Mental Health Coordinating Council’s sector data mapping project builds the case for a unified data system across community-managed mental health organisations to increase recognition and investment in the sector.

Mental health care across New South Wales and Australia depends on the commitment, expertise and lived-experience leadership of community-managed organisations (CMOs), yet the sector is often overlooked and underfunded.

One reason is the lack of clear, consolidated data showing how these organisations improve quality of life for people living with mental health challenges. Good data not only helps organisations improve their work, but also guides funding and policy decisions by giving policymakers the evidence needed to invest more in these services.

The sector is not consistently represented in national datasets, including those tracked by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Our data mapping project and it’s goals

Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC)’s recent CMO Sector Data Mapping Project studied 85 organisations and surveyed 17 MHCC members. It also included consultations and a desktop review. The project aimed to better understand how mental health CMOs collect and use data, and to lay the groundwork for sector-wide data system standards.

We looked at what information organisations collect, how it is stored and used, and the reporting requirements CMOs work with across funding streams. This included service activity, consumer outcomes, demographics, and workforce data.

Challenge: data exists but is scattered and inconsistent

The project found that over 90% of organisations use data for outcomes, evaluation and service planning, over 95% collect demographic data, and 85% gather both quantitative and qualitative data. However, differing systems, frameworks, and reporting timelines make it hard to combine into a complete, ‘birds eye view’ of sector activity and impact.

Across the sector, collecting, monitoring and evaluating data is essential but resource-intensive, particularly for smaller organisations with limited staff, which often rely on manual systems and face duplication and reporting burden. Larger organisations, while supported by more advanced systems, face complexity in managing multiple funders, reporting cycles, and differing requirements.

What’s more, several organisations noted the tension between the value of sharing data across the sector and the responsibility to protect consumer trust, safety and privacy. This points to the need for any future data approach to include clear governance, strong safeguards and the resources required to support ethical data use.

What data would CMOs like to see more of?

Survey responses showed strong demand for clearer data on the workforce itself, including its size, skill mix, turnover and composition. On the consumer side, around half of organisations want to collect more real-time feedback, wellbeing indicators and long-term outcomes.

There was also a desire for more consistent reporting on inclusion and the social determinants of mental health, including housing instability and experiences of violence or discrimination. Many organisations wanted better information on access barriers such as geography, digital access and cultural needs.

Improving data in these areas would strengthen understanding of workforce capacity and gaps, support more inclusive service design, better target resources, and provide stronger evidence of unmet need, particularly for priority populations.

Future recommendations

A more coordinated approach to data collection and reporting is essential and long overdue for NSW’s community-managed mental health sector. Coming out of this project, MHCC identified several opportunities to improve sector capability.

These include:

• Developing a consistent data reporting framework to reduce duplication and clarify requirements across funders
• Providing targeted training and support to build confidence in collecting and using data
• Creating shared tools and templates to improve consistency and reduce workload
• Investing in better data systems, especially for organisations with limited capacity
• Collecting more real-time feedback and wellbeing data to improve services
• Strengthening data on access to better understand local needs and barriers
• Working with the AIHW and sector partners to improve national consistency and visibility

Our findings clearly show the volume of data already being collected by CMOs and our members, challenging the misconception that the sector lacks evidence of its value, including the positive outcomes it delivers for service users, carers and the community.