On the 16^th of July, Mental Health Families and Friends Tasmania’s Lived Experience Project Officer attended a Roundtable hosted by Carers Australia to gather and consider the views of service providers who deliver support to families, friends, and other carers. This consultation is going to help inform the National Carer Strategy that is currently being developed. Topics discussed included service’s ability to meet the demand of family and friends’ needs, the challenges that families and friends face in accessing services, and gaps in policy and program settings.

MHFFTas raised a number of concerns facing mental health and AOD families and friends in Tasmania, including:

• The lack of supports for families and friends in regional areas, particularly the Northwest, West coast, Northeast, and East coast.
• Support for mental health and AOD families and friends need to be separate from other carer’s as their experiences and needs are very different.
• Tasmania is the most digitally disadvantaged state or territory in Australia, and so we cannot rely on online supports.
• For our organisation, we do not have the funding to support families and friends in person around the state.
• Tasmania is made up of small towns and trust and community are essential.
• Funding issues are letting down mental health and AOD families and friends.
• Young families and friends face unique challenges and often don’t seek support due to stigma and fear of child safety getting involved.

MHFFTas were grateful to be able to have a seat at this national table and advocate for the needs of mental health and AOD families and friends in Tasmania. Even more exciting, however, is that national consultations with families, friends, and other carers will be taking place in August and September.

The Department of Social Services engaged Deloitte to facilitate meaningful and representative community consultation across Australia to inform and co-develop the National Carer Strategy, with those it is designed to reach.

They need your voice to shape the support offered to families and friends in Australia, and Tasmania needs your voice to shape the support offered to families and friends in Tasmania.

Throughout these consultations, the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the needs and experiences of Australia’s diverse unpaid family and friend carers. They want to explore the current support systems and the outcomes they produce, while identifying the solutions that will benefit you the most.

Consultations will be held nationwide in July, August and September 2024 (noting that additional weekend webinars will be added to the schedule over the coming week). To see when one of these consultations is in your area, more information on the consultation process, and to register your attendance, scan the QR code in the attached flyer below or visit DSS Engage.

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