recent developments

PRA’s Janet Meagher, Divisional Manager, Inclusion appointed by Federal Minister to 1st National Mental Health Commission

LEADING AUSTRALIANS TO SPEARHEAD NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH REFORM

Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, today announced the appointment of the Mental Health Commissioners to Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission (the Commission).

“The appointment of the eight Commissioners, alongside the Chair, Professor Allan Fels AO and CEO, Ms Robyn Kruk AM, represents the next major milestone in national mental health reform,” Mr Butler said.

“The eight Commissioners bring together a wide range of skills and experience, including from consumer and carer groups, community and social services, mental health and suicide prevention, Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing and academia.”

The eight Commissioners are:

Mr Peter Bicknell;
Ms Jackie Crowe;
Dr Pat Dudgeon;
Professor Ian Hickie AM;
Mr Rob Knowles AO;
Ms Janet Meagher AM;
Ms Samantha Mostyn; and
Professor Ian Webster AO.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission, Ms Robyn Kruk AM will also be an ex-officio Commissioner.

“Consumers, carers and mental health advocates have argued strongly for systemic reform that would instil greater accountability and transparency into the system. Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission is aimed at doing just that,” Mr Butler said.

“The Commissioners will provide expert and independent advice to the Government on the performance of our mental health system and will monitor whether services are delivering lasting outcomes for people living with a mental illness, their carers and their families.

“One of the Commission’s first priorities will be to deliver the first annual National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, delivering on a key election commitment of the Gillard Government.

“This will allow consumers and their families to tell if services are genuinely effective and meeting their needs.”

“I welcome the appointment of these eight Commissioners and look forward to working with them to give mental health more prominence at the national level,” Mr Fels said.

“We will work hand-in-hand with mental health consumers and carers, the mental health sector, State and Territory Governments, State Commissions and a wide range of stakeholders to change the attitudes of Australians toward mental health and to improve services and support for people experiencing mental illness.”

Other functions of the Commission include:

to develop, collate and analyse data and reports with a particular focus on ensuring a cross sectoral perspective is taken to mental health reform;
to provide mental health policy advice to Government in consultation with relevant agencies;
engage consumers and carers in mental health policy and service improvements; and
build relationships with other stakeholders including: service providers; government agencies; non-government organisations, community mental health organisations, researchers; academics; and state and territory governments to inform the work of the Commission.

A charter outlining the full responsibilities and work of the Commission will be developed for released early in 2012.

The National Mental Health Commission is a key component of the Government’s $2.2 billion mental health budget package.

The Government has provided $32 million over five years for the establishment and operation of the Commission.

The Commission will commence formal activities from 1 January 2012.

Media contact: Virginia Kim, 0407 415 484

Short Biographies for Commissioners

Mr Peter Bicknell is currently the Chair of UnitingCare Australia. He is also the Chair of UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide, Portway Housing Association and Adelaide Brighton Cement Community Liaison Group. Mr Bicknell has also served as the Chair of the Council for the Care of Children, was the Chief Executive Officer of UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide for ten years and has previously worked for the Department for Family and Community Services in Director roles.

Ms Jackie Crowe works with Ballarat Health Services Area Mental Health Service as a Carer Consultant and is a carer member of the National Register of Mental Health Consumer and Carer Representatives. Ms Crowe is ensuring that family/carer perspectives critically inform and enhance decision-making in service provision, policy, and evaluation at local, state and national levels.

Dr Pat Dudgeon is the Chair of Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA); a member of the Indigenous Strategies Working Group; a Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia; and a member of the Mental Health Expert Working Group. Dr Dudgeon is from the Bardi people of the Kimberley. She is a psychologist and is known for her leadership in Indigenous higher education and is currently the Head of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University.

Professor Ian Hickie AM is the Executive Director of the Brain & Mind Research Institute (BMRI) at the University of Sydney, a position he has held since 2003 when the BMRI was first established as a flagship. He is recognised for his extensive knowledge and experience in early detection and treatment of depressive disorders. Professor Hickie is one of the first round of National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Fellows; recognising excellence in Australian Medical Research, appointed for the period from 2008-2013.

Mr Rob Knowles is a farmer and company director. He has been Chair of the Mental Health Council of Australia since April 2006. Mr Knowles is: a member of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission; Chair of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia; Chair of the Royal Children's Hospital Campus Council; and a member of the Board of the Brotherhood of St Lawrence. He is a former Victorian Minister of Health, Housing and Aged Care and has a strong interest in services for consumers and their families and carers.

Ms Sam Mostyn is currently the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at the University of Sydney. In this role she is responsible for building collaborative and cross disciplinary projects involving research excellence on a number of sustainability topics. In September 2010 Ms Mostyn was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Virgin Blue Board. Previously she held senior executive positions with Insurance Australia Group (IAG), Optus Communications and Cable & Wireless Plc in London, and was a policy advisor to two Federal Communications Ministers and the Prime Minister Paul Keating.

Ms Janet Meagher AM is currently the Divisional Manager of Inclusion for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia. She is a representative of the Consumers’ Health Forum of Australia and a founding member of the NSW Consumer Advisory Group. Ms Meagher has been a mental health consumer activist and advocate for almost 30 years. She has lived with schizophrenia since the early 1970’s. Ms Meagher was a Churchill Fellow in 1994, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996.

Professor Ian Webster is a physician and Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales and Patron of the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia. He has held senior appointments in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales and appointments at Monash, Sheffield and Sydney Universities. He is Chair of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation; the Governing Council of the Ted Noffs Foundation and; the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of New South Wales. Professor Webster is also a member of the National Advisory Council on Suicide Prevention and the Australian National Council on Drugs.

PRA and Richmond Fellowship of NSW propose merger

Two of New South Wales foremost NGO’s providing community based services for people with mental health problems have announced a proposal to merge.

The Boards of both PRA and Richmond Fellowship NSW have voted in favour of a merger, and will take a recommendation to their respective memberships in the first half of 2012, following the completion of due diligence and detailed planning.

Both organisations have long records of service in the community managed mental health sector, PRA having formed in 1955 and Richmond Fellowship of New South Wales in 1970. If the merger was to occur, the newly formed organisation would be a major not for profit body of 475 staff assisting over 3,500 clients in 63 locations across New South Wales and southern Queensland.

PRA CEO Phil Nadin said that the merger proposal is a direct response to the changing environment of human service provision in Australia. “The clear objective of the proposal is enhancing services and creating a solid foundation for growth over the long term”.

“By bringing together the resources of two large and skilled organisations, not just in terms of finances and human resources, but also a range of specialisations that have been developed over the years, the new entity will offer an unrivalled suite of service types and opportunities for people who are looking for support in the community during their mental health recovery.”

With a focus on growing and continuing the core traditions of both organisations, which are very similar, there will be no service reductions or staff cuts. People who use the new organisations’ services will benefit from a Guarantee of Service that Directors of the two bodies demanded as a means of demonstrating their ongoing commitment to quality service standards in the new organisation.

Both Boards have said that the merger proposal is being put on a “marriage of equals” basis, where both the existing organisations will be ultimately dissolved and a new organisation created. Stakeholders in both organisations will have equal say in how the new organisation is structured and operates.

Anyone with feedback on the proposal is welcome to contact either PRA or Richmond Fellowship of NSW.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Matthew Watson,
Repute Communications & Associates
0417 691 884