Mental Health Australia is seeking your views on possible future directions for the Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA) Project.

Please refer to the consultation paper for information on the MHiMA Project, including recent Project activities and questions to assist with your feedback.  We especially encourage people from CALD backgrounds who are either living with or caring for someone with mental illness, or who have expertise in working with CALD populations to comment.  We also encourage anyone with an interest in multicultural mental health and wellbeing to provide feedback on this issue and the MHiMA Project.

The consultation paper and feedback form can be found at the Mental Health Australia website.

Our MHiMA work continues to gather pace. We are currently forming a Project Advisory Group with representation from all jurisdictions, CALD consumers and carers, and CALD views and expertise outside of the mental health sector. As part of this process, during the week we met with representatives from the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA (link is external)) and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA (link is external)), and the Chair of the Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Principal Committee (MHDAPC). The Advisory Group will first meet in February 2016.

As flagged in previous updates, Mental Health Australia is commissioning an independent review of the Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia. The review will include an examination of the Framework’s structure, delivery and sustainability, and recommendations for future delivery and expanded implementation.

Latest update from Frank Quinlan, CEO Mental Health Australia:

As noted in previous updates, Mental Health Australia is now managing the Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA) Project until the end of June 2016. The Australian Government Department of Health has asked us to review previous project arrangements and outputs.

One of our key deliverables is to provide a report to the Department of Health containing advice and recommendations on possible future directions for the project. This report is due in March 2016. We will be working closely with the multicultural mental health and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) sector, including CALD consumers and carers, on this future direction.

- Read the full update here - 

Latest update from Frank Quinlan, CEO Mental Health Australia:

On 26 October 2015 in Canberra, staff from Mental Health Australia and I met with a number of former consortium members and stakeholders involved in delivering the Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA) Project.

This one-day meeting focused on achievements to date and the future of the MHiMA Project. Participants discussed potential activities from now until the end of June 2016, and how Mental Health Australia can engage with the wider CALD sector for greater input into the MHiMA project.

- Read the full update here -

As advised in my previous update, Mental Health Australia has been engaged by the Department of Health to manage the MHiMA Project. I met with the MHiMA National Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Consumer and Carer Working Group (NCCCWG) on Tuesday 21 October. This was a very helpful and productive meeting, and I look forward to speaking further with the NCCCWG to inform the future of the Project. The engagement with the NCCWG will be an ongoing process as Mental Health Australia works to develop recommendations on the future of the MHiMA Project.