting a national survey on how well mental health consumers had their human rights met in 2024. They want to hear about how human rights-based approaches have respected, protected and promoted people’s dignity, as well as times when people’s inalienable rights to mental health have been breached. Your experiences may have been in the mental health system, but also in justice, health, or other social sectors.

Review of Primary Health Network Business Model & Mental Health Flexible Funding Model

The Department of Health and Aged Care is seeking feedback via a Consultation Paper from consumers, frontline health practitioners, commissioned service providers and other interested parties about their experiences with the Primary Health Networks Program.

2024–25 Survey of Women’s Health in the ACT

Women’s Health Matters is conducting a survey to build understanding of the real-life experiences, strengths and needs of women in our community. They will use insights from the survey to guide their work with governments and service providers to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of all women in the ACT.

Professional development for the youth mental health workforce

Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, is seeking to understand the learning needs of the youth mental health workforce in a short survey.

Mental health professionals who work with young people aged 12 to 25 are invited to help shape the future of professional development in youth mental health in The THRIVE Project: Exploring self-directed learning in youth mental health workforce survey. Survey participants can also win a $100 gift voucher.

Our next sector update will be in early 2025. Reply to this email if you have suggestions of something you'd like us to include.

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.

Our mailing address
Lvl 1, 20 Genge St, Canberra City, ACT 2601

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.