Cross-sector supporters
Who is behind Queensland Mental Health Week?
As part of Queensland Mental Health Week governance structure there is both a Reference Group and a Working Group. The Reference Group guides overall strategic direction and the cross sector Working Group provides liaison, support, and expertise to develop and deliver the week’s key initiatives and events.
Below are the organisations involved in these groups (in alphabetical order), for which CheckUP acts as chair and secretariat. These organisations are joined in the group by lived experience representatives.

Arafmi
Arafmi provide quality support, education and advocacy services to people with mental illness, their families and carers. Their vision is to enhance the wellbeing of people with mental illness, their families, carers and volunteers.

CheckUP
CheckUP is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to better health for people and communities who need it most. They work with partner organisations and health providers to create healthier communities and reduce health inequities. Through their current range of health programs and initiatives, CheckUP has an established footprint in 190 communities across Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Queensland
Council on the Ageing (COTA) Queensland is a statewide not for profit organisation advancing the rights, needs and futures of people as they age. COTA strives to influence government legislation and policies and help shape community attitudes towards ageing and older people. This includes fostering social change by providing leadership and expert advice on ageing issues, working with other peak agencies and Councils on Ageing across Australia and sister organisations around the world.

Education Queensland
The Department of Education is committed to ensuring Queenslanders have the education and skills they need to contribute to the economic and social development of Queensland. The department delivers world-class education and training services for people at every stage of their personal and professional development. It is also committed to ensuring our education and training systems are aligned to the state’s employment, skills and economic priorities.

Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ)
ECCQ has been working directly with Queensland’s many communities since 1976. Every year, ECCQ helps thousands of people from all backgrounds, across all of Queensland. The organisation’s focus is supporting and advocating for the needs, interests and contributions of culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Queensland.

Grow
Grow is a national not-for-profit consumer-based organisation. They provide a peer supported program for growth and personal development to people with a mental health condition or illness and those experiencing difficulty in coping with life’s challenges. Odd Socks Day, an initiative by Grow, is a light-hearted approach to remind people that anyone can have an odd day, and that stigma is still one of the greatest barriers to people seeking help and recovering from a mental illness.

MATES in Construction
The MATES in Construction program is based on the simple idea that suicide is everyone’s business and that if the building and construction industry in Australia is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of its workers and reduce suicide rates, then it cannot be left to the mental health professionals, but rather everyone in the industry must play their part.

Mental Awareness Foundation (MAF)
The Mental Awareness Foundation aims to support those charities working directly with communities to raise awareness of depression and mental illness, while supporting the preservation of life. Mental Awareness Foundation is run by a union of individuals who are making a difference in society by delivering fun, exciting, informative, exhilarating experiences within communities. MAF are also the organisers of Australia’s largest mental health walk, the Walk for Awareness.

Mentally Healthy City Townsville
The Mentally Healthy City (MHC) project aims to help the people of Townsville flourish and thrive as a community by heightening the focus on mental wellness and through assisting individuals and organisations to better support those people who from time to time may be mentally unwell. Townsville has many clinical services on offer, however it is not enough to address just intervention to mental illness without informed prevention.

Metro North Mental Health – The Prince Charles Hospital
The Prince Charles Hospital’s mental health program provides an integrated community and inpatient service to people aged 18 years and older. They support the recovery of adults with mental illness through a range of assessment, treatment and support services.
They work with the consumer, their family/carer, community health, primary health and private sector health providers.

Office of Industrial Relations
Office of Industrial Relations has more than 800 staff all over Queensland. They offer a range of policy, advisory, compliance and specialist technical services and initiatives. In partnership with stakeholders, they strive to achieve the lowest rate of work-related and electrical fatality, injury and disease in the nation, improved workers’ compensation regulatory services and a fair industrial relations framework in Queensland.

Open Minds
Open Minds delivers mental health, disability and employment supports and is a registered NDIS provider. The Open Minds team works to enhance mental health and wellbeing by delivering a range of tailored options focused on people’s individual needs. This includes support streams encompassing my life, my job, my health, my home and my community. Open Minds has a strong commitment to working alongside people and focusing on their strengths to enable personal achievement and recovery.

Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC)
The Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC) is a leadership and policy organisation. It was established in 1990 and is the peak organisation representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Services (ATSICCHS) in Queensland at both a state and national level. QAIHC Membership is comprised of ATSICCHS located throughout Queensland. Nationally, QAIHC represents Queensland through its affiliation and membership on the board of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).

Queensland Alliance for Mental Health (QAMH)
Queensland Alliance for Mental Health is the peak body representing the mental health sector in Queensland. They support their members, the wider mental health community and individuals with lived mental health experience. Representing and supporting services and groups that meet the needs of people who experience mental health issues, QAMH leads the community mental health sector by supporting members, prioritising needs and building capacity.

Queensland Health
The Department of Health provides leadership and direction, and works collaboratively to enable Queensland’s healthcare system to deliver quality services that are safe and responsive. These services are delivered by the department and a network of delivery agencies, including 16 Hospital and Health Services (HHS), aged care providers, private facilities, non-government organisations, general practitioners and allied health professionals. The Department and its partners strive to provide better health outcomes for all Queenslanders through continuous improvement and innovation, to deliver the greatest health benefit with the available resources.

Queensland Mental Health Commission (QMHC)
The Queensland Mental Health Commission is committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of all Queenslanders and minimising the impact of substance misuse in our communities. QMHC brings together expertise by partnering with community, government, and industry across a range of areas, including health, employment, education, housing and justice. They find solutions and guide action to improve the systems that support people with, or who are at higher risk of mental illness or substance misuse, as well as their families, carers, support people.

Richmond Fellowship Queensland (RFQ)
Richmond Fellowship Queensland is a not-for-profit leader in the provision of psychosocial mental health services, serving the Queensland community for more than 40 years. RFQ empowers people to develop their own personal recovery plans that reflect their vision for the future and the goals they wish to pursue with our support. These plans integrate a recovery-oriented model of practice with leading, evidence-based recovery tools.

Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
The Flying Doctor’s emergency retrieval service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, delivering the finest care to more than 290,000 Australians each year. The RFDS delivers a broad range of essential health care services to rural and remote communities, including general practice, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, child and family health, mental health and wellbeing, women’s health and health promotion.

Thirteen Digital
Thirteen Digital is a digital design studio who have gained a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, creative digital solutions. They have proudly partnered with Queensland Mental Health Week and contribute services in-kind to a cause close to their hearts. Thirteen Digital provide support to QMHW to advocate for improved mental health and wellbeing.

Western Queensland Primary Health Network
Western Queensland PHN is one of seven Primary Health Networks (PHN) across Queensland funded by the Australian Government. The Western Queensland PHN’s goal is to improve the integration of primary care services to create seamless health care in shared communities across Western Queensland. Western Queensland PHN aims to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Health Services for patients, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes and improve coordination of care to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time.