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Hi ,To all Staff: As you may be aware, the Australian Government is developing the first Mental Health National Action Plan (National Action Plan) for emergency services workers. The aim of the National Action Plan is to lower the rates of suicide and improve mental health outcomes among Australia’s current and former emergency services workers, including volunteers. As part of the development of the National Action Plan, the Department of Home Affairs has undertaken extensive consultation with the sector. Each of these consultation activities were delivered by a dedicated consultation team that worked collaboratively with the policy development team. Throughout this process, we have received consistent feedback that many emergency services workers don’t always feel comfortable talking about their experiences or providing input without anonymity. In response to this, one of the final stages of the consultation and collaboration process is to invite all emergency services workers (and their family members), past and present, to provide anonymous[1] input and feedback into the National Action Plan. The Support Our Services (SOS) online community has specifically been designed for emergency services workers, past and present, to share experiences about the impact of this challenging work on your wellbeing. This feedback will be anonymous* and your participation is voluntary, however your input will be vital to informing the development of the National Action Plan. The Department has engaged independent social research consultancy, Bastion Insights to facilitate the Support Our Services (SOS) community and ensure anonymity is maintained*. *Under Australian privacy principles there are some instances in which Bastion Insights may be obliged to disclose personal information. These instances are in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct by members of the Australian public service. Invitation to all emergency services workers To ensure emergency services workers have the opportunity to provide input into the National Action Plan, we ask you to share the invitation within your organisation and networks. It is important all emergency services workers—current and past, paid and volunteer—who wish to provide input into the plan have the opportunity to do so, and we appreciate your assistance in facilitating this. Where do I go if I want to know more? If you want to know more about the Support Our Services (SOS) community you can find out further details here. Should you need anything further please do not hesitate to contact Bastion Insights SOS Team sos@bastioninsights.com. And if you have any questions about this research, you can contact the Mental Health Policy Taskforce from Department of Home Affairs on ES-MHS@homeaffairs.gov.au. Further invitation to partake in this initiative will be communicated via MFS Social Media in the near future. Regards, DT Dennis Taylor AFSM Senior Firefighter & Employee Support Project Officer South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service Adelaide Fire Station, Level 1 West, 99 Wakefield Street, Adelaide 5000 W: 8204 3513
[1] Under Australian Privacy Principles there are some instances in which Bastion Insights may be obliged to disclose personal information. These instances are in relation to suspected unlawful activity or serious misconduct by members of the Australian Public Service. |
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