Latest News

10 Mar 2020

Community mental health supports vital to ease hospital pressures

THE peak body for the community mental health sector welcomes the State Government’s acknowledgement of the correlation between community services and its impact on acute demand, after stating on any given day nearly a third of inpatients occupying a mental health hospital bed are unable to be discharged because there are not enough supported accommodation or suitable mental health services based in the community.

04 Mar 2020

Media Release - State Government’s commitment to Mental Health Commission a positive sign for mental health reform

THE Western Australian Association for Mental Health welcomes the State Government’s response to the Review of Clinical Governance of Public Health Services announced today, and particularly commends the ongoing commitment to the important leadership role played by the WA Mental Health Commission.

19 Dec 2019

Priorities for mental health investment 2020

The State Government's mental health priority should be to develop a balanced and sustainable service mix in keeping with WA Plan's objectives - focusing first on those support types that are under-invested to balance the system.

07 Dec 2019

Still waiting for CLMIA draft Bill

WAAMH CEO Taryn Harvey spoke to the ABC about the implications of delays to reform the CLMIA Act being introduced to Parliament and how the deadlines for being able to review the draft have been continually pushed back since August 2019.

10 Oct 2019

Media Release - Finalists announced for WA Mental Health Awards on World Mental Health Day

FINALISTS have been selected after a wave of 150 nominations across eight diverse categories were received as part of the Western Australian Mental Health Awards 2019.

04 Oct 2019

Media Release: Mental Health Week starts today

Mental Health Week has been running in Western Australia for more than 50 years, but the importance of this campaign for mental health awareness remains as relevant as ever. The theme for Mental Health 2019 is: ‘Mental health starts where we live, learn, work and play’, highlighting the importance of places we go everyday where we can protect and foster our mental wellbeing as a preventative measure.

26 Sep 2019

Media Release - Conference program launched

THE FULL PROGRAM can finally be revealed for the 3rd Western Australian Mental Health Conference, with keynote speakers including Australian tennis champion and author Jelana Doric; Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Helen Milroy; Dr Sebastian Rosenberg; Matt Ball from The Humane Clinic; Di Wilcox, author of popular kids wellbeing book, The Magic Coat; an Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing panel facilitated by Aboriginal Health Council of WA chair Vicki O’Donnell; and a unique comedy coping workshop with comedian Steph Tisdell.

19 Sep 2019

Media Release - Highest number of Mental Health Week WA community event grants delivered in history to meet ever-growing demand

THANKS to support from Lotterywest, the Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) was able to distribute successful grants worth a combined total of $70,000 to 70 not-for-profit, charitable organisations across Western Australia, including 21 regional groups, to hold their own events and activities as part of this year’s Mental Health Week community grants program.

12 Jul 2019

Long term solutions needed to to end homlessness, not just short term responses to manage it

WAAMH is sharing this media release on behalf of the Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness, which points to three main evidence-based international strategies to end homelessness in response to comments from Assistant Minister for Homelessness Luke Howarth and to the Morrison Government.

23 May 2019

WA State Mental Health Conference and Awards set to return in late 2019

IN the interest of creating a more sustainable mental health system and strengthening our community in Western Australia, the WA Mental Health Conference 2019 will again draw experts together from a diverse range of fields to explore best practice which improves people’s lives. Both the conference and the awards are hosted and coordinated by the peak body for community mental health in the State, the WA Association for Mental Health and supported by the WA Government’s Mental Health Commission.