Inaugural profile of WA’s community mental health workforce unveiled

  
Wednesday, 5 August 2026
  

  • In late 2025, WAAMH conducted WA’s first ever snapshot survey of the community-based mental health workforce.
  • The results of the survey have been released this week.
  • The findings paint a picture of a stable workforce but also show structural factors like commissioning and contracting are impacting workforce planning.

  
This week, the results of a historic project to conduct the state's first ever snapshot survey of the community mental health sector’s workforce were unveiled.

The survey results show the sector’s workforce is stable, with low vacancies and a high level of permanency.

Survey respondents identified structural factors, including commissioning and contracting, as the biggest challenges for workforce planning as well as attraction and retention of staff.

WAAMH’s CEO, Taryn Harvey, said the quantitative data that had been collected through the survey aligned with feedback that WAAMH had received from members over the years.

“For the first time, we have a profile of our sector’s workforce and valuable data that can be added to a national profile,” Ms Harvey said.

“The survey results also provide evidence of some of the ongoing challenges facing our sector, so this data will help inform our future advocacy efforts and underpin our advice on workforce planning.

“The results make it clear that longer-term funding arrangements, better indexation, competitive salaries, and investment in training are necessary if we want to create a sustainable workforce that can grow and adapt as the demand for services evolves.”

  

Who makes up WA’s community mental health sector?
  • The workforce is predominantly female.
  • Most workers are mid-career (aged 26 to 55).
  • Frontline care and support workers are the largest employee group, making up just under 80% of the total workforce.
  • At least 40% of the workforce has lived experience of mental ill-health, regardless of whether they are in designated Lived Experience roles.

   

What are the key trends impacting the sector?
  • The sector expects demand for services to increase over the next five years and for presentations to be increasingly complex.
  • Vacancy rates are modest (below 5%), but there are recruitment challenges for Aboriginal Mental Health Workers, psychologists, and some allied health roles.
  • Recruitment and retention challenges are structural rather than organisational.
  • Targeted, system-level solutions are needed for sustainable workforce growth.

  
Ms Harvey explained that defining what the sector would look like in five and 10 years’ time was critical in order to build a workforce with the capacity and capability to respond to increasing and changing needs.

“Positively, our survey results show that our sector has strong foundations in the form of a stable, experienced workforce, which can adapt and build on current skill sets to prepare for the future.

“However, it’s important we create the right conditions through commissioning processes to support the workforce to do that.”

The workforce survey was open to all community-based organisations in WA that provide mental health services.

Respondents included specialist mental health organisations as well as broader community service organisations delivering mental health programs across metropolitan, regional and rural WA.

The survey was conducted by workforce planning and development consultancy, Human Capital Alliance, with guidance from a Project Reference Group.

To learn more about the results of the Workforce Survey Project, view the key findings or view the full report.