Building a Sustainable, Community-Focused Mental Health Workforce in Australia

Community-based services hold immense potential to provide scalable, evidence-based care.

To transform Australia’s mental health system, we need a sustainable workforce that can deliver high-quality, trauma-informed services, particularly through the community mental health sector. A well-resourced and skilled workforce is essential to unlock this potential, particularly through approaches like social prescribing, which connects individuals to holistic supports beyond traditional mental health care.

Mental health workforce strategies created by the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health and the Mental Health Council of Tasmania emphasise the integration of community mental health services with Primary Healthcare. Both strategies highlight three critical pillars to strengthen the Lived Experience and Peer workforce and meet growing demand.

1. Qualifications and Training

A skilled workforce is key to delivering quality care. To ensure workers are equipped to provide trauma-informed, evidence-based care, we need to invest in vocational education, leadership qualifications, and ongoing professional development. A standardized regulatory framework would further ensure consistency across the sector and improve service delivery.

2. Attraction and Retention

Addressing workforce shortages requires strategies to attract and retain skilled workers. This includes promoting mental health as a rewarding career, improving employment conditions, and creating clear career pathways. Recruiting from Aboriginal, CALD, and LGBTIQA+ communities is essential to ensure the workforce reflects the diversity of those it serves. Supporting the lived experience workforce is equally important, as it provides authentic, recovery-oriented care and reduces stigma.

3. System Enablers

To ensure success, we must focus on systemic enablers like collaboration between community mental health services and primary healthcare. Evidence-based workforce planning and long-term funding are critical, with minimum five-year contracts to ensure stability and retention. A procurement strategy should prioritize community-based organizations with lived experience, ensuring culturally safe and responsive services.

Key Points for a Stronger Workforce:

• Support local services: Ensure Primary Health Networks (PHNs) are adequately resourced to fund community-based, trauma-informed services.
• Long-term funding: Secure funding through five-year contracts to stabilize and grow the workforce.
• Social prescribing: Develop a workforce that guides individuals toward holistic supports addressing mental health through social determinants like housing, employment, and legal challenges.
• Empower peer workers: Centralize peer workers and those with lived experience in service delivery, promoting recovery-oriented care.

Building a robust, community-focused mental health workforce is essential to delivering comprehensive, accessible care and driving lasting change in Australia’s mental health system.

What steps can we take together to build a stronger, more supportive mental health workforce for our communities?