Interdepartmental Forum on Workplace Mental Health (IFMH)
The IFMH forum brings together senior leaders from across the Australian Public Service to consider our shared responsibility for creating workplaces that are psychologically safe, mentally healthy and reflective of the communities we serve. As SES leaders, your influence is critical in shaping organisational culture and setting expectations for safe, respectful and inclusive work environments.
Upcoming forums
Thursday 5 November 2026
The November forum will focus on:
- The societal impacts of mental health, workplace participation and leadership
- Practical insights to strengthen employee mental health and wellbeing through workplace policies, practices and systems.
Guest speaker Rachel Green, CEO SANE Australia, is a leading Australian innovator in mental health reform, lived experience leadership and service design. Over more than 15 years, she has helped shape Australia's mental health policy and services including contributing to the establishment of the National Mental Health Commission, leading major mental health and suicide prevention initiatives, and driving innovative approaches to recovery-oriented and peer-led support.
As CEO of SANE Australia, Rachel brings a unique perspective on the barriers to workplace participation for people experiencing mental health challenges and the role leaders play in creating environments where people feel safe, valued and able to contribute.
The session will explore the role of meaningful employment in a changing world of increasing complexity, uncertainty and mental health challenges.
If you are an SES leader within the APS and would like to attend, talk to the team forums@comcare.gov.au.
Past forums
Friday 26 June 2026
The June IFMH focussed on:
- Supporting leaders to understand why culturally safe and diverse workplaces
are essential, and the pivotal role SES leaders play in fostering these
environments through everyday leadership behaviours, decision-making and
systems.- Promoting workplaces that reflect the diversity of the Australian population
and the people we serve, across the full spectrum of culture and lived
experience, including First Nations peoples, people with disability, older
workers and others.- Highlighting the importance of embedding cultural safety as a critical
foundation for the prevention of psychological injury and the effective
identification and management of psychosocial risksResources
Australian Public Service Commission factsheets