Enabling Change: A Collaborative Policy Forum on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing, Mental Health, and Suicide Prevention
“…social and emotional wellbeing is inseparable from life itself, embedded in culture, kinship, Country, and history...” Professor Pat Dudgeon AM
On Monday 19 May, Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia, in partnership with Suicide Prevention Australia, convened a collaborative policy forum in Boorloo (Perth) on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja. The forum brought together peak organisations, universities, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), mainstream service providers, and governments to discuss the systemic changes needed to move towards the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Professor Helen Milroy AM, Australia’s first Aboriginal general practitioner and psychiatrist and Chair of Gayaa Dhuwi, opened the event by outlining the vision of the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration (the Declaration), for a system led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, where their concepts of mental health, and social and emotional wellbeing, and healing are central. She affirmed that achieving the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples requires a ‘best of both worlds’ approach of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of healing with contemporary clinical care.
Rachel Fishlock, CEO of Gayaa Dhuwi, expanded on the policy foundations enabling change. She highlighted that the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement have created structures for partnerships and shared decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led organisations. These agreements embed accountability, co-leadership, and transformation into mental health systems. Ms Fishlock noted that through the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration Framework and Implementation Plan 2025-2035, these ideas are translated into tangible actions, structured across key themes: cultural integration, evidence, workforce, leadership, and influence.
A panel of experts, including Professor Helen Milroy AM and Professor Pat Dudgeon AM, Australia’s first Aboriginal psychologist, discussed the importance of governance, the challenges of system integration, and the value of Indigenous-led models. Discussions reiterated that social and emotional wellbeing is inseparable from life itself, embedded in culture, kinship, Country, and history. This session explored barriers including limited integration of social and emotional wellbeing models, prescriptive funding structures, a lack of cultural governance, and high rates of racism and distress. The need for co-designed, strengths-based, community-led approaches was emphasised.
Key issues discussed included:
Insufficient recognition of social and emotional wellbeing models: While structural commitments exist, service provisions continue to favour Western clinical models over culturally safe approaches grounded in community-defined needs and healing practices. Unfinished business in child and youth social and emotional wellbeing: Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 5-17 (Productivity Commission, n.d.). According to the Closing the Gap Dashboard, the suicide rate increased nationally from 24.6 (2018-19) to 27.1 per 100,000 (2020-21) (Productivity Commission, n.d.). As Professor Milroy AM reminded participants, drawing from Uncle Tom Calma’s 2006 Closing the Gap address, it is “not credible to suggest that one of the wealthiest nations in the world cannot solve a health crisis affecting less than 3% of its citizens.” (Calma, 2006)
Postvention remains critically underdeveloped: There is a lack of national and place-based postvention responses.
Racism as a barrier: Institutional and interpersonal racism continue to exacerbate inequities. The Closing the Gap Dashboard shows that 43.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults reported experiencing unfair treatment due to their Indigenous status – up from 39.3% in 2014-15 (Productivity Commission, n.d).
Lack of cultural governance: There is an urgent need to embed cultural governance and self-determination across the mental health system to provide support from Elders and knowledge holders through to frontline staff.
Workforce isolation and burnout: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers are often placed in isolated roles with little structural or cultural support, contributing to poor retention and high cultural load.
In the afternoon, attendees engaged in break out group sessions on services, practices, and policies, workforce development, and system integration and accountability. Key recommendations from these discussions are:
Embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing models across relevant system: Recognise healing approaches and social and emotional wellbeing frameworks into clinical education and training. Support holistic, culturally safe care models that are strengths-based and trauma-informed.
Strengthen and retain the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce: Develop national pathways, mentoring, cultural supervision, and leadership development. Renumerate cultural and lived expertise and ensure safe, supported, and non-isolated roles.
Ensure cultural safety through standards and co-design: Develop national cultural safety definitions and benchmarks and embed cultural governance and self-determination across all levels of health systems. Support diverse representation, including Elders, LGBTQIA+SB, and remote voices.
Improve system integration and accountability: Align funding, outcomes and reporting frameworks. Expand wrap-around and family focused care. Fund cultural governance, postvention, and community-informed evaluation.
Implement the refreshed National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework, Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration Framework and Implementation Plan 2025-2035, and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2035 as a coordinated whole-of-systems response with full implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and long-term resourcing.
Looking ahead
The outcomes of the forum will be synthesised into a report to inform governments and system leaders across Australia. This joint communique is a call to action, highlighting the urging shift required to translate rhetoric into reform and transition from crisis management to prevention, in order to pursue the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
References
Calma, T. (2005). Social Justice Report. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney.
Productivity Commision (n.d.). Closing the Gap Dashboard. Accessed 26 May 2025. https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data