A new Federal Government initiative has been launched in an effort to ensure the mental health and safety of Australians at work.

The Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance is a collaborative partnership between business, the mental health sector and government. It was officially launched by the National Mental Health Commission today.

The Alliance will provide the business sector with practical information about mental health. It will guide workplaces to develop changes in business culture and practice, as well as build an evidence-based case for promoting healthy business workplaces.

Prof Allan Fels, Chair of the National Mental Health Commission says “mental illness costs the Australian economy over $20 billion a year, while recent research from SANE Australia highlights that the majority of people feel unsupported when mentally unwell, and less than half of managers (43 percent) have an understanding of mental illness... with almost half of Australians likely to experience a mental illness in their lifetime, the importance of having mentally healthy workplaces cannot be overstated.”

As part of the Alliance program, the Government is calling for information and feedback on workers’ experiences of mental challenges at work, as well as previous measures to improve mental wellbeing. The Call for Good Practice program is open to all business until July 28 and will help inform the development of practical resources for businesses to be released later in the year.

For more information on the efforts of the Mentally Healthy Workplace Alliance, visit the Workplace Mental Health site.