Tasmania prepares next mental health strategy after statewide consultation
07 Oct 2026
The Tasmanian Department of Health is working on a new plan for mental health and wellbeing, following a statewide consultation earlier this year.
The consultation gave Tasmanians an opportunity to share what they want from the state’s mental health system in the future.
Views were shared by people with personal experience of mental health services, healthcare and community organisations, service providers and the wider community. . The Department received more than 100 written submissions, along with views collected through interviews, focus groups, community meetings, online forums and the Premier’s Mental Health Roundtable.
Several key areas were raised during the consultation.
People want mental health services to be simpler to access and easier to understand. They also called for better cooperation between services and stronger involvement from people with lived experience.
There was also support for greater attention to mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention.
Workforce issues were another focus, including the need to build and maintain a strong and sustainable workforce.
Participants also highlighted the importance of better governance, planning, commissioning and evaluation across the mental health system.
The new strategy will build on changes made through Rethink 2015–2025 and Rethink 2020. These reforms have included expanding community-based care, improving access to services, increasing the role of lived experience leadership and supporting better connections across the mental health system.
The Department is now reviewing the consultation feedback with lived experience partners and peak bodies as it develops the draft strategy.
A draft version is expected to be released later this year, when the community and stakeholders will have another opportunity to provide feedback.
Tasmania prepares next mental health strategy after statewide consultation
Source: Tasmanian Department of Health, 7 October 2026.