Core competencies for the mental health workforce

About this project

Background

The Department of Health developed Australia’s 10-year National Mental Health Workforce Strategy (2022-2032) (https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/national-mental-health-workforce-strategy-2022-2032), which covers the quality, supply, distribution and structure of the mental health workforce. This strategy includes the development of overarching core competencies for the mental health workforce (Strategic Pillar 1).

In the context of this broader work taking place under the strategy, ORIMA Research conducted research to inform the development of specific core competencies for the mental health workforce when working with two priority populations: people from lesbian, gay, bisexual+, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities; and people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. This research was funded by a grant from the National Mental Health Commission.

The overarching objective of this research was to identify the knowledge, attitudes and skills required of professionals in the mental health workforce to meet the needs of people in these priority populations. While there are a range of system and service level factors that are important in the delivery of mental health care to these populations, this research is focused on the competencies required at the level of individual professionals in the mental health workforce.

During the research a set of indicative core competencies were tested and refined with community members and stakeholders.

Explore the findings

To see a summary of the core competencies identified through the research, read the attached reports below.

Read CALD Core Competencies Summary Report [Download PDF]

Cite report: ORIMA Research (2024). Summary of findings from mental health workforce core competency research: with people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. ORIMA Research. Read

Read LGBTIQA+ Core Competencies Summary Report [Download PDF]

Cite report: ORIMA Research (2024). Summary of findings from mental health workforce core competency research: with LGBTQIA+ communities. ORIMA Research. Read

Contact us

If you have any further questions, or would like to access the full detailed version of the report, please contact us at:

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