Community Mental Health Australia Projects
Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA) is a coalition of the eight state and territory peak community mental health organisations, Mental Health Coordinating Council, Vicserv, Queensland Alliance, Mental Health Coalition of SA, Mental Health Council of Tasmania, Western Australian Association for Mental Health, Mental Health Community Coalition of ACT and Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition. CMHA was established to provide leadership and direction promoting the benefits of community mental health and recovery services across Australia.
CMHA aims to represent the community managed mental health sector in national initiatives related to mental health and social inclusion, enhance the capacity of coalition members to represent, support and strengthen the non-government community mental health sector and to develop joint policy targeted at supporting people with mental health problems to live fulfilling lives in the community.
CMHA consults with and represents over 800 organisations across Australia and through its networks is in contact with the views of consumers, their families, carers, service providers and community members. CMHA is an active member of the Mental Health Council of Australia and collaborates with the Council on policy issues relevant to the community sector.
Current CMHA Projects
Day to Day Living (D2DL) Capacity Building Project
CMHA has initiated a two year national project funded by DoHA to facilitate the identification and dissemination of good practice models among Day to Day Living (D2DL) program providers. More
Mental Health Non-Government Organisation National Minimum Data Set Project
The contribution made by mental health NGOs in providing mental health services to people living with a mental illness, their families and carers has increased significantly over the past few decades. The Mental Health Non-Government (NGO) National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) Project represented a significant step toward establishing a national mental health NGO data collection. Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA) through MHCC and in partnership with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) worked on the project from March till July 2011. The MH NGO NMDS project aimed to develop a mental health non-government organisation (NGO) national minimum data set.
The main purpose for collecting nationally consistent information on the activity of mental health NGOs is to provide reliable data to better inform policy, practice and planning of national mental health NGO activities to support Australians living with a mental illness, their carers and families. The data obtained from a national collection will better inform policy and planning of mental health NGO activities in supporting people living with a mental illness. The project was undertaken through a process of consultation with Australian and state and territory government funders, mental health NGO peak bodies and NGOs. A national consultation workshop was held on 8 June 2011.
The project deliverables included a mental health NGO service taxonomy, a data set specification for the national collection and a preferred data collection methodology. The report of the project has now been forwarded to the Department of Health and Ageing for consideration.
For further information contact MHCC on 9555 8388 or email: info@mhcc.org.au or CMHA on (07) 3252 9411 at: admin@cmha.org.au