Commissioner update; Our lived-living experience commitment: Free training to embed Lived-Living Experience Workforces; Digital mental health roundtable; and more
I'd also like to thank all the speakers who joined us and shared their insights. You might have already seen some materials pop up on the Summit website and we’ll be sharing further resources, such as presentations and recordings, in the new year.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
I was delighted to announce the recipients of our 2024 Achievement Awards at the Summit for their contributions to the sector. Congratulations again to Gary Haddad, Jennifer Black, Associate Professor John Allan, Professor John McGrath, Karen Dare, Martin Shaw, Mitchell Giles and Teegan Modderman! You can read more about this year’s recipients here.
Congratulations John Reilly
I'd also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr John Reilly on his appointment as the new Executive Director, Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch at Queensland Health following Associate Professor John Allan's retirement. John brings a wealth of experience to the role and I look forward to working together in the new year to help drive reform and improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for Queenslanders. Read more about John.
Lived-Living Experience Commitment
The Summit also saw the launch of the Commission’s important Commitment to partnering with people with lived-living experience in Queensland. The Commitment articulates the values our organisation holds and how we will put them into action when partnering with people with lived-living experience. I must acknowledge all the work that went into developing this Commitment, including from many of you who joined us for consultation sessions, attended our opening and consolidation webinars and/or provided your feedback in various other ways. Your courage and generosity in sharing your expertise, insights and recommendations have been invaluable. We look forward to putting this into action, and I invite you to take a look at our Commitment on our website.
End of year reflection
As this is our last eNews of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, for all you do to support the wellbeing of Queenslanders. Many of you also gave your time and your valued feedback on various pieces of work underway at the Commission this year.
It has certainly been a huge year, with many highlights but also some challenges.
There’s many to choose from but some of the things I’m most proud of achieving this year at the Commission include, the launch of The Queensland Trauma Strategy 2024-2029 and ‘More than a roof’, the Commission’s supportive housing position statement. We also established a $9 million mental health and wellbeing grant program to fund initiatives that improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes in Queensland communities, alongside the Thriving Lives, Connected Communities commitment in partnership with Health & Wellbeing Queensland. Of course, there's also been various funding to grow the evidence base on what works, and innovative solutions to drive reform of the mental health, alcohol and other drugs and suicide prevention system, including through our Better Futures Grant and the Suicide Prevention Research Scheme.
This doesn’t even begin to capture all of the other work underway, and I must extend a special thanks to my team for all their efforts this year.
If you’ve heard me speak recently, you might have heard me say this, but I really feel we are in an exciting time to drive the system forward in Queensland. It’s not just about making improvements to current systems, but also building and investing in the new – new approaches and scaling up pockets of excellence and innovation. We need to do both of these things to bring the system forward and ensure all Queenslanders have the tools they need to be healthy, well and thrive.
Well wishes
Finally, on behalf of the Commission, I would like to wish you all a safe and happy Christmas. This year, I invite you to embrace the idea of less presents and more presence. For some, this may mean cherishing time with family and friends. For others, it might involve reaching out to build new connections, practising small acts of kindness, or simply finding ways to nurture joy and care within yourself.
From all of us at the Queensland Mental Health Commission, we wish you a joyful Christmas and a New Year filled with warmth, connection, and meaningful moments. Whether you celebrate with loved ones, find comfort in quiet reflection, or discover joy in new ways of connecting, may your festive season be rich in the gifts of presence, love, and community. I look forward to another reform-focused year in 2025 and working with you all again.
Embedding Lived-Living Experience Workforces
The Commission has invested in free online training for Queensland organisations to gain essential understanding of Lived-Living Experience workforces and work.
The training, delivered by Dr. Louise Byrne, covers the difference between having individual lived-living experience and building Lived-Living Expertise; the importance of designated roles; and outlines some of the values, principles and benefits of Lived-Living Experience work across various roles and specialities.
The training is available to Queensland-based staff of eligible organisations in relevant sectors. We encourage you to sign up to this important training, to build organisational understanding, readiness and capability to support and realise the full potential of Lived-Living Experience (Peer) workforces as a respected and credible discipline.
The SLG met on 30 October 2024 to discuss the implementation progress on the Shifting minds, Achieving balance and Every life strategic plans, as well as other projects being implemented by government agencies to improve the mental health and wellbeing of Queenslanders.
The SLG oversees the development, monitoring and evaluation of initiatives to support the objectives of the three strategic plans. For further information, please email the secretariat at Shiftingminds@qmhc.qld.gov.au.
The Commission recently made a submission to the Inquiry into the Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024, a key component of which is the 'Adult Crime Adult Time' approach to youth justice. The Commission recommended the Inquiry take a human rights approach, and focus on investing in evidence-based prevention and early intervention, as well as focusing on what works to rehabilitate children and young people involved in the criminal justice system.
In November, the Commission co-hosted the Roundtable with the eMental Health International Collaborative. The Roundtable brought together representatives from Australia and abroad to share updates and learnings and explore the future of digital mental health, including the use of AI. It was great to have sector leaders and leading digital mental health research and industry experts in one room. Learn more about our key takeaways below.
The Commission is funding QuIVAA to develop a resource for women and pregnant or parenting people who currently use substances. The resource will address the important intersection of issues through lived experience storytelling to educate and empower women who use drugs. Topics such as sexual assault, family violence, and identity-based discrimination and harassment will be highlighted in the resource. This is a non-judgemental, supportive harm reduction resource that will be accessible through Hi-Ground’s website in early 2025.
The Commission is partnering with Yamagigu Consulting to evaluate four place-based community suicide prevention response pilots. The pilots aim to respond to suicide in First Nations communities and have been funded by the Commission. The evaluation will measure the outcomes and develop an evidence base to support longer term sustainability. The Commission is looking forward to this partnership and to understanding the findings for how to prevent suicide and how to sustain community-driven initiatives.
The 2025 National Suicide Prevention Conference is being held on 20-22 May in Perth. The Conference brings experts together to showcase evidence-based solutions and promote robust discussion, focused on saving lives. It’s also an opportunity for Australian - and international - individuals and organisations to participate and network beyond borders and operational areas. Register for the conference here.
The Powered Up Queensland Lived Experience Summit is a two day event that has been planned and organised by people from the Lived Experience Workforce, for the Lived Experience Workforce. Held from 20-21 February 2025 on the Sunshine Coast, summit attendees will hear from keynote speakers, participate in skill-based workshops and engage in interactive planning for the future Lived Experience workforce. Register your space now.
The Roses in the Ocean 2025 Lived Experience Summit is being held from 13-14 March 2025 in Brisbane.The Summit will explore emerging innovations in suicide prevention, enable partnerships with future research and service development, create collaborative opportunities and support the growth of those with lived experience of suicide. Register for the event here.
The Women's Wellbeing Line (1800 4 WOMEN), is afree and virtualmental health support and therapeutic counselling service for women, girls and gender diverse folk in Queensland. If you would like to access this service or know someone who would benefit, you can call 1800 4WOMEN (1800 496 636) or email wellbeing@wheq.org.au. You can find more information by visiting their website.
