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Mental illness and work

Support with mental illness and work

Support is available for employees with mental illness, and for people who work with, and manage, employees with mental illness.

If you need urgent support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Salvo Care Line on 1300 36 36 22. Counsellors are available to help you 24 hours a day. If there is an emergency, and a person's life is in danger, call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

What support is available for employees?

If you are an employee with a mental illness, you may like to find out about:

What support is available for employers?

If you are an employer or colleague of a person with disability or a mental illness, you may like to find out about:

Resources

Resources are available for employers and managers to help them with supporting employees with a mental illness, including:

Information on the Australian Government's JobAccess website about:

The guide includes advice about topics including:

  • mental health in the workplace
  • understanding mental illness
  • managing mental illness in the workplace
  • creating a safe and healthy workplace for all
  • where to get assistance
  • additional information and resources
  • knowing the law
  • types of mental illness
  • how to talk about mental illness.
  • the Mental Health Works resource from the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health Inc. and Worklink, which includes an interactive PDF and videos for employers and Disability Employment Network providers. The Mental Health Works resource includes practical and evidence-based workplace strategies, as well as information about the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees who have experienced mental illness.
  • Business in Mind, a free DVD and resource kit for online for small to medium business owners and managers. The DVD and resource kit are designed to help owners and managers respond to mental health issues in the workplace, and include tips about topics including positive relationship building, helping employees achieve work-life balance and effective stress management.

More information

You may also be interested in our web page for employers and colleagues about supporting people with disability in employment.

The Community Crew project

Social worker Emily Reynolds.

Social worker Emily Reynolds spoke with Disability Online about strategies for helping people with a disability or mental illness find and keep a job that suits them, and the work she does for the Community Crew project in Brisbane. More…

Mental illness and building a career

Building a Career of Your Choice is a booklet produced by the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, with support from Queensland Health and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Information is provided for people with a mental illness, health professionals and friends, family and carers on topics including

  • deciding to look for work
  • services to help with finding and keeping a job
  • employer requirements
  • support at work.

Employers can order bulk copies of the booklet from the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research.

Did you know?

SANE Australia's Mindful Employer program gives employers and employees the skills and knowledge for responding to mental health issues in the workplace.

Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0)
Last updated:
22 April 2013

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