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:

• employment support that is available to help you.
• mental health and wellbeing support for adults, including legal information and your rights, as well as where you can get help if you need it.

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 read about the support available to you.

Resources

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

• Access for Employers—Information on the Australian Government's JobAccess website including helping you access financial support for your employees with disability, tools and resources, developing strategies and plans, connecting with the disability employment sector, creating a flexible work environment, recruiting and retaining people with disability and a summary of your rights and responsibilities as an employer
• Workers with a mental illness: a practical guide for managers, an Australian Human Rights Commission guide for managers of employees with mental illness.
  
  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.
  • 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.