MHIMA blog

As the year comes to a close, I’m pleased to share an update on the National Multicultural Mental Health Project, and look to what’s ahead for 2019. 

Since the public announcement of the project in May this year, our focus has been on coming together with lived experience and professional experts from across the mental health and multicultural sectors. Together, we’ve shaped and begun a significant program of work which we’re confident will help us move towards a more equitable mental health system, which reflects and responds well to the needs of Australia’s multicultural population. 

A key focus of our work program is on the redevelopment and ongoing national promotion of the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (the Framework), which helps services to evaluate and enhance their cultural responsiveness. We look forward to continuing to reach out to Primary Health Networks, mental health services and interested providers in 2019, and to begin a series of dedicated workshops on the Framework around Australia. 

Next year will also see the redevelopment of the project’s website into an up-to-date knowledge network on multicultural mental health. This will involve mapping what evidence-based resources and tools are currently available, and identifying priorities and resource gaps which need to be addressed. We look forward to launching the project’s new branding and website during 2019. 

Moving forward, the project will continue to have a strong focus on working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities around mental health awareness and stigma reduction, and an additional focus on establishing a data collection and reporting strategy. 

We are delighted to have already seen the project energised and enhanced by the contributions of our CALD Mental Health Consumer and Carer Group and Stakeholder Group. We are also deeply grateful for our ongoing alliance with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) in delivering this project. 

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