Why mental health and wellbeing reform matters
Mental health and wellbeing are influenced by:
- where we live, learn and work
- our relationships and social connections
- culture
- financial security
- physical health
- freedom from violence and discrimination
- access to support.
Improving mental health and wellbeing involves more than health services alone.
Reform helps improve mental health and wellbeing by:
- strengthening prevention
- providing support earlier
- improving the services, systems and environments people rely on.
We work across government, communities, services, researchers and people with lived-living experience to improve mental health and wellbeing in Queensland.
Our work supports Shifting minds: The Queensland Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs, and Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan.
Learn about our housing, mental health and wellbeing programs and initiatives.
Learn about our physical health and mental wellbeing programs and initiatives.
Promoting mental health and wellbeing
Strong relationships, social connection and a sense of belonging support mental health and wellbeing.
We support initiatives that:
- help people connect with others and feel they belong
- strengthen skills, confidence and resilience in people and communities
- improve understanding of mental health and wellbeing
- enable communities to find local solutions
- address issues that can affect mental health and wellbeing.
Community initiatives
We support community organisations to deliver local initiatives that promote positive mental health and wellbeing.
Communities are often best placed to understand and respond to local needs.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Grants fund community-led programs that strengthen wellbeing, connection and participation.
View Mental Health and Wellbeing Grants grant recipients.
Building knowledge and skills for wellbeing
The Wellbeing Capacity Building Project helped organisations and communities build the knowledge and skills needed to support mental health and wellbeing across Queensland.
The project review highlights its reach, impact and key learnings.
Read the wellbeing capacity building project summary.
Read the wellbeing capacity building project evaluation.
Supporting community wellbeing
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Investment Package supports initiatives that promote mental health and wellbeing where people live, learn, work and connect. It brings together government and community partners to support prevention, early intervention and community wellbeing.
Learn about the Mental Health and Wellbeing Investment Package.
Queensland Mental Health Week
Queensland Mental Health Week brings people together through events and activities that support mental health and wellbeing.
Learn about our events.
Beyond Blue partnership
We work with Beyond Blue to strengthen mental health awareness, encourage early action and help people seek support when they need it.
Learn about our Beyond Blue partnership.
Prevention and early intervention
Supporting people early can improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes and help prevent challenges from becoming more serious.
We support reform and initiatives that support prevention, strengthen early intervention and improve connections between services, families and communities.
Our work focuses on children, young people, families and communities.
Mental health in primary schools
The Mental Health in Primary Schools initiative uses schools as a setting for mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention.
Participating schools are supported to develop a whole-of-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, including:
- dedicated mental health and wellbeing leaders
- professional learning
- stronger connections between education and health services.
Improving access to support
People should be able to access the support they need as early as possible and, where possible, close to home.
Our reform work supports:
- stronger community-based and community-led responses
- better connections between clinical, psychosocial and peer supports
- locally tailored responses, particularly in regional, rural and remote communities
- alternatives to hospital and emergency-based care
- better coordination between services and sectors.
This work helps people access support earlier and closer to home. This includes place-based approaches that respond to the needs of regional, rural and remote communities.
Regional, rural and remote communities
People in regional, rural and remote communities can face unique challenges that affect mental health and wellbeing.
We support community-led approaches that strengthen local connections, build resilience and improve access to support.
The regional mental health and wellbeing hubs initiative helped communities improve mental health awareness, capacity and coordination.
Read the regional mental health and wellbeing hubs initiative evaluation report.
Reducing stigma and discrimination
We work to reduce stigma and discrimination related to mental health, alcohol and other drugs, and suicide.
Learn about stigma and discrimination.
Learn about alcohol and other drugs stigma.
Learn about the impact of stigma on First Nations peoples.
First Nations social and emotional wellbeing
Culture, connection to Country, family, kinship and community are important to the social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations Queenslanders.
We support First Nations-led and community-led approaches that strengthen culture, healing, connection and self-determination.
Learn about our First Nations wellbeing programs and initiatives.
Lived-living experience
People with lived-living experience bring valuable knowledge that helps improve policies, programs and services.
We support lived-living experience leadership and involve people with personal experience, as well as families, carers, kin and supporters, in shaping reform.
Learn about our lived-living experience programs and initiatives.
Using evidence to drive reform
We use research, data, evaluation and insights from people with lived-living experience to:
- understand what works
- identify gaps
- guide future policies, programs and investment.
We also coordinate and monitor mental health reform across government. We work with agencies and sectors to strengthen accountability and support continuous improvement.