The government is now operating in accordance with the Guidance on Caretaker Conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election.

Chair and Commissioners

Professor Ngiare Brown

Chair

Professor Ngiare Brown

Professor Ngiare Brown is a Yuin nation woman from the south coast of NSW. She is a senior Aboriginal medical practitioner with qualifications in medicine, public health and primary care, and has studied bioethics, medical law and human rights.

She was the first identified Aboriginal medical graduate from NSW, and is one of the first Aboriginal doctors in Australia. Over the past three decades she has developed extensive national and international networks in indigenous health and social justice, including engagement with the UN system.

Ngiare is a clinician, researcher, and a chief investigator on multiple national and international grants. She works largely in the translation and implementation space, exploring how to utilise ‘best evidence’ to inform policy, resourcing and service delivery.

Ngiare is a founding member and was Foundation CEO of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association. She is a founding member of the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors' Congress. Ngiare is also a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Council.

Ngiare is now the Founding Director of Ngaoara, a not-for-profit dedicated to Aboriginal child and adolescent wellbeing which supports communities to develop strength based approaches to breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma and disparity.

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Acknowledgement of Country

The Commission acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands throughout Australia.
We pay our respects to their clans, and to the elders, past and present, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, sea and community.

Diversity

The Commission is committed to embracing diversity and eliminating all forms of discrimination in the provision of health services. The Commission welcomes all people irrespective of ethnicity, lifestyle choice, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Lived Experience

We acknowledge the individual and collective contributions of those with a lived and living experience of mental ill-health and suicide, and those who love, have loved and care for them. Each person’s journey is unique and a valued contribution to Australia’s commitment to mental health suicide prevention systems reform.