About Us

The National Mental Health Commission (the Commission), which was established in 2012, provides insight, advice and evidence on ways to continuously improve Australia's mental health and suicide prevention system, and acts as a catalyst for change to achieve these improvements. This includes increasing accountability and transparency in mental health by providing independent reports and advice to the Australian Government and the community.

An Advisory Board of Commissioners helps set the Commission’s strategic directions and priorities. The current Commissioners are Mrs Lucinda Brogden AM, Professor Ngiare Brown, Associate Professor Mathew Coleman, Ms Kerry Hawkins, Ms Niharika Hiremath, Rabbi Mendel Kastel OAM, Ms Christina McGuffie, Professor Helen Milroy, Associate Professor Elizabeth-Ann Schroeder, Professor Maree Teesson AC, Mr Alan Woodward and Ms Christine Morgan, who is also the Chief Executive Officer.

Our vision

Our vision is that all people in Australia are enabled to lead contributing lives in socially and economically thriving communities.

Our National Report series

Since 2012, the Commission has published an annual report to the Australian Government and the community on the mental health and suicide prevention system in Australia. This report draws on data, indicators and frameworks, as well as people’s experiences, to provide an assessment of the progress of current reforms, their impacts on communities, the incidence and impact of any significant events during the period, and areas of the system that still require reform.

The Commission acknowledges that, as a result of our commitment to act as a catalyst for change in the mental health sector and the nature of our work in 2020, there are sections of this report where the Commission is reporting on its own work, or work in which we have played a key leadership role.