Regional Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan

The Central and Eastern Sydney Regional Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan  provides a shared framework for regional health services, community organisations and other partners to combine expertise and resources in response to priorities identified by the community.

Partners include Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, Sydney Local Health District, South-Eastern Sydney Local Health District, St. Vincent’s Health Network and the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Being NSW, NSW Mental Health Carers and the Mental Health Coordinating Council.

A major achievement during  2025-26 was the establishment of the regional Child Mental Health and Wellbeing Collaborative. The collaborative brings together health services, education, government agencies and peak bodies to improve the way children and families identify, navigate and access mental health support.

Following consultation with regional partners and other stakeholders, the collaborative agreed on four priorities: improving mental health literacy; strengthening early intervention and service design; making services and referral pathways clearer; and building stronger links between schools, services and communities.

The collaborative has established a shared vision, governance arrangements, a regional work plan and clinical and education working groups. Evaluation measures are also being developed to monitor progress and outcomes.

Two initial projects are under way. The first is examining how early mental health concerns in children are identified and referred across different settings, including barriers to timely support. The second is developing a school referral pathway resource to help educators understand levels of need and identify appropriate services.

Together, these initiatives aim to support earlier identification, clearer referral pathways and more coordinated care for children and families across central and eastern Sydney.