[On-screen: Championing advocacy – celebrating 10 years of IMHA]
Helen [voice over]: Welcome everyone, to IMHA's 10-year celebration.
[On-screen: Event attendees with their videos on fill up the screen. Then Helen appears on screen. She has long brown hair and is wearing a white top.]
Helen: I’m Helen Makregiorgos, the IMHA Associate Director. We'll be starting with a Welcome to Country by Aunty Georgina Nicholson.
Aunty Georgina is an Elder from Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, which covers Melbourne and surrounding Country. Aunty could not be here with us today so she has sent us a video that we will be playing shortly and also showing photos she has generously provided us.
Over to you Ed.
[On screen: A photo of Aunty Georgina at a football game.]
Aunty Georgina [voice over]: Hello, my name is Aunty Georgina Nicholson and I am a proud Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Elder. Wurundjeri being part of the Kulin Nation.
[On screen: a photo of Aunty Georgia making a speech.]
The Kulin Nation consists of five clans I believe, and they are Wurundjeri, Watherong, Taungurung, Dja Dja Wurrung and Bunurong. Wurundjeri being all of Melbourne's CBD and surrounding country extending north to the Great Divide, east to Mount Baw Baw, south to Mordialloc Creek and west to the mouth of Werribee River. I would like to acknowledge and pay my respects to my ancestors who walked and lived on the land as free spirits for millennia.
[On screen: A series of photos and images, including of a man wearing a traditional feathered over-garment, a woman presenting while wearing a possum skin cloak, a man wearing a possum skin cloak and with white clay paint on his face, another woman wearing a possum skin cloak outdoors, an old black and white photo of a man with a bushy beard wearing colonial clothes and another old black and white photo of a woman wearing colonial clothes.]
I would also like to acknowledge all Elders past, present and future leaders. And I acknowledge all Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal peoples online today. I would like to say thank you for incorporating an important ancient custom into your event today or Welcome to Country, so thank you very much.
Aboriginal culture is the oldest, longest continuing culture in the world. It goes back to 60,000 years plus. Sovereignty was never ceded. Our ancestors never gifted our land, nor did they sell it. It was stolen from us, from the white man. When colonisation took place, they took our land and they massacred our people. We were only counted back then as flora and fauna.
[On screen: a photo of an older woman wearing a headband and traditional cloak over a pink shirt.]
So yeah, my mother, Martha Margaret Nicholson was delivered by her grandmother Granny Jemima, and that was on Coranderrk Aboriginal Mission near the present-day town of Healesville.
So our mother was already learning the importance of culture, connection to land.
[On screen: an old black and white photo of a man and woman standing in front of a car. The man is wearing a singlet and smoking a cigarette and the woman is holding a baby.]
Years later our mother met a deadly Irish man called Patrick and that was in the early 1930s in Melbourne.
[On screen: A black and white photo of two men, the older man is smoking a cigarette and the younger man is holding a guitar.]
In 1937 mummy and daddy were married in a registry office and they had 16 children, 8 boys, 8 girls, all single babies, no twins, no cheating lol.
[On screen: A photo of Aunty Georgina sitting with two women at a restaurant and another showing a woman with purple-tinged hair smiling at the camera.]
My eldest sister is Pat Opwell and I am the youngest. Sadly, there is only 7of us alive now, 6 girls and one brother.
[On screen: A young woman wearing a strapless dress in the Aboriginal colours and white paint on her face and upper body.]
We are constantly in Sorry business, and the statistics show Aboriginal people don't live as long as other cultures. There is about a 12- to 15-year life expectancy gap there.
[On screen: A photo of Aunty Georgina at a function, she has short, bright red hair and is wearing a black textured coat.]
So you know, I'm happy to be able to do the Welcome to Country speech for you all online today. I wish you all the very best for your future journeys.
I would also like to acknowledge the team from First Nations people. Good on you. That's really great to know that.
[On screen: All the photos shown previously appear as a collage.]
I would just like to let you know all know where our name Wurundjeri comes from. The Wurun, W-U-R-U-N, is the manna gum tree and the Djuri is the grub that lived in the tree and around the bottom of the tree. So our corporation has grown so big and still is growing. We have over 200 members and we have probably about 210 staff members. Lots of work to do and carry on and a lot of land and waterways to take care of and that's what we do.
We get our young ones involved as well, it's good to teach them coming up, you know, to be an Elder one day. We carry on the tireless work for our ancestors, our matriarchs started for us, and we teach our young ones to carry on our tireless work also to keep passing down to generations to come.
And Woiwurring is the language we speak. We weren't allowed to speak language back in the day, but we are learning it now. So I'd like to say thank you very much for listening.
Have a great event and bye for now. Thank you.
[On screen: Helen speaks to the camera. Numerous online attendees are also visible at the bottom of the screen.]
Helen: Thank you, Aunty Georgina. I wanted to also pay my respects to the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people whose country I work, play and live on and their Elders past and present, including Aunty Georgina, and extend my respect to First Nations people here today, including Belinda Foley who is on our panel.
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. And I would like to now introduce the Honourable Parliamentary Secretary of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Paul Edbrooke MP to open the event.
Paul is also the state member for Frankston. Paul was raised with a strong sense of community and social conscience by parents who worked in the La Trobe Valley coal mines and ran their own businesses. Paul's family also long time Salvation Army members. Prior to his career in politics, Paul was a teacher and a professional firefighter.
Paul developed strong ties with the community and a reputation for not settling for the status quo and getting the job done. Most recently Paul was the focus of national news twice in the same week whilst training for a speed skydiving competition. He survived a plane crash and the same week responded to an incident via Goodsam app providing CPR to help save a life.
Thank you very much Paul for joining us.
[On screen: Paul appears via videolink beside Helen. He has short blond hair and is wearing black framed glasses.]
Paul: No worries at all Helen.
I really need to pay someone more to shorten that bio a bit.
Can I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are meeting today? For me, it's the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation pay my respects to the Elders past, present and emerging. And I guess thanks to Aunty Georgina, even though she's not with us online today. But it's always a bit of a kick in the guts when you're, you're continually learning things about a culture that's so old because our or my generations curriculum skipped any kind of teaching about our First Nations people. And I'd just say, if you haven't been to Coranderrk, it's very educational and it's a good place to to go and reflect on how we've treated our First Nations people as well.
Can I warmly welcome people who lived and living experiences who are at this celebration today?
Thank you so much for working in partnership to achieve system transformation and stronger mental health and wellbeing outcomes for Victorians. Can I acknowledge, I'll do a broad kind of sweep, kind of acknowledge all the VIPs here today, but also especially Helen Makregiorgos, the associate director of Independent Mental Health Advocacy.
For those who don't know me, my name is Paul Edbrooke. I'm the Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, and it's a real pleasure to join you today as we celebrate 10 years of Independent Mental Health Advocacy.
[On screen: Paul is now spotlighted on the screen.
I'm here today on behalf of the Minister for Mental Health, Ingrid Stitt, but also as someone who cares deeply about this work and is a consumer in this portfolio. On behalf of my family members. 10 years is an important milestone. Over that time, IMHA has walked besides thousands of Victorians who were subject to or risk of compulsory mental health treatments. And that includes members of my family.
Through that work, you've ensured people know their rights, can voice their preferences and are treated most importantly with dignity and respect. And that's not just a service, that's a safeguard, just like other consumers expect in other industries and areas. It's also a reminder that when people are given the tools to speak up, we know that their recovery is stronger and our system is fairer. And the data reflects this as well.
So when we look back to 2015, IMHA was established as a statutory service under the Victorian Mental Health Act. What started as a new initiative has over the years, or over the past decade I should say, grown into a cornerstone of our entire system. And what I think makes IMA unique is that it works on 2 fronts. It supports individuals directly while also identifying systemic issues that need fixing.
In doing both, IMHA has helped thousands of people in that moment and at that same time where they need it the most. And they've also had the also experienced that lasting change and lasting reform across the system that's been driven by IMHA. Now this dual role was recognised by the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System and the commissioner highlighted the barriers people face in exercising their rights and it recommended IMHA's expansion into an opt out service. And that ensured that every person at risk of compulsory treatment had access to advocacy unless they chose otherwise. That recommendation has now been realised through the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act.
The shift to an opt-out model is not just a technical reform, but a cultural change. But it'd be remiss of me to say or not say, that none of this happens without people. And Helen, your leadership has been inspiring to every every advocate who has walked beside a consumer. Your compassion and persistence have made this service what it is. And to the consumers who trusted IMHA to stand with them, your carriage has shaped a legacy that will carry on for decades to come. So today we look back and celebrate, but we also look forward.
There's more work to do, and I'm sure we will hear about some of that today. But the next decade, if I can go off script, is about more cultural change. It's about more generational change, It's about changing how people in the past have seen our mental health system. But it's about formatting that mental health system for the future. And some of the things that we really need to think about when we view infrastructure, when we view infrastructure is something that when it goes wrong, it costs our economy a lot of money.
Maybe it's time soon that we started treating our minds as the type of infrastructure and putting the supports in place to make sure we're meeting people where they are and, and not at the bottom of the cliff, (but) with the ambulance in the, in the 1st place. And I know that's where I'm has done a lot of work, but I think we've got a lot more work to do in, in wider areas as well.
We've made our mental health system one that truly reflects fairness, accountability and compassion with the royal commission. But as, as I've said, I think there's a lot of work to to go on and I think there'll be a lot that comes out today too. On behalf of the Minister, can I congratulate IMHA on this milestone and thank you for everything you've done to make our system stronger, safer and more humane. Here's to the next 10 years.
And again, I apologise that Minister Stitt couldn't be here today. But can I also just say that I've worked with a lot of ministers, I've been the parliamentary secretary in quite a few roles and this minister absolutely gets it. She absolutely understands the system, she listens and I think she absorbs and it's an absolute pleasure working with her. And if you haven't had the chance, if you do come to Parliament, please take the chance to meet the minister. Or if she's out and about, please take the time to come up and say g'day to either myself or the minister.
And I think Helen, we're going to catch up for a coffee soon.
Congratulations, everybody. Here's for the next 10 years.
[On screen: Helen speaking to camera.]
Helen: Thank you very much, Paul, for sharing your reflections and also your experience and your families.
We greatly appreciate it. And yes, we will catch up for coffee. That'll be very nice.
And thank you for those kind words, which apply to all the staff at IMHA as well and the amazing consumer leaders we've had involved in the service. Thank you, Paul.
We'll now hear from our CEO Toby Hemming.
Toby joined us as the Chief Executive Officer in February 2025. He's an experienced public sector executive and was most recently a Deputy Secretary at the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Prior to that, he held senior roles in government departments, statutory authorities including the Department of Premier and Cabinet, County Court of Victoria, Victorian Management Insurance Authority.
He has a background in legal practice, policy regulation and corporate governance. He's deeply committed to access to justice, quality services delivery and using evidence based policy and law reform to enhance outcomes for Victorians.
Over to you, Toby.
Toby: Thank you very much, Helen.
[On screen: Toby is wearing a white shirt and glasses.]
And it's really lovely to see so many people as I scroll through the screen.
So thank you so much for joining.
I'm also joining this afternoon from the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I'd like to acknowledge and pay my respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to Traditional Custodians across Victoria, including Elders past and present, and I too pay my deep respects to Aunty Georgina who welcomed us to Country just earlier.
I would also like to recognise the strength of First Nations people living with social and emotional wellbeing issues, as well as with the ongoing impacts of culturally unsafe services with trauma, discrimination and racism across the health, justice and child protection systems.
Earlier this year, as you know, the Yoorrook Justice Commission concluded its historic, its momentous truth telling inquiry and released its final reports. Those reports you'll also be aware I made some really strong findings about systemic racism, including in the health system, and included some quite specific recommendations in relation to mental health and wellbeing.
Indeed, Yoorrook called for urgent action, for example, to reduce the overuse of compulsory treatment for Aboriginal people, to expand culturally safe Aboriginal-led services, to put in place stronger accountability mechanisms and to provide for genuine decision-making power for Aboriginal communities. These recommendations, I believe, underline the importance of IMHA's role in ensuring that advocacy is accessible, that rights are respected, and that systemic reform is led in partnership with First Nations people and organisations.
So I also acknowledge the leadership and wisdom of Aboriginal ways of supporting social and emotional wellbeing. And I really warmly welcome any First Nation speakers, indeed all First Nation speakers and attendees who are joining today.
My sincere thanks to you, Paul Edbrooke, the Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. We're really thrilled you are able to make it here today. No doubt Helen is looking forward to catching up with you for a coffee. I'd welcome that opportunity as well, but it's really important that you're here today. So thank you sincerely.
I'd also like to offer just a really warm welcome to all of our panellists who will be introduced shortly, to colleagues across the mental health, legal and community sectors, and really importantly to the consumers and advocates who are here online today as well.
So today is a really big day.
We're marking 10 years of the Independent Mental Health Advocacy service, so that's a dedicated decade of work that's been dedicated to ensuring that the voices, choices and rights of people who are subject to and at risk of compulsory treatment are heard and respected. So thank you again for being here.
So since its establishment in 2015, a decade ago, IMHA has played a really unique role in Victoria's mental health system. In that decade, IMHA has supported thousands of consumers through the provision of information, coaching for self, advocacy and direct advocacy. It's delivered rights, information and sessions to consumers, to carers, clinicians and supporters right across the state. It's developed accessible resources, including statements of rights, which are now available in over 20 languages. And it's partnered with consumers through our advisory group, Speaking from Experience, and through that has helped embed lived experience and expertise at the centre of its work.
The really important Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, which was established in February 2019 and which delivered its final report two years later, created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the system. As Paul mentioned, one of the really significant outcomes of that royal commission was the creation of the opt-out advocacy model, which is delivered by IMHA and which is enabled by the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act.
Under the model, of course, every person receiving compulsory treatment in Victoria is automatically connected to IMHA and offered an advocacy service, so they can have as much say as possible about their assessment about their treatment and their recovery. Just to flesh out how important this is, in the most recent reporting period from September 2023 to August 2024, IMHA had received over 50,000 notifications from 10,934 consumers.
It delivered more than 100,000 services, including 48,000 intensive advocacy support services and over 54,000 occasions of information and referral. And this is really critical. I think only 7.8% of consumers opted out, which shows that when offered the choice, most people want and value advocacy. So this highlights not only the scale of need, but also the really critical importance of having advocacy automatically available. And for many people, this has been the first time that they have been able to understand their rights and be supported in making decisions about their care.
And I'd just add as well that IMHA has expanded from 4 to 10 advocacy teams and with staff now based across 9 VLA offices working seven days a week. And Paul, that includes in Frankston as well in your patch.
If I can just speak briefly about the importance of lived experience leadership, and that's really just to say this. From the very beginning, IMHA has built, been built alongside people with living and lived experience of compulsory treatment. Indeed, their expertise continues to guide our work from co-designing services in forming our recruitment but also influencing policy reform. The leadership here is not only about shaping IMHA, it's about showing what genuine consumer leadership looks like across the mental health and well being system.
The Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System also created a reform agenda with clear goals to reduce compulsory treatment, to embed supportive decision making and to ensure lived, experienced leadership of every level of the system. Critically, these commitments are now reflected in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act. And the introduction of the opt-out advocacy model is a significant achievement.
That said, consumers still tell us that the reality on the ground has not shifted anywhere near, hasn't shifted nearly far enough. And distressingly, many people still experience coercion, lack of choice and services that are not not always inclusive or culturally safe.
Unfortunately, consumers also consistently describe the harm that compulsory treatment or being at risk of compulsory treatment causes, removing autonomy, dignity and choice and often adding trauma rather than supporting recovery.
The first year of the opt-out system is also showing the gaps that remain, and they include delays, for example, in receiving notifications, which limit our ability to support people in real time, the inconsistent application of the Act's principles across services, and also too many consumers who still don't know about their rights or about IMHA unless we get in touch with them.
So these realities underline why IMHA's work is so vital, keeping consumers voices central, ensuring accountability and pushing for reforms that deliver the changes that people have so long called for.
In closing, I want to thank you all again for joining today online here to mark this really significant milestone.
I particularly acknowledge and thank the consumers whose leadership and determination continues to shape this work and past and present staff of IMHA.
Of course, many of you have spent years fighting for a rights based mental health system and is indeed you still are.
And like Paul, I want to particularly acknowledge the work and leadership of Helen Makregiorgos as well as Wanda Bennetts, both who have been integral to IMHA's work and the impact it's had since its inception a decade ago.
So like you, I'm really, really looking forward to the panel discussion, which is to be facilitated by Helen and Wanda and to hearing the reflections of our panellists.
So thank you very much and back to you, Helen. Thank you.
[On screen: Helen speaks to camera.]
Helen: Thank you very much Toby and thank you for highlighting IMHA's achievements, but also the work that some of the work we still have to do in the mental health and well being sector as well as Paul who also reflected we still have cultural change that is needed.
So we will now hear from our panellists and Wanda Bennetts will introduce them and also facilitate a discussion.
[On screen: Wanda appears by videolink alongside Helen on screen. Wanda has a silver bob and is wearing a pale green blazer. Her video background is green with the IMHA logo.]
So Wanda has lived experience of mental distress. She started her career as a primary school teacher and has a master's in education. She has worked in a variety of consumer perspective roles since 2000, mostly at a systemic level. Some people may say she was the first consumer consultant, maybe not first, close to.
[On screen: Wanda shakes her head.]
The roles have included consumer consultant, consumer researcher, consumer educator, senior consumer advisor, freelance worker and senior policy advisor.
This work has been undertaken in designated area mental health services such as Forensicare, universities, Department of Health, community mental health services and currently in IMHA where she has been for 10 years. Wanda is passionate about many things including eliminating forced and coercive practise, lived experience, leadership in policy, governance, service deliver and research and her five precious grandchildren.
Over to you, Wanda.
Wanda: Thanks Helen.
The grandchildren are the most important. It's my privilege now to be able to introduce the panel members. We had four.
Due to some unforeseeable circumstances, Kate Thwaites isn't able to join us today, but we have got some words from her that I'll speak later. But our panel will be Belinda Foley.
[On screen: Belinda joins on screen, she is wearing an Always Was, Always Will Be black jumper, glasses and large headphones.]
Belinda's previous work in the Court Services Victoria and Victoria Legal Aid in the Aboriginal community as an Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer has led her to IMHA. And now she's the our manager of our First Nations team. And I must ad lib here and say has made an amazing contribution to the culture of IMHA in that role. Belinda has an extensive knowledge, has extensive knowledgeable background to advocacy for First Nations consumers and is proud of her role and support she offers the First Nations team.
We'll hear secondly from Lee Allen.
[On screen: Lee joins on screen, she is wearing light green glasses and her background is of the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus.]
Lee Allen, associate director, associate professor, is deputy chief psychiatrist, chairperson of the RANZCP, the Victorian committee and the mental health coordinator at the University of Melbourne, MD Lee's worked in public psychiatry through her career with practise in primary mental health, early psychosis and youth mental health.
Kate, who's not here today, was appointed Victoria's deputy chief mental health nurse in 2021, supporting the programme of work undertaken by the chief mental health nurse. Kate was appointed the director of the Mental Health Improvement Programme within Safer Care Victoria in 2023 and leads the program of work which is a recommendation and outcome from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System. Kate supports mental health nursing leadership and works with mental health nurses, lived experience advisors, allied health professionals and project officers to develop clinical practise improvements and best practise frameworks. These are aimed at supporting the mental health workforce and improving the experience of care for consumers, families, carers and supporters.
[On screen: Mary joins, she is wearing a black and white patterned shirt and black glasses. She has a blunt fringe and bob.]
And then Mary will be our final speaker.
She has over 30 years of leadership experiences and internationally recognised for her pioneering work in mental health reform. Drawing on her own lived experience, she has been a powerful advocate for embedding lived experience perspectives in mental health systems around the world. The career highlights include helping to found the Service User Movement in New Zealand in the 1980s, serving as the first chair of the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry, and advising the United Nations and World Health Organisation. Mary has also served as a new as New Zealand's mental health commissioner.
Authored the acclaimed memoir, Madness made me, worth reading, I've got a copy. And most recently was the inaugural executive director of Lived Experience for the Victorian Department of Health, where she played a key role in mental health reform and Mary's currently at Wellways.
So when we set up this panel, we gave some pretty broad direction to the panellists.
We asked them to reflect on IMHA's achievements over the past decade, to highlight ongoing challenges and systemic reform and to and to consider, think about the opt-out also to include if they wanted to, something about elevating consumer voices and supported decision making.
So I'm going to throw to Belinda and I'm really excited to hear what everybody's got to say.
Your turn, Belinda.
Belinda: Thank you so much, Wanda.
I would also like to say what a beautiful welcome it was from Aunty Georgina, very hard to top, but I would also like to acknowledge my descendants.
And so I'm meeting on the Wadawurrung down in Geelong and yeah, welcome to everyone here today.
So IMHA saw that there was a need for the First Nations team and it was born with me starting in the role in September of 2023.
We're now in 2025 and the team has grown to me as manager.
Keenan is our senior advocate in the Melbourne office, Sharon up in the Shepparton office, Steph in our Geelong office and our three newly appointed staff advocates in the Melbourne office, Hayden, Theo and Tegan, all working from the Melbourne office. Jarrad and Kylie are also joined us at the start of the year as a senior project and project work worker.
So as a deadly staunch team we are providing support for all Victorian First Nations in an already over represented area of mental health by showcasing that First Nations people need to be heard.
One of my first First Nations consumers when starting was having a really hard time getting their treatment team to listen to what was happening for them outside of hospital.
They had a relative who lived in a remote community and who had attempted to take their own lives but was unsuccessful.
However, sustained, can't speak, sustained quite a few injuries.
So they needed to be discharged as an Elder and to the relative to the person who was injured and to be able to provide support for them and healing on country.
So during their review that day on the ward, myself and a support person from OPA, which is the Office of Public Advocacy, for this consumer, spoke to have the consumer's voice heard, heard with a cultural lens and explain the difference between healing and healing.
And this was in relation to both the consumer and their relative and they were discharged that afternoon.
Another First Nations consumer had multiple admissions regarding their mental health and multiple intervention supports from valves.
And for the from the First Nations advocate, this consumers order was varied to a community treatment order.
However, the treatment team still wanted them to have medication and to continue on an order.
The strength of the advocacy from VALS and the First Nation advocate was able to do to provide was was provided sorry which led to a revoking discharge of their order due to their connections to a First Nations community organisation for their healing.
They actually shared their treatment story on a radio podcast with VALS and to this day have not been readmitted for First Nations consumers to be heard.
Our connections over the time have improved massively with the close working with VALS, ACCHOs, ACCOs, AHLOs and other stakeholders who are providing services or support to First Nations consumers on their mental health journey.
With these mighty teams, we've been able to make changes for the First Nations to allow for their voices to be heard louder.
These changes included include, sorry, adding a cultural aspect to the Advanced Statement of Preferences form, adding greater knowledge to mob about who we are and what we can all do by going into the communities rather than rather than waiting for them to come to us, collaborating with our connections as a team. Together with the Mental Health Tribunal, we've been able to open areas of discussion for cultural safety at tribunal hearings as a collective. This again is amplifying First Nations voices to have a say in their treatment and recovery.
An IMHA advocate was once at an outpost visit on a ward where they were introduced to the consumer and the consumer wouldn't speak to anybody. The consumer then said, we have a First Nations team and handed the phone to to the consumer and the consumer spoke to the to the advocate and was able to get a great service out of that, which was amazing.
So with also introducing the First Nations team, I'm have supported us to support all within the IMHA walls.
It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to support non First Nations IMHA teams for better working and supporting with First Nations consumers.
I think people have heard me say many, many times, it's not about what we do, it's about the consumer in the end.
And I will still stand by that.
Thank you.
Wanda: Thank you so much, Belinda and I, I'm personally aware of the the impact that the team has had on staff, the staff's growth and learning.
And also I think your real life examples show how real this is for people and how much impact it has for people on the ground who are using the services and able to access that First Nations team. So thank you to you and your team for all that you have contributed to IMHA and the IMHA culture and learnings. Thank you.
I'm now going to throw to to Lee Allen for the next presentation.
Lee: Thanks, Wanda.
I'd like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands and airways that we're meeting on today.
For me, it's the lands of the Wurundjeri people andI'd like to pay my respects to their elders both past and present and acknowledge all First Nations peoples in this meeting and call today.
I'd also like to acknowledge and and the privilege of working with people with live to living experience of mental health distress and psychological distress and the working with you and the privilege it is and working with you and trying to improve the mental health system in Victoria.
I'm very humbled to be here today and very grateful to the folks at IMHA for being invited to participate in in this discussion today and in particular have the opportunity to celebrate the milestone and significant achievements that have occurred over the past decade.
And IMHA's integral role in that.
I don't want to sugarcoat anything. I think we've got a long way still to go in trying to improve the mental health and well being system within Victoria
But as, as I left a conversation with my daughter today, who was going into her first mental health and wellbeing tribunal as a young doctor in NSW, I was asking about what mental health advocacy was available there and felt very reflective of the changes that have occurred in in the last decade.
When I, when I think back over the last decade, and I suppose also probably over my career as a psychiatrist, I'm getting quite long in the tooth in the role at the moment.
You know, this last decade has been one of, of maybe more effective, challenging and, and some changes, which has been which is a really positive thing.
It's, it's come, I think at a time when there is a changing and increased awareness and understanding within our community.
And I think that's really important for us to all together to continue to drive.
It comes at a time when now workforces are responsible more for psychosocial hazards, which was never really on the cards before, and when the advocacy and long standing advocacy I've lived in living experience has begun to have more of a platform and be heard and responded and acknowledged and with that a political commitment to action. Of course, this then leads to some trickling of improvement in services and to changes that I've seen in services that we being able to deliver on the ground to changes and challenging some of the governance and hierarchies within our systems.
But ultimately, I think as Belinda was, was just reflecting the importance really of it tripping down to the individual users experience. And I think we're still got a diversity of experiences that people are having that we need to improve.
I think I'm really reflecting on your achievements and over the decade, it seems to me that one of the important things is, is you're this really integral cog of being on the ground, the feet on the ground, the ears and eyes on the ground. And we're walking alongside of people who are experiencing the compulsory treatment and the the loss of their rights under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act in paying an integral role in, in support and advocacy for, for people at what is at times the most vulnerable time of, of fear of their lives.
But in addition to that really important grounded work that you're doing, you're a glue in the sector with sharing strong relationships and and maintaining those strong relationships within the broader sort of sector. For us through the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, through Safer Care and the Chief Nurse, with the peaks, with the Department of Health.
These things are really important things that sort of bring, as was mentioned previously by Toby and Paul, the broader sort of system sort of perspective that's really important. Reflecting on the inaugural opt out report and amazing achievement and congratulations to you all in this.
It's really awesome work to be, really demonstrating an accessible and responsive, responsive service.
I was, yeah, reflecting on the, you know, 10 of thousands of people that you're contacting, you know, the languages of this different state for the statements of rights and the spread of the teams and, and the focus also in supporting First Nations and, and youth is really to be recommended and and acknowledged in working.
I've had the privilege in the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist to work with IMHA in trying to drive some of the cultural change that people have spoken of within mental health and wellbeing services and I wanted to just speak briefly about that. The Office of the Chief Psychiatrist has an important role with regards to oversight and system leadership and Sophie Adams is the Chief Psychiatrist is really committed to trying to drive the cultural change within the way mental health and well being services are delivered.
We've worked, we're invited to work with IMHA to lead some team, some develop some training with psychiatrists in these services about the principles and practise of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act. This was co-designed and piloted with IMHA and leading that with the OCP and then our capacity to engage the authorised psychiatrists and we managed to deliver that over the last six months and will continue to do so in a over the next six months.
It's been a interesting experience to bring together psychiatrists to be able to talk to them more in intimately, I think, and I'm really grateful for for Helen Makregiorgos and Wanda to being involved in that. We've really tried to bring psychiatrists to understanding their responsibilities under the Human Rights Charter and how to apply proper consideration to the principles, but then how to more practically think about how they are supporting the autonomy of individuals and in support of decision making. And there's a breadth of maturity, I think to be said within mental health services and clinicians within mental health services with regards to this work.
But it's been really warming to see a lot of people's interest and, and keenness to understand more and also a number of services, strong capacities in this area.
And we had some psychiatrists wanting and requesting whether I'm a could be more involved with their service and come more frequently and work more collaboratively with, so they could all coordinate the care around the individual.
I suppose as far as looking, looking forward, I think one of the things and I reflected on the opt-out is that 10% of referrals to IMHA come from clinical services. I would like to see that improve over time, but I'm pleased there's at least there's some signalling of the sector's engagement.
Secondly, I think that the delays and reporting of restrictive interventions is a significant area we need to focus on. There's no point in finding out about the need for accuracy after the, you know, sometime after the event and that's in the continued area to to improve on. But I think in closing, I suppose I wanted to congratulate the team on the work that you have done with how you've got to hear today and the ongoing work going forward. But really reflecting that you've got a lot to be proud of.
And hopefully we can continue to work together to support each other in making this cultural change that's required. Thank you.
Wanda: Thanks, Lee.
Yes, it's been lovely working with you on the principles in practice training with the psychiatrists. I've really appreciated your openness and taking on board some of the comments when I've come at things with a different perspective and supporting the psychiatrists to hear that perspective in what is sometimes a challenging space to be doing that training.
And like you, I'm really hoping that we can improve that response of 10% to a lot more people coming from clinical services. And these things do take time. And hopefully that that loss of rights, you know, our roles would, I would love our roles to become redundant.
I don't think they'll happen in my lifetime, but I'm not sure if it'll ever happen in anyone's lifetime.
But that would be an amazing goal, wouldn't it?
To have that those rights always at the forefront of everything and not not needing advocates. I'm just going to read Kate's notes now.
Apologies because it won't be as anywhere near as engaging as having Kate reading them, as speaking to themselves.
But Kate said from her perspective, what she thinks has been the importance of IMHA in the mental health and wellbeing system was that IMHA plays a crucial role in making sure people receiving compulsory treatment are genuinely involved in decisions about their care. They help people understand their rights and speak up for what matters to them, especially at times when they might feel unheard and powerless.
By being independent and consumer centred, either builds trust and they show people that their voice matters.
IMHA also supports services to understand and act on what consumers want and need, not just what the system thinks is best. A big part of that is helping embed supported decision-making by making sure people's autonomy and dignity are respected throughout their treatment and recovery journey.
IMHA is also a vital safeguard for people under compulsory treatment. Knowing someone is there to advocate with and for them makes a huge difference.
They've helped shift the system from a clinical risk focused model to one that values human rights and personal recovery. Their training, including a psychiatrist on reviewing compulsory treatment orders before they reach them the Mental Health Tribunal has been particularly impactful.
And importantly, IMHA has been a strong collaborator with Safer Care Victoria in their mental health improvement programs.
Their insights and advocacy help improve the care and support that services deliver across the board.
At Safer Care we hear directly from lived and living experience workforce members about how IMHA have made a positive impact to consumers and carers since the new opt-out advocacy system was introduced under the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act of 2022.
In terms of the priorities, she sees as a sector to ensure we achieve the royal commission's visions in a system that is driven by human rights and personal recovery with lived experience expert with lived experience experts at the centre, She says achieving the royal commission's vision means we can't just improve the system, we have to fundamentally re-imagine it.
That starts with putting human rights, personal recovery and lived experience leadership at the core of everything we do. Building and properly supporting the lived experience workforce is critical to our work. That includes peer workers, advocates and lived experienced workers within government.
At Safer Care, we plan to achieve this by making sure our lived experience workforce has access to training, discipline, specific supervision and real career pathways to lived experience leadership.
It's vital that we continue to ensure lived experience experts are in leadership positions and not just advisory roles because their insight could should shape the system at every level.
And additionally, working with our participating mental health and well being services to engage in supportive decision making and trauma informed care must become the foundation of how we work.
We also need to keep shifting service cultures towards compassion, dignity and human rights. That culture shift is what will make this mental health reform sustainable.
The royal commission's priority to reduce the use of compulsory treatment remains a major priority for Safer Care Victoria. IMHA has been a key partner in this work, helping services build confidence in supportive decision making and modelling what it means to truly listen to consumers, families and carers.
How Safer Care is working towards the royal commission's vision.
They're focused on making the system safer and most person centred and grounded in human rights, embedding lived experience across all the work and not just something that they consult on. It's a core part part of how they they design and deliver improvements, she says.
We're leading statewide quality and safety projects across the four key areas, including reducing compulsory treatment in community mental health and well being services, improving sexual safety in inpatient units, embedding the Zero Suicide framework across the mental health and wellbeing system and working to eliminate restrictive practises in inpatient settings.
Along the ideas, we're also working directly with mental health and wellbeing services to shift the culture to one that centres compassion, dignity and recovery.
And finally, Kate's last point is that our role in supporting services to strengthen their skills in support of decision-making is intrinsic to reducing the need for compulsory treatment in the first place.
I'm now going to pass to Mary for the final panel words or presentation anyway, might not be the final words.
Thank you.
Mary: Thanks, Wanda.
And my thanks to Aunty Georgina for her Welcome to Country.
I'm on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people and I pay my respects to Elders past and present and First Nations people here today.
Look, I want to start by acknowledging and congratulating IMHA on its success with the efficacy with consumers who are at risk of compulsory treatment or subjected to it.
And IMHA's pretty much a rarity in the jurisdictions that I know of. It's a mental health specific, non-legal advocacy service run by genuine allies and by people with lived experience. I don't think there are many jurisdictions where you get that combination of of Internet advocacy service and and of course, I've just been reflecting on how there was absolutely nothing in the way of advocacy when I use services. So great to see it here.
I guess the thing about IMHA is it provides an in-built opportunity to develop, to challenge the coercive, risk-averse status quo and services and to nudge them towards culture change. Although it seems awfully slow at times I'm sure.
Look, it takes a whole team to do this, but I want to make special mention of the leadership of Helen Makregiorgos and as a trusted ally, and Wanda Bennetts as a consumer leader. I think that they've been instrumental in the success of IMHA over the last 10 years. And you know, we all know, I guess, that as a result of the royal commission in the 2022 act, the Mental Health Act that came out of it. Some extensions and improvements were made.
I mean, the opt-out edition, despite the teething problems was a real game changer. I mean what went on before the opt out was a bit scurrilous sometimes in terms of not really being committed to giving people access to the service. So that's been that's been fantastic. And I think there's been a strengthened sort of commitment to supportive decision-making and of course, additional resourcing for advocacy for First Nations consumers, for instance. And this is incredibly important because they tend to experience the most human rights breaches.
And you know, not to be honest, it's one of the few mental health agencies around Victoria that consumers have widespread faith in.
It's one of the bright spots in the system where progress with reform has struggled and has been delayed.
We know that's largely for due to fiscal restraints, but there are also other barriers to reform that old, old campaigners like me are very familiar with. And but you know, I just want to celebrate this in the role of lived experience in designing, delivering and maintaining the service has been very important.
But also the need to celebrate that people who are often feeling at their most vulnerable and are in a very powerless situation and now automatically offered advocacy from a friendly, non threatening person who is solely interested in talking to them about their rights, how they can exercise those rights and supporting them to do that.
Incredibly important.
And I just want to read a couple of quotes from the report that was brought out last year.
And one of them is from a First Nations consumer. And thanks Belinda for those wonderful stories. But, and, and this person said thank you for all your help.
If it wasn't for you, I would still be locked up in that place.
I should be proud to have you advocating for people like me who don't get heard.
Thank you.
And another really nice quote from a consumer.
The whole experience has been very meaningful. It's a really meaningful organisation.
When you came to visit me in the hospital, I felt on my own and I couldn't find any support and didn't know what I was going to do.
You provided me with information about my rights then and again today.
I had a good doctors this time but sometimes there is a difficulty in understanding and I know they want to protect me but maybe a bit too much.
So in any opt-out system, of course they need to be robust processes for finding and contacting people and then reporting back on on all those contacts and that's taken some time.
It's a while since I was in the department, but I know people were very busy at the time trying to iron this all out.
And it does require continuing departmental and area mental health services commitment to sort out.
And I hope this has this has been done with a sense of urgency.
And there have been other teething problems as well that require a really coordinated effort to resolve.
But once again, congratulations on being a trusted advocacy service for consumers. That's quite an achievement.
I know of many advocacy services around the world that haven't achieved that. And this will shape IMHA's success in the next 10 years.
Wanda: Thank you and thank you for your lovely words on a personal level as well, Mary, And it's always a privilege to hear you speak. I'm biassed because I work for IMHA and I do think that they're, they're a great service.
It was lovely drawing that attention to the, you know, the opt-out as a game changer.
But also I think that bit about us being solely interested in the person, that part of being independent has been a really critical part of what we do as an independent mental health advocacy service. And, and I think that has been one of the things that's helped I'm to achieve some of the things that it has achieved.
I'm going to hand to Helen now, who's going to field a couple of questions. We are probably running a little bit later than we were expecting. So I'm going to hand back to you, Helen.
Helen: Thank you.
Wanda: 2 questions.
Helen: Thank you, Wanda, and thank you to all the panellists and to Kate who couldn't be here, who also got a chance to share her words.
I probably don't think we've got time for all the questions, but maybe we'll try one first, maybe a couple and we can respond also offline to some of the other questions.
We don't get to 1 of the questions that's been asked was what else do you think we need to do? So supported decision-making is embedded in mental health and well being services.
It's not not an easy question, but I think that, yeah, most of us would agree that that is absolutely critical to eliminating restrictive practises and reducing compulsory treatment. So does the panel have any thoughts on how what else we need to do around being able to actually embed support decision-making?
Mary: Well, I, I guess from me: one you've got a regime of substituted decision-making that's incredibly difficult.
I'll just leave it at that and other, other comments.
Lee: I suppose within the system that work that is there at the moment is actually being able to access what is in the system for supported decision-making, access to secondary psychiatric opinions for example and the timeliness of that.
Ensuring that people can actually find people's Advanced statement of preference, let alone trying to move for strengthening of the place of that advanced statement of preference would be two things that come to mind. I believe the department is trying to do something with the systems to try and make that more accessible. But yeah.
Belinda: I believe in that too with the advanced statement of preference.
That's something that we are trying to look at to have as a pre-intervention.
So as soon as somebody comes under the mental health banner that it's already there for them.
So that could be something to, you know, support that they're being heard a lot quicker than the possibilities of some advocate, sorry, some consumers, being missed totally. So I think that's something that that I agree with.
Wanda: Can I add a bit in there, Helen as well?
Helen: Of course.
Wanda: You know, the support for me, if we, if everything was done through supported decision making, a lot of things wouldn't be needed.
If we just start with the person, we go through their options, we treat them respectfully, we talk about the pros and cons and we're guided by the what the person wants. There's a lot of other stuff that's not needed. And you know, and until I think advanced statements of preferences become legally binding, I'm not sure that they'll ever get the buy in that well, certainly that I'd like anyway.
And I don't believe I'm alone there, so I couldn't help having my bit 2 bits.
Helen: I think wonder, I mean, we probably can't answer this one, but you know, it is a key point that you just highlighted, which is that the advance statement of preferences aren't binding.
And there is, you know, the panel is a question around, you know, these people think there's opportunities in the next 5 years to actually make them binding. I think that might be a bigger question that I don't know if anyone's got any thoughts on that, but I think that's probably one for policy and government. And yeah, we, I'm not sure the panel members could answer whether that's something that could happen, but clearly something that has been advocated for over many years that they've become binding.
But it would be great in the first instance to try and at least get them, you know, placed in the places they need to be so that they could actually be looked at and, yeah, incorporated into people's care.
It is on three o'clock. We've got 15 minutes. I think we have time for maybe one more, which I'll try and make quick. Sorry. I think we've identified and many of the speakers have to identify that there's still much to do.
And Paul also talked about cultural change, which we still have a bit to do on as well and will be a priority over the next 10 years for government and for all of us, agency health services, IMHA, many of the safeguard oversight bodies.
But is there something that you have seen that makes this year that makes you hopeful that we're heading in the right direction?
Lee: I suppose coming into being relatively new in the role in the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist and having the opportunity to work with IMHA or with the sector specifically around discussions that involved thinking about principles, about, you know, dignity of risk principle and trying to get that really meaty discussion going on with psychiatrists about that.
Trying to really push them away from the paternalistic caring model to supporting individuals rights and capacities to make decision was something that I had experienced more hope than I was expecting in how far some people have come with regards to that.
Still seeing a lot of broader systems and even community and coroner influences on some of this, but certainly a real drive within many within that I've met through that training to date in considering it.
Obviously, it's not that the whole of the group and I was also mindful that when I'm looking at the older end of the group.
So so hoping that this, there is more drive happening for, for our younger clinicians coming through to try and, and, and work and tap into what they want, which is to help people.
People aren't generally wanting to harm people. And, and that's the hard, the hard dissonance that clinicians hold at the moment. And now to support them to find a path forward. So with this, I have some quiet optimism, but I am often accused of being a bit pathologically optimistic.
Helen: I do think that it's a great reflection you've had because I do feel if you can see the impact of the training that's being done around the principles in practice that you're doing with Wanda, that, you know, it is having an impact. And I think we can see it in certain places as well. And, you know, you need to have hope. And it is a system.
And I think that means that it's about all of us, isn't it? Yeah.
So anyone else something that you've seen this year that made you hopeful?
Belinda: I think the louder we are, the more gets heard, keeping the accountability in check and breaking down silos.
I think that's I can see some of that already starting to happen.
I think, you know, with everyone listening here today, where the voice. So I think the more we work together, the more achievements will be heard and shared.
Helen: Thanks, Belinda.
Mary, anything from you? I don't want to put you on the spot. This could be about the community.
Mary: Of course, for hope I have, I have to be honest here, if Lee's got pathological optimism, sometimes I think I have pathological pessimism.
So finding hope is it's difficult sometimes, but I do think when you think about younger psychiatrists and not, not that, you know, they're a very, they're a very variable bunch, but I think on average, the younger psychiatrists are probably much more flexible about the, their responsibilities and in terms of using those blunt tools that are open to them, you know, like the mental health act, medication and beds.
But we need a system also that supports that flexibility. And at the moment, it's very hard to for that. And not just the the kind of clinical hospital system, but the broader regulatory system and the, you know, the coroner's court and Worksafe. And in places like that, they really need to adjust their thinking in order to enable more flexibility among other clinical people.
Helen: Thank you, Mary.
I think that's a really important point.
I might finish then to the questions just because we also want to make sure that we don't run over time, so we'll get on with other things they have to do.
I'm going to hand back to Wanda, who's actually going to share some closing reflections and also introduce the video compilation that we did produce and had an amazing eight people, staff and lived experience experts, a psychiatrist and a nurse and a lawyer who kindly shared their time to actually share some reflections on IMHA.
Before I do hand to Wanda, I just want to also express my gratitude as well to consumer leaders and we've experienced experts, including Wanda, who may be online today, who fought for us to exist over 10 years ago and who have joined us over the years to improve the system and also support us to advocate. I hope you've achieved what you hoped for and we will continue to strive to do better every day as well as obviously working together to continue to improve the mental health and wellbeing system.
So over to you, Wanda.
[On screen: Wanda speaks to camera. The other panellists are no longer visible.]
Wanda: Thank you, really appreciate that.
Can't do any of the work we do without us standing on the shoulders of people who've gone before us and those who support us as well. I'm a bit like Mary, I suppose. I think I'm the eternal pessimist and I used to love that GP Becker that Ted Danson played. So no expectations, no disappointments, and I probably was one who didn't have a lot of high expectations for change.
Having said that, it's an absolute privilege to work with IMHA. And we see and hear every week from people who use our service the difference that IMHA does make, having that advocate in their life, real, real changes for people on the ground. So that's always keeps you grounded and keeps you doing the work we do.
So I've got the privilege of saying some thank yous as well and the privilege of these thank yous on behalf of Helen and myself so quickly want to thank all current past IMHA staff for their passion, commitment and support.
Without them, none of this would be possible. Every single person who works with IMHA makes us better.
Those who provided consumer leadership to IMHA, from beyond IMHA and within, including Speaking from Experience group members, and the people who fought for IMHA to exist in the first place. And I hope we have achieved at least some of what people have hoped for and we'll certainly continue to strive to do better.
To all the mental health and wellbeing services, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, Mental Health Tribunal, SPOS, Mental Health Legal Rights Service, the ACCHOs and ACCOs including VALS, VMIAC, Tandem, SHARC Victoria and the department, the government, sorry who support us. We thank you all for what you do to ensure we can provide the services we do and work with us so we can all achieve a rights-based mental health and well being system.
Thank you to all the consumers we work with who allow us the privilege of being a small part of your recovery journey to and I don't think we can finish this without as well saying thank you to Helen. I think now Helen's name is synonymous with IMHA, anyone who talks about IMHA knows Helen and I definitely don't believe we would be the service we are without Helen and without her leadership as well.
So now we're going to move to a great the video compilation.
We had some staff members, consumer consultant, a lawyer, psychiatrist, clinical nurse, a First Nations person and and member from our Speaking from Experience group just do a little compilation video. And we would like that to leave you with hopefully some great celebratory thoughts about IMHA and the work that we do.
So I'm going to pass to our our technician Ed, who's going to play the video and I'll see you all down the track I hope.
Thank you for being with us today. It was great to have you join us.
[On screen: Confetti breaks over the words '10 years of IMHA'. Sepi appears on screen sitting at a desk, she is wearing a black top.]
[On screen text: Sepi Nasseri, Senior Intake Advocate, IMHA.]
Sepi: I love working at IMA.
I've been working here for nearly nine years now.
We were a very small team back then, I think 15-20 at most. It felt like we were this little group of people who, you know, if anyone actually even knew about you, they were confused about why you worked here.
[On screen: Stephanie has short wavy hair and is wearing a black top with a necklace that has a sun pendant.]
[On screen text: Stephanie Mann, Senior Advocate, IMHA.]
Stephanie: The role that IMHA players in the mental health system, I think is a very unique one and highly needed. It is the first service that I've ever worked in that uses a representational advocacy model instead of a best interests model. And what that really means is that the consumer is at the very heart of absolutely everything that IMHA does.
[On screen: Robbie is wearing a black jacket and a large gold necklace.]
[On screen text: Robbie Stephen-Dettman, First Nations Lived Experience expert.]
Robbie: They are representative of the community in which we live, but they also ensure that as a member of the community that your wishes are upheld and that your rights are seen to be put into practise as well.
[On screen: Sophie has very curly shoulder length hair and is wearing oval-framed glasses.]
[On screen text: Sophie Delaney, Senior Lawyer, Mental Health and Disability Law, Victoria Legal Aid.]
Sophie: I have worked very closely with IMHA since IMHA's inception. Yeah, around 10 years ago.
In my experience, advocating for people at the Mental Health Tribunal and in other contexts, IMHA's role in the system has been an absolute game changer.
[On screen: Christopher has a beard and moustache and is wearing a blue shirt over a red t-shirt.]
[On screen: Christopher Thatcher, Speaking from Experience member.]
Christopher: I hadn't heard of the phrase lived experience before joining IMHA, but I watched the royal commission take place on television and I felt like I needed to be a part of that.
[On screen: Sim has a beard and moustache and is wearing a white shirt.]
[On screen text: Sim Crawford, Consumer Consultant, IMHA.]
Sim: I think one thing that sets IMHA apart is the fact that lived experience and engaging with people with lived experience in a meaningful way has been part of the organisation from the very beginning.
When I joined, I was very impressed with the way lived experience was embedded in the way IMHA runs on an everyday level.
Sepi: So for me, working as an advocate means I get to speak to people going through a really challenging time in their lives, and I really feel the privilege of not just being there and listening to that, but being able to give them the time and the space to talk about whatever it is that they want to talk about.
Stephanie: The one thing that I think IMHA provides is a safe space for consumers to feel heard without judgement.
[On screen: Leah has brown hair and is wearing a blazer and glasses.]
[On screen text: Leah Merrigan, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Mental Health Inpatient Unit, Goulburn Valley Health.]
Leah: I'd like to congratulate IMHA on their 10-year anniversary and their contribution to the public mental health system over the last 10 years.
I see IMHA as the extension of our clients arm.
It's important that our consumers are heard and I believe IMHA amplifies the voice of our consumers, amplifying their rights and consumers wishes.
Christopher: I've found the experience of being on SFE (Speaking from Experience) both empowering and enlightening.
I get to voice my opinion on what I often call the mental health industry. That opinion is both based on experience and also on ideas.
[On screen: Nicky has long brown hair and is in a room with two small windows.]
[On screen text: Dr Nicky Zigouris, Clinical Lead, Mental Health Improvement Program.]
Nicky: To start by congratulating IMA and the team on the 10-year anniversary.
It's been an amazing journey no doubt for your team. And congratulations on the significant expansion to the advocacy service since the implementation of the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act.
Sophie: I've been doing this work more than 25 years.
A very significant reason for that is how satisfying I find it. That satisfaction is really because of two things, I think fantastic colleagues, but probably more importantly, fantastic clients.
It's a real privilege to be working in this context.
Sepi: We fought hard to get here and I'm incredibly proud to have been once more part to get to where we are.
Robbie: So I say that it's like an extension of your family and the people that work at IMHA are just like that.
They're the nicest, most approachable, intelligent, well informed, collegiate people that you could possibly meet and possibly want to to ensure that you have a healthy, social and emotional wellbeing in our society.
[On screen text: How to contact IMHA? Email contact@imha.vic.gov.au, call 1300 947 820 9.30 am to 4.30 pm 7 days a week. Call 1800 959 353 to hear a free recording of your rights, available 24 hours a day. You can ask for an interpreter. You can ask to speak to a First Nations Advocate. Visit: www.imha.vic.gov.au. The Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and the progress pride flags.]
[Video ends.]
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