Projects

QAMH is in partnership with Queensland Health to develop a Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Strategy. The purpose of the Strategy is to articulate the distinctive workforce issues unique to the sector, as opposed to the mental health system more broadly, and detail the specific actions that will be required to address them. The Issues Paper was published in February 2023 and formed the basis of QAMH’s state-wide consultations with the sector. The Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Survey results were released in October 2023. The draft Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 was released in November 2023, followed by the launch of the final report in October 2024.

QAMH has been engaged by Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA) to lead the Psychosocial Approaches to Thriving Health Systems (PATHS) Project. This initiative builds on the findings from the Assisting Communities through Direct Connection (ACDC) Project which highlighted the diverse needs and disparities in access to mental health services for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, First Nations people, carers, LGBTIQ+ individuals, older persons, and those living in outer regional areas.

The Mental Health Industry Connector pilot project aims to create a strong pipeline of well-prepared workers into our sector by assisting students of the TAFE Certificate IV in Mental Health (CHC43315) to successfully complete the course and graduate with an understanding of the Community and Mental Health and Wellbeing sector. QAMH Is funded to deliver this project by Jobs Queensland under the Queensland Care Consortium.

The Community Mental Health Workforce Project identified a range of priority skill gaps and training needs that would assist and prepare the workforce to operate in the sector. QAMH collaborated with Workability Queensland and TAFE Queensland to develop a specific training package – this is now available for free via the TAFE Queensland learning platform.

The Peer Workforce Student Mentoring Program is a pilot project with Lived Experience Peer Mentors providing individual and group based mentoring support to students completing the Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work at TAFE QLD - Gold Coast and Mooloolaba Campuses.

The Queensland Mental Health Commission, working in partnership with QAMH is funding an analysis of the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Sectors to understand how we can grow and strengthen the sector. A Project Reference Network including community mental health member organisations, Lived Experience advisors and other key stakeholders was recently established to support the project team.