Review process and method

The Commission heard from 3,000 people across NSW through a variety of consultation activities over an 18 month period. People shared with the Commission their views on what was working well in mental health, what were their challenges and what they hoped reform efforts to achieve in the next five years. The Living Well mid-term review and the development of a refreshed strategy included the following activities from January 2019 to August 2020. 

View our consultation activities

 

 

 

January – February 2019
Project design, planning and governance: project planning, established internal and external governance mechanisms, development of consultation plans and toolkits for regional participants.
January 2019 - March 2020
Information gathering: community consultations co-designed by local planning teams, literature reviews and research, targeted consultations with people from priority populations, examples of regional reform collected and research and workforce roundtables. 
April to November 2019
Analysing and testing findings: including online survey, agency visits and steering committee meetings.
November 2019
Deliver initial strategic advice to the Minister for Mental Health: a document outlining key strategic advice and findings was submitted to the Minister for Mental Health in November 2019.

January - June 2020
Finalise a refreshed strategy for reform: key findings and strategic advice tested across government and community managed organisations in NSW, key stakeholders and experts.
August 2020 
Delivery of Living Well in Focus: a strategic plan for community recovery, wellbeing and mental health in NSW submitted to the Minister for Mental Health in August 2020. 

 

Community consultations and local planning teams

The extensive community consultation program was supported by establishing a multiagency Living Well planning team in each Primary Health Network (PHN) region including Local Health District representatives, community managed organisations, social services and people with lived experience of a mental health issue and caring and community representatives. The role of these planning teams was to provide advice on local services to use as case studies of good or innovative practice, recommend towns, communities and services to visit, and identify one local example of reform to be highlighted in a short video developed by the Commission. These ten planning teams were essential to the success of the visit program and the Commission thanks all of the people involved for making these visits a success.

Click to view the community consultation map

Evidence checks, survey and analysis

In addition to regional consultations, the mid-term review of Living Well is informed by evidence and research. This includes: 

  •     Community survey report
  •     Regional Consultation Report 
  •     Literature reviews and evidence checks

View the research.