MENTAL HEALTH FAMILIES AND FRIENDS TO LAUNCH NEW WEBSITE DESIGN   DATE: Monday 20 March 2023 RELEASE: IMMEDIATE   Mental Health Families and Friends Tasmania is happy to announce it’s launching a new website. The new website will offer a clean, fresh design that will be easier to navigate so families and friends, and organisations can find the information they need when they need it. This new website is designed with an easy search bar tool, a main menu, and a “choose your own adventure” so people can find information for themselves either as a support person, a professional,…

Eligibility rules for the Disability Support Pension have been updated, effective from 1 April 2023. Under the new legislation, people with mental health conditions will be able to provide evidence from a registered psychologist, rather than just a clinical psychologist, and the language around diagnosis, treatment and stabilisation of a condition has been updated to remove the word ‘permanent’ and replace ‘fully’ with ‘reasonably’. Mental Health Australia welcomes these changes in line with advice from the sector, which address some barriers for people with mental health conditions applying for the DSP.  To read the explanation of proposed changes, please see…

The Rising Together study was a co-produced study funded by the Centre for Mental Health Learning (CMHL) and led by the University of Melbourne. The study sought to investigate the experiences of family/carer lived experience (LE) workers within the Victorian mental health system, with the aim of better understanding what is needed to ensure the safe and sustainable development of this workforce. Please see the final report here: Rising Together Final Report Launch

If you are a carer, Carers Australia wants to hear from you.  Please take the time to complete the 2023 Carer Wellbeing Survey and be entered into a draw to win a gift card. Your feedback will be used to strengthen carer advocacy and shape national policy about the current well-being experiences of carers and how support can be improved for carers across Australia. Sharing your experiences makes a difference! Complete the survey today  

  We are excited to be the first partnered co-delivery program with the Recovery College. We will be co-producing & co-delivering the course “Challenging Stigma” in the Autumn program.  This course links in with the MHFFTas Self Advocacy Toolkit that was thoroughly researched, designed, and developed with key stakeholders, which places lived experience at the forefront. Below is the College’s Autumn Timetable.  The courses on offer will be absolutely fantastic for Recovery College students.  You can access this free, inclusive, and quality learning at the Glenorchy Campus and the Peacock Classroom. If you have any questions regarding timetabling, curriculum, or content,…

Headspace are currently on the hunt for some young people to join the Youth Reference Group. Meetings are fortnightly on a Tuesday. https://www.facebook.com/hobartheadspace/photos/a.340460489373199/6049152428503948/    

Subject: Media release: Launceston Head to Health moves to new purpose-built premises We would like to share the attached media release, which Launceston Head to Health operator Stride issued this morning. The release is about the relocation of the adult mental health centre from its interim site on Paterson Street, where it has been operating for the past year, to its purpose-built home at 62-64 Canning Street. The centre will welcome northern Tasmanians at this new address from tomorrow (Tuesday 17 January). Stride is planning a community open day in coming weeks. If you have any questions about the new…

You may be aware that on Tuesday, 18 October 2022, the Hon Bill Shorten MP announced a review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The review will look at the design, operations and sustainability of the NDIS. It will also look at ways to make the market and workforce more responsive, supportive and sustainable. For more info: https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/about Despite the NDIS being for people with lifelong disability, many people on the NDIS also have a family member or friends providing informal support and care. We support this review process and hope that it can lead to improvements for NDIS participants, and…