23 June 2026
NSW Budget falls short on mental health supports beyond crisis
Mental Health Coordinating Council welcomes the investment in mental health and suicide prevention in the 2026–27 NSW Budget, but says further investment is needed to strengthen community-based mental health supports and respond to growing demand across the state, including providing certainty around the future of psychosocial Foundational Supports.

22 April 2026
No exit without a safety net: Psychosocial supports and the NDIS
Mental Health Coordinating Council has welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to sustainability and reform of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) but warns that changes affecting people living with psychosocial challenges must not proceed without an alternative service system that is fully funded and co-designed.

2 April 2026
Fuel and cost of living pressures deepen mental health crisis in NSW
Mental Health Coordinating Council warns that while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Australians that they “can and should, go about your business and your life as normal”, for many people living with mental health challenges, this is already out of reach.

10 November 2025
NSW Parliament must urgently resolve workers compensation reforms to protect workers and sustain essential community mental health services
Frontline workers and the organisations that employ them depend on a fair and reliable workers compensation system. As the peak body representing community-managed mental health organisations in NSW, Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) urgently calls on the NSW Parliament to work together to deliver a fair and sustainable reform outcome that protects workers, stabilises rising premium costs, and ensures community organisations can continue providing essential mental health supports across NSW.

21 October 2025
From NSW to nationwide: recognising 10 years of mental health peer work across Australia
Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) marks 10 years of delivering the nationally recognised Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work in October 2025. Created for peer workers, by peer workers, 10 years ago MHCC led the redevelopment of this qualification as it stands today, and it has provided a collective pathway for people with lived experience to practice peer work, deepen their understanding, with the aim to better support others on their recovery journey.

24 June 2025
Peak body pleas for more investment to address a mental health system in crisis
The NSW Government has once again failed to deliver the critical investment needed for community-managed mental health services, leaving people with complex mental health challenges without the care and support they need.

3 June 2025
Crisis management is not the answer to fixing a mental health system at breaking point
The ABC’s Four Corners program on 2 June 2025, ‘Emergency’, overlooks the most effective and underfunded part of the solution that Mental Health Coordinating Council has reiterated repeatedly – that unless we invest in community-based mental health care, a continued over-reliance on emergency and acute services will perpetuate a system in constant crisis.

13 May 2025
Crisis-driven mental health system failing as community care proves cheaper and more effective
For too long, NSW’s mental health system has been dominated by crisis-driven, hospital-based care, leaving many people without access to the supports they need before reaching breaking point. Mental Health Coordinating Council is calling for a fundamental shift towards community based services grounded in human-rights principles and practices. It’s time to focus on prevention, recovery and social inclusion – proven strategies that reduce reliance on psychiatric services.

10 April 2025
Election commitments welcome but it’s time for systemic long-term reform
Our mental health system continues to fail those with severe and complex mental health challenges, as election commitments from both major parties ignore the long-term structural change the sector urgently needs.

3 February 2025
Joint Statement: Media accountability for people living with mental health challenges
In Australia, the relationship between mental ill health and risk to the community is often misunderstood. The three NSW peak bodies Mental Health Coordinating Council, Mental Health Carers NSW and BEING Mental Health Consumers urge media to better understand how to portray people living with mental health challenges in the news and all forms of communication.

17 January 2025
Joint Media Release: NSW Mental Health Crisis – Investment critical now
NSW mental health peak bodies, BEING Mental Health Consumers, Mental Health Carers NSW and Mental Health Coordinating Council says the looming resignation of over 200 psychiatrists in the NSW public health system on top of 140 vacant psychiatrist positions reflects the dire state of the current NSW mental health system and will only compound the challenges and trauma experienced by people with acute mental health challenges, their families, and carers.

25 September 2024
Joint Statement: People in NSW are paying the price as the mental health system struggles to cope with workforce shortages, says NSW Mental Health Alliance
The NSW Mental Health Alliance says it is deeply concerned about the number of people experiencing mental health challenges in NSW that are struggling to access the care, treatment and supports they desperately need, because of the workforce crisis that exists in the state’s public and community-based mental health services which continue to impact on health service availability and service user’s wellbeing and potential for recovery.

5 September 2024
NSW Government’s response to Mental Health Inquiry recommendations needs a commitment to investment now
Mental Health Coordinating Council acknowledges the NSW Government’s support for 24 of 39 recommendations from the Portfolio Committee’s Inquiry Report on ‘Equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care in New South Wales’, however, we are disappointed to note no new significant investment or commitments to address the critical and increasing gap in mental health services for people living with mental health challenges and psychosocial disability.

2 September 2024
Community comes together to tackle youth mental health in the Blue Mountains
Youth in the Blue Mountains and surrounding regions face higher rates of hospitalisations due to mental health distress, with figures exceeding the state average. Mental Health Coordinating Council, the peak body for non-government community mental health services– with co-hosts – Blue Mountains City Council, Uniting NSW.ACT, Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, Wellways and Flourish Australia – will hold an important community event on Wednesday 4 September for local mental health service providers to come together, share knowledge, and explore new strategies to better support youth in the region.

20 August 2024
Health Ministers Meeting takes first steps towards mental health reforms
Mental Health Coordinating Council is encouraged to see Health and Mental Health Ministers from all Australian governments come together to address the gaps in mental health service and take crucial steps towards mental health reform.

Joint Statement: Leading mental health groups welcome national reform commitments, urge ongoing coordinated action
Leading mental health groups welcome the recent commitments at the Health and Mental Health Ministers’ meeting as a crucial step forward for mental health reform in Australia.

7 August 2024
Government response to Disability Royal Commission recommendations falls short for people living with psychosocial disability
The Commonwealth Government has failed to fully commit to almost all the recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission that are crucial for improving the lives of people living with psychosocial disability.

18 June 2024
NSW Budget 2024-2025: Calls for increased investment in community-managed mental health services
Mental Health Coordinating Council welcomes the initiatives in the NSW Budget 2024-2025 with new funding for mental health but urges the NSW Government to recognise the pressing need for greater investment in psychosocial mental health supports across the state.

4 June 2024
NSW Government must significantly invest in the Inquiry recommendations
Mental Health Coordinating Council is urging the NSW Government to commit to the findings and recommendations in the Inquiry into the equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care in New South Wales.

Joint Statement: Stop Playing Politics and Start Real Reform, says NSW Mental Health Alliance
Mental Health Coordinating Council, as part of the NSW Mental Health Alliance, has released a joint statement calling on the Minns Government to take decisive action to fully implement the recommendations outlined in the Upper House Inquiry report into mental health care in New South Wales.

19 May 2024
Joint Statement: Community mental health gaps continue to widen in NSW, says new report from NSW Health
Mental Health Coordinating Council, as part of the NSW Mental Health Alliance, has released a joint statement on the NSW Health report into gaps in the NSW community mental health system, the first of two gap analysis reports, detailing the difference between demand for mental health services in NSW and the level of service currently available.

8 April 2024
A new 10-year workforce framework for the community-managed mental health in NSW
Mental Health Coordinating Council and its members urge the NSW Government to commit to investment for the development of a community-managed mental health workforce framework for 2024-2034.

4 March 2024
Pre-budget submission NSW: investment in Community Managed Mental Health services
Mental Health Coordinating Council welcomes the opportunity of the forthcoming NSW Budget to present a pre-budget submission to Government in which they advocate four overarching investment priorities.

8 December 2023
Mental Health Coordinating Council responds to Final Report of the Independent Review of the NDIS
Mental Health Coordinating Council has welcomed recommendations that speak to providing a unified system of support for people with disability and is encouraged to see that the review highlights a move to a human rights approach.

20 September 2023
Mental Health Coordinating Council responds to NSW Budget 2023 – 2024
Mental Health Coordinating Council has welcomed mental health initiatives announced in the NSW Budget, but flags concerns the Budget falls short when it comes to allocating additional funding for the community-managed mental health sector.

2 June 2023
Mental Health Coordinating Council announces new CEO for pivotal role
Mental Health Coordinating Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Evelyne Tadros as the new CEO to run the peak body for community mental health organisations.

28 April 2023
Mental Health Coordinating Council commences search for new CEO 
Mental Health Coordinating Council CEO Carmel Tebbutt has announced she will be resigning from her position with the peak body.

2 February 2023
Shift the balance in spending to improve outcomes for people living with mental health conditions across NSW
Figures released by the Productivity Commission show New South Wales is spending only 8.7% of its mental health budget on services delivered in the community by non-government organisations.

30 November 2022
NSW needs a dedicated form of stable funding to support community-managed mental health
A new report launched today by Mental Health Coordinating Council is calling for New South Wales to consider a new mental health payroll levy, similar to Victoria, to create a dedicated funding stream for mental health services.

6 September 2022
Mental health peer workers growing strongly: meeting to discuss impact in Wollongong and the Illawarra
Mental Health Peer Workers are the fastest growing workforce in the mental health sector in Wollongong and the Illawarra, driving positive change towards more recovery-oriented organisations.

8 July 2022
New Guide helps us find the right words, because words matter in mental health
To encourage the use of respectful and accepting language, Mental Health Coordinating Council has launched a new Recovery Oriented Language Guide for use in health services and support settings.

21 June 2022
NSW Budget 2022 -2023 mental health initiatives welcomed but miss step change investment 
We welcome initiatives announced in the 2022 – 2023 NSW Budget that improve access to services and enhance the NSW mental health system. Where the Budget falls short is in recognising the urgent need for significant systemic change to address identified gaps in psychosocial support services.”

31 May 2022
Mental health community in Port Macquarie and surrounding region regroups after challenging few years
Community-based mental health organisations in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region are seeing increased demand for their services following exposure to the multiple disasters of COVID-19, the widespread bushfires in 2019-2020 and catastrophic floods.

18 May 2022
Mental health reform needed for people living with severe and complex mental health conditions
In the final week of the Federal Election campaign, Mental Health Coordinating Council is reminding all parties that foundations need to be put in place to reduce gaps in mental health support.

2 March 2022
Top four investment priorities for mental health in New South Wales Budget 2022 – 2023
Mental Health Coordinating Council is calling for the New South Wales Government to address top four mental health priorities in the NSW Budget 2022 – 2023.

1 February 2022
Spending up, but more needed for people living with complex mental health conditions
Latest figures reveal spending on services delivered by community managed mental health organisations made up 8.5% of the total mental health budget, up by 1.1% on the previous reporting period.

23 November 2021
Mental health community in Newcastle and the local region regroup after challenges of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to stretch the capacity and resources of many in the mental health sector.

19 October 2021
Free training modules to understand and develop skills in Supported Decision-Making
The two new training modules developed by MHCC are available free to everyone working with people in the psychosocial disability, mental health and human services sectors.

11 October 2021
New mental health quick reference language guide for Mental Health Week
The way we talk about mental health and the things we express publicly through the media, social media, in our homes and our workplaces can make a difference.

30 September 2021
Community mental health sector growing at pace in New South Wales
A new report highlights significant growth in the non-government community mental health workforce in New South Wales.

2 September 2021
Mental Health Rights Manual released
Launch of newly updated resource to help explain rights within the mental health system.

22 June 2021
NSW Budget 2021 – 2022 welcomed, but community mental health needs more
The NSW Budget delivered welcome new funding for mental health today, but still more investment is needed for people to access psychosocial mental health supports across the state.

25 March 2021
Priorities for action on mental health in NSW
The Mental Health Coordinating Council has laid out its road map for action to create a mental health system that ensures people living with mental health conditions get the services they need.

12 March 2021
Landmark report into the social services sector
The NSW social services sector, which employs more than 230,000 people, and provides care to more than 1 million people per year, has reached a crossroads according to an alarming new report.

25 January 2021
Mental health spending in community sector needs to increase
Spending on mental health services delivered by the crucial non-government sector is still far too low, Productivity Commission figures released today reveal.

17 November 2020
NSW State Budget 2020-2021
Today’s State Budget has been delivered after a devastating year, when drought, bushfires and the COVID 19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the community, including on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

9 November 2020
Long-term Support, Flexible Delivery and Step-up Step-down Services in Demand
Good initiatives are stretched to the max and there are simply not enough places, particularly those linked to accommodation that many people living with severe mental health issues require.

12 October 2020
Recognise the Work of Carers this National Carers Week
The Mental Health Coordinating Council recognises and celebrates the work of carers across Australia. October 11 to 17 is National Carers Week, an initiative of Carers Australia to raise awareness among all Australians about the diversity of carers and their caring roles.

29 May 2020
New Resource Supports People from Diverse Communities
Reimagine.today Stage 2,  was designed by and for people from diverse communities including people from within LGBTIQ+ communities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people living in rural and remote areas.

Media enquiries

Annika Nystrom – Communications & Engagement Manager
P   02 9060 9631
e   annika.n@mhcc.org.au