This month, we’ve been lobbying government for Better Mental Health for all Victorians! You might have seen on our social media that we had a stall set up at Parliament House for a week in June. This provided HACSU officials and members the chance to tell their stories about working in the sector to those with the power to make change.

The response from Ministers, Members of Parliament and other staff and visitors was very positive and we’re hopeful will enable change to the sector with a focus on having a high quality, well supported and sustainable workforce. Thanks to those members who came along to share your time and stories at Parliament House!

You completed our Workforce Survey last month. This month we held focus groups both in metropolitan Melbourne and regional locations with HACSU members to allow you to tell you stories about working in the sector. We were thrilled to have so many active members participate in these successful focus groups.

As a result of these groups as well as members’ participation in the earlier survey, we now have a vast piece of research near completion that will help to inform our submission to the Royal Commission into Mental Health. We’ll keep you up to date when we have more to share on this piece of research!

Don’t forget – you can still make your submission to the Royal Commission with submissions open until July 5th! We encourage members to make a submission so we can ensure the voice of the workforce is heard loud and clear!

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to go to www.rcvmhs.vic.gov.au/submissions and share your views and ideas. If you need help to make a submission or have any questions, please call 1800 00 11 34 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or email contact@rcvmhs.vic.gov.au. The Royal Commission can also be contacted using a phone interpreter service on 03 7005 3010.

The Royal Commission has announced that public hearings will be taking place from 2nd until 26th of July 2019. Ten key themes will be explored during the hearings, including suicide prevention, stigma, access and navigation, prevention and early intervention, the role of carers and families, and the barriers that culturally and linguistically diverse communities face when accessing mental health services.

You can read the full list of topics by clicking here.

The public hearings are an important next step and we encourage members to participate where you can. If you wish be involved, contact us to speak to us about giving evidence in front of the panel of expert and community witnesses. The hearings will be held at the Melbourne Town Hall and will be open to the public as well as streamed live on the Royal Commission website, except in particularly sensitive circumstances. Daily hearing schedules and witness lists will be available online prior to the hearings commencing.

There will also be a dedicated day of hearings on Tuesday 16 July to consider issues specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities, taking place at the Aborigines Advancement League in Thornbury.

Click here to download a schedule of the hearings or go to: https://bit.ly/2X1zdd1

HACSU officials will soon be getting out into your workplaces to talk to you about the campaign for Better Mental Health! Stay tuned and get ready to get involved!

Start a conversation in your office today about the importance of being a part of a strong collective of workers who understand your rights and responsibilities at work - and let us know if you want us to come out to visit your workplace to help you to talk to your colleagues about the benefits of being a HACSU member!