Invitations to our 2022 Leading reform summit have now gone out! Our first summit in two years takes place from 23-25 November 2022, with a great program of nationally and internationally recognised speakers, including Roberto Mezzina, Dr Harvey Whiteford, Mary O'Hagan, and Stephen Carbone, along with many more.
This year we will also be including a special program devoted to growing, sustaining, and supporting the mental health, alcohol and other drugs and suicide prevention workforce. General admission ticketing will open next Monday 17 October, if you are interested in attending please register your interest now.
Government response to Inquiry
The Queensland Government recently released its final response to the recommendations of the Mental Health Select Committee.
The Queensland Government supports 46 of the Committee's 57 recommendations.
The remaining 11 recommendations are supported in principle because, while the Queensland Government conceptually supports these recommendations, responsibility for implementation sits outside of the Queensland Government or further consideration and consultation is required before the recommendation can be implemented. Read the report.
Public Advocate report: Better Pathways: Improving delivery of acute mental health services
As we all know, the past two years have seen many challenges for the mental health of Queenslanders, with both the pandemic and major flooding.
The Public Advocate recently completed a review of the public acute mental health system in Queensland. The report, Better Pathways: Improving Queensland’s delivery of acute mental health services examined the improvements that can be made to mental health services, whether that be services for people in acute situations, better early intervention, improvements to community-based support, or measures to prevent the deterioration in people’s mental health.
The report made 21 recommendations, with several of the recommendations consistent with those made by the Queensland government’s Mental Health Select Committee Inquiry. Read the report and recommendations.
$2.5 million for bipolar disorder research centre
The Centre of Research Excellence in Bipolar Disorders has received $2.5 million in government funding over five years. The centre will explore early intervention and getting the best out of treatment, and implementing the findings to improve the lives of people experiencing bipolar disorder.
Manual of Resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention
The recently launched Manual is a collection of practical resources and tools that people, both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous, can use to make a difference in promoting positive mental health and social emotional wellbeing, and preventing suicide.
Beyond Blue and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission recently commissioned research to examine the relationship between financial wellbeing and mental health. The research found people experiencing financial challenges are at least twice as likely to encounter mental health issues than those who aren’t.
The State Government has announced a state housing summit in October to address the urgency around multiple housing issues and to ease the ongoing housing crisis. The Queensland Housing Summit will feed into National Cabinet's consideration of housing and cost of living. Queensland’s population grew by almost 750,000 between 2011 and 2021.
Ending Loneliness Together in Australia is the first white paper to highlight the growing problem of loneliness in Australia. The paper delivers recommendations across multiple sectors to drive a national approach to end loneliness and social disconnection.
The Queensland Ambulance Service will commission an additional four Mental Health Co-responder services in the Darling Downs, Mackay, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast areas. The service provides faster access to safe and specialised mental health assessment and care.
Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) is here! This year's theme is Awareness, Belonging, Connection and the week’s activities will run from 8-16 October. This year the Commission has boosted its funding for the QMHW Community Events Grant Program to a total of $130,000 to support 117 grassroots events around the state.
The Blueprint for Mentally Healthy Workplaces, Release 2, aims to define a vision of mentally healthy workplaces that can be shared by all organisations and businesses across Australia. The Blueprint has been developed as part of the National Workplace Initiative and focuses on three pillars of protect, respond and promote.
The Commission has partnered with QuIHN to deliver another round of Putting Together the Puzzle workforce training sessions for October, November and December. The workshops draw on lived experience insights to reduce alcohol and other drug-related stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings. Sign up now!
The national Health to Health phone service was recently launched, providing Australians with access to mental health support in their own communities. Anyone can make a free phone call to the Head to Health support line where they will receive advice, assessment, and referral to mental health services that best suit their needs.
New study: Measuring quality of life of young people
A new partnership study by Orygen and headspace has found measuring the quality of life of young people presenting to mental health services can generate valuable insights into their care requirements that go beyond reducing psychological distress and promoting symptom recovery.
The keynote speaker presentations from the Equally Well Symposium are now available to stream online. The Symposium brought together experts to share innovative practice and developments aimed at improving the physical health and wellbeing of people living with mental illness.
Suicide Prevention Australia's State of Nation Report
Suicide Prevention Australia has released its annual State of the Nation in Suicide Prevention report. The report showed 88% of suicide prevention services recorded an increase in demand over the past 12 months.
The Penington Institute has released Australia’s Annual Overdose Report 2022. The report shows that 2,220 drug-induced deaths were reported in Australia in 2020, with 1,654 of these deaths unintentional.
The Queensland Government recently announced that the 2022-23 indexation rate for non-government organisations would increase to 5.07 per cent, which would almost double the rise in value of contracts for critical support organisations.
The Public Advocate has released a report examining the confidentiality requirements within the guardianship system. The report includes three recommendations, which could improve the experiences of people involved in guardianship hearings.
NOFASD Australia in conjunction with FARE has launched a range of new resources as part of the Every Moment Matters campaign. The resources aim to provide clear information about the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and to improve public awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Go to the campaign.
Let's start yarning about gambling is a new campaign aimed at raising awareness of gambling harm among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The campaign aims to start a broader conversation in First Nations communities on what constitutes safe and unsafe gambling and reduce the stigma and shame surrounding this topic while encouraging help-seeking.Go to the campaign.
The Safe and Diverse Communities grants program is now open with grants from $10,000 to $25,000 to support small, targeted community-led projects that address women’s safety and violence prevention in Queensland’s multicultural communities. Applications close 14 October. Find out more.
Sponsorships
We offer sponsorships up to $10,000 for sector events. Next round closes 30 November.
