About The Mental Health Council of Australia
Quality Mental Health for Everyone in Australia
Established in 1997, the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) is the peak, national non-government organisation representing and promoting the interests of the Australian mental health sector, committed to achieving better mental health for all Australians.
MHCA Members include representatives of mental health service consumers, carers, special needs groups, clinical service providers, public and private mental health service providers and state/territory mental health peak bodies.
The MHCA aims to:
- Promote mentally healthy communities
- Educate Australians on mental health issues
- Conduct research into mental health issues
- Reform Australia's mental health system
The MHCA is a registered charity.
The MHCA Board
The MHCA is governed by a nine member Board. The Board consists of up to seven delegates from the MHCA membership, including a consumer and a carer representative, and an additional two independent members are drawn from outside the MHCA membership consistent with Clause 21 of the MHCA Constitution.
Current Board Members
Chair - The Hon. Rob Knowles OAM
The Hon. Rob Knowles OA is a farmer and company director. He is a member of the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission, Chair of the Mental Health Council of Australia, President of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia, Member of the Board of the Brotherhood of St Lawrence. He is also the former Minister of Health, Housing and Aged Care in Victoria.
Deputy Chair – Ms Dawn O’Neil
Dawn has been the CEO of Lifeline Australia since August 2000, working with is Board and 12,000 volunteers and staff to transform its relatively low profile but highly committed helpline into a high profile, major provider of suicide prevention, mental health, training and information services. Dawn combines high level management, training and counselling qualifications with a passion for suicide prevention and the promotion of emotional and mental health and wellbeing.
Member – Professor Lyn Littlefield
Lyn is the Executive Director of the Australian Psychological Society, which represents the largest mental health workforce in Australia. She is a Registered Psychologist and Member of the Australian Psychological Society Colleges of Clinical, Counselling and Community Psychologists with over 20 years of experience in mental health in hospital and community settings. Lyn has devoted much of this time to attempting to improve mental health services in these contexts.
Member –Mr Jeff Cheverton
Jeff is the Executive Director of the Queensland Alliance, the peak body for the mental health community sector in Queensland. Jeff has degrees in Business, Law, French and Social Policy, and has published articles in refereed journals on peak bodies and the performance of non-profit organisations. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2007 to research fundraising for mental health advocacy in US, Canada, NZ and the UK.
Member – Dr Geoffrey Smith
Geoff is the Medical Director of the Western Australian Centre for Mental Health Policy Research (WACMHPR) and has an appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor with the Centre for Research into Disability and Society with the Division of Health Sciences at Curtin University. WACMHPR was set up to research key policy and health service issues facing contemporary practice in mental health in Australia.
Member, Consumer Representative – Mr Wayne Chamley
Wayne has been the consumer consultant for two private clinics in Melbourne. Over the past five years Wayne has been involved as a mental health consumer representative in a number of areas.
Member, Carer Representative – Mr Tony Fowke AM
Tony is the President of Mental Health Carers Arafmi Australia which is the only body that solely represents mental health carers. Tony has been a mental health carer for more than 25 years. Whilst he is a retired from active practice as a lawyer he sits on the Mental Health Review Board in Perth and provide pro bono advice on mental health issues. On Australia Day 2003 tony was appointed to be a Member of the advocate for the advancement of mental health services in Australia, and to the community.
Independent Member – Dr Katie Spearritt
Katie has a proven track record in leading and facilitating organisational change and developing business-oriented Human Resources solutions, particularly in the area of workforce diversity and large-scale cultural change. Katie has been recognized as one of the top 10 Diversity & Change leaders in Australia (as independently judged by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency in November, 2003). She is an accomplished public speaker with established relationships with the business, academic and community sectors. Her expertise includes human resources management, workforce diversity, change management, organisation design and development.
Independent Member – Mr Gary Beck AO
MHCA Constitution Adopted April 2006
To Become a Member of the MHCA Click here