2023 ACT community-managed mental health workforce profile and are free to download and post to social media. If you use them, please tag our social media profiles."> 2023 ACT community-managed mental health workforce profile and are free to download and post to social media. If you use them, please tag our social media profiles.">
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Infographics on the Community-Managed Mental Health Workforce

These infographics are based on the 2023 ACT community-managed mental health workforce profile and are free to download and post to social media. If you use them, please tag our social media profiles.

ACT Community mental health workforce profile. How are the people helping us holding up?
Who are the ACT Community mental health workforce? The community-managed mental health workforce includes professionals employed by charities and other community-managed organisations. They provide care outside of hospital, government, and private settings. This work is done in the community, where clients live, work, and form social connections There are 2051 community-managed mental health workers in the ACT, plus an additional 1143 unpaid (volunteer) workers 60% of the mental health workforce
Who are the ACT Community mental health workforce? [graph of different professions] The community-managed mental health workforce includes people from a variety of professions.
Community Mental Health Workforce Demographics 61% women; 36% volunteers; 70% are under 45; 50% temporary/casual.
Community mental health workforce Precarity Workforce precarity and insecurity across our sector threatens the sustainability of our workforce. Especially when we consider the compounding effect of the challenging nature of this work. High rates of temporary and casual contracts is not conducive to thriving in your career. It can lead to burnout as well as issues with retention and/or the quality of care. Such detrimental effects are likely to be more pronounced if low unemployment rates persist, together with ongoing wage disparities between the community-managed and public and for-profit sectors.
Community mental health workforce Precarity The relative youth of the workforce reduces opportunities for mentorship and continuity in the workplace. 70% are under 45. The youthfulness of the workforce may suggest the community-managed mental health sector is a good place to begin, but not finish, a career. While the community-managed sector might be regarded as an appropriate entry-level job, it is possible experienced workers are seeking more highly remunerated and/or more stable employment in other sectors.
Community mental health workforce Precarity Precarity leads to issues with: Recruiting staff Attracting staff Retaining staff Staff burnout Quality of care It is a hurdle to promoting clients' mental health and constitutes a mental health risk for workers themselves.
Our survey found that: Nearly half of the organisations surveyed have had vacant positions in their mental health workforce in the past six months, and of these over half indicated vacancies were difficult to fill. Difficulty recruiting adds to burnout of existing staff as they are overstretched to make up for a lack of people. High vacancy rates are also a problem for service delivery and meeting the need for mental health services in the community. It leads to higher risks and longer waiting lists.
According to respondents, the most significant factor affecting their ability to meet workforce demand was inadequate funding to recruit qualified staff. Retention could be improved through: competitive salaries (especially in comparison to the public ACT mental health workforce) structured career development interesting opportunities greater job security. Organisations believe the demand for a skilled mental health workforce will continue to increase in the ACT. Our funding and workforce arrangements must keep up with this growing demand.
Communities are experiencing increasing mental health need after enduring years of the COVID-19 pandemic, successive natural disasters, rising costs of living, and other socio-economic pressures. The growing demand for mental health services across the ACT highlights the need for a robust and inclusive system of care – a system of care that in turn relies on a high quality, capable and sustainable workforce.
Our position is that the community-managed sector is best placed to provide mental health promotion and education, early intervention; and to support for people with severe and complex mental health issues in their rehabilitation and recovery. What distinguishes community-managed services from more clinical models of care is their focus on wellbeing rather than illness, and provision of practical supports to help people connect with their communities and live well. Our workforce must be supported and empowered to do this care work sustainably.

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