WAAMH joins national workforce advisory group to inform government
Tuesday 16 December 2025
- A national advisory group has been established to inform the implementation of Australia’s mental health workforce strategy.
- The group will publish quarterly advice to government on workforce planning and development.
- To help inform WAAMH’s ongoing contributions to the advisory group, members are invited to join a workforce network in 2026.
WAAMH’s CEO has joined leaders from other mental health workforce stakeholder groups around the country, to form the National Mental Health Workforce Sector Advisory Group.
The advisory group will publish quarterly advice, which will support the work of the federal government’s interjurisdictional working group that oversees the implementation of the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy 2022–2032.
The quarterly advice will inform decisions relating to workforce challenges and opportunities, with the aim of creating a more sustainable mental health workforce that can cater to the growing needs of all Australians.
Despite the Productivity Commission’s recent recommendations and national attention on the need to provide more psychosocial supports outside the NDIS, the current workforce strategy does not include the community-based mental health workforce.
WAAMH’s CEO, Taryn Harvey, said the advisory group was an opportunity to promote the community-based sector’s essential role in providing supports, and its ability to help alleviate the pressure that the nation’s mental health system is currently facing.
“WAAMH’s members – many of which are community-based service providers – offer a unique value proposition as employers, despite the resourcing constraints they face,” Ms Harvey said.
“These advantages could be far better utilised than they currently are, to attract and support mental health workers, and offer mental health services that better meet Australians’ needs.”
Ms Harvey explained that in turn, this would ease pressure on public mental health services.
“By coming together to collaborate, develop actionable solutions to emerging workforce issues, and presenting our advice to governments, this advisory group will benefit not only the staff who are already working in the sector, but also the provision of sustainable, quality mental health care into the future,” Ms Harvey said.
The group has so far published two pieces of advice; with the first outlining the need for the community-based sector’s workforce to be included in the national strategy.
The second piece of advice examines the ways government can support the wellbeing of the sector’s workforce; with the key recommendation being a reform of the way governments manage commissioning and contracting, so that service providers have the certainty and security they need to support their workforces.
The advisory group is endorsed by the federal government and convened by Mental Health Australia. The group will next meet in February 2026.
To help inform WAAMH’s contributions to the advisory group and facilitate sector engagement on workforce planning and development issues, a WA workforce network will be created in 2026.
WAAMH members who are interested in joining this network should email membership@waamh.org.au.
The National Mental Health Workforce Sector Advisory Group’s quarterly advice to the federal government’s National Mental Health Workforce Working Group can be found on Mental Health Australia’s website.