Mental Health for the Young and their Families (Victorian Group) has a twenty-year track record of not-for-profit striving for improvements in services. Although we have been doing good work, we recognize that in order to have greater impact on policy and service delivery we must rise to a higher level.
At our Annual General Meeting in August we are launching AusMHYF. It will be a national company, limited by guarantee and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) as a health promotion charity.
This will allow an Australia-wide network, monitored by the national agency responsible for ensuring good corporate governance and strict ethical standards, the benchmark of trustworthy organizations. The new structure will allow for individual and corporate memberships. It will enable us to have branches in other states and to develop a network of like-minded organizations which will collectively have a much more powerful voice.
MHYFVic maintains an up-to-date database of mental health best practice in prevention, early intervention, standard treatment and health promotion, citing best available research evidence. Building on this basis, it provides educational programs such as workshops, seminars and lectures concerning child and family mental health to professionals and people of lived experience, and also disseminates information through newsletters, bulletins, the website and presentations such as the nationally-delivered Winston Rickards Memorial Oration.
MHYFVic advocates with government and non-government agencies for effective intervention programs, health promotion and preventive measures pursued in the context of human rights and wider community networks enhancement. It also facilitates provision of scientifically informed contributions to commissions of enquiry and other policy development forums.
MHYFVic will continue its work as before, but think how much more effective it can become with an Australia-wide network of allies, coordinated by the AusMHYF Board of Directors.
Recruitment is under way for the new Board of Directors covering expertise in Finance, Law, Public Relations, Human Resources and Corporate Governance as well as the important expertise in Young Person’s Mental Health. Director registration and ACNC eligibility is mandatory. Adoption of the new constitution, approval of application for registration with ACNC, and election of the inaugural AusMHYF Board, as well as election of the usual office-bearers of MHYFVic, will all take place at the August AGM.
Financial members of MHYFVic will automatically become members of the new AusMHYF company. The membership year starts on 1 July. Financial members are eligible to nominate for election and eligible to vote. We encourage all financial members to attend the AGM or, if unable to attend, to submit their proxy votes when the papers are distributed to ensure that a quorum is achieved for this crucial step in our future progress.
Members interested in possible election to the Board should make contact by email to admin@mhyfvic.org to discuss their interest as soon as possible. This is because all necessary information for ACNC eligibility must be supplied before the election papers are distributed.
We look forward to seeing you all at the AGM on 28th August.
Paul McDonald, CEO of Anglicare, gave the 14th Winston Rickards Memorial Oration at the University of Melbourne on Monday 14th April: “The State as the Corporate Parent: raising or managing?”
This very rewarding presentation on the need for supportive intervention for young people leaving the Child Protection system can now be viewed either by webcast recording or by downloadable textfile from the Orations page of our website, www.MHYFVic.org .
Allan Mawdsley
“Abolishing your Waiting List”
The MHYFVic Workshop scheduled for 19th July was cancelled because of insufficient registrations to cover costs. However, the workshop can be conducted individually on-site for any agency wishing to host it for their staff. Contact admin@mhyfvic.org
In this newsletter we have suspended the specific section for discussion of issues that need clarification of their place in the Mental Health field.
Reader’s comments would be welcome.
Important announcement from
International Association for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Allied Professions
