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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-05-18 Daily Xml
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Mental Health

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Can the minister explain to the house how businesses can contribute to our community's mental health and wellbeing?

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS (Taylor—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:40): I would like to thank the member for Elder for her question and her strong advocacy on behalf of the Edwardstown Regional Business Association, where I had the good fortune to attend a wellbeing breakfast and workshop last week that was well supported by SafeWork SA and the state government.

More than 200 local business owners assembled to meet that morning and learn more about how businesses can contribute to their workforce's mental wellbeing and capacity to build business in this state. The Hon. Jeff Kennett AC, founder and chairman of beyondblue, contributed to the opening speeches, as I did, and he particularly highlighted the initiative by beyondblue called Heads Up.

Heads Up is providing free resources to individuals and businesses throughout Australia to take action to promote good mental health in the workforce and businesses. Good mental health is everybody's responsibility. It is about all of us, and it requires a community linked-up approach. Investing in a mentally healthy workplace provides us with the opportunity to have an around 230 per cent return on investment, and this is proven by research done by PricewaterhouseCoopers. It is not just a duty of care to ourselves, our workmates and employees but it also makes good business sense.

One in five Australian adults will experience a form of mental illness in a 12-month period. An employer, regardless of the business size, is bound to encounter an employee who is struggling at some time, whether it is being present but being absent or exhibiting signs of mental unwellness. That is why business is a key stakeholder in improving our mental wellbeing and awareness of these issues in the community. The website, www.headsup.org.au, has simple and easy to follow guides and training equipment for workplaces and employers. It is essentially about asking how a workmate is travelling, how they are feeling, what to say and where you can link them into pathways to help them recover.

It was a privilege on the day to hear firsthand accounts from high performing entrepreneurs and their stories about how they overcame anxiety, stress, uncertainty and depression to keep performing in their business and to keep employing people in this state. I would like to thank the work of the Edwardstown Regional Business Association for helping highlight the importance of this topic in our state and in our workplaces.

I would also like to thank the member for Elder for her empathy in this space; it is very important and much appreciated. beyondblue is to be commended for their ongoing research in this space and advocacy in this field. The state government is partnering with beyondblue more and more to provide important resources for this Australian space of wellbeing.

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