Mental health and wellbeing around the Voice to Parliament Referendum

Researchers from National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research were commissioned to undertake a project to understand concerns around mental health and wellbeing for people around the Voice to Parliament Referendum, and to identify needed support services.

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Yardhura Walani

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Project team

ReferendumInfoHub@anu.edu.au

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If you need to talk to someone, call 13YARN on 13 92 76 (24 hours/7 days) to talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Support worker, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours/7 days). For mental health support, see your local ACCHO, AMS, GP, or Social and Emotional Wellbeing service. See here for more information and links to self-care resources.

Our research team from the ANU National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research want to understand concerns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have about their mental health and wellbeing in the lead up to and beyond the Voice to Parliament Referendum, and we want to know what would help.

We talked with 84 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across six locations in April 2023. People shared worries about their mental health and wellbeing. They also shared ideas about what supports and resources would help. A full report about what people told us is available here.

With support from PHXchange, we have developed tailored factsheets summarising the findings and links to relevant information for:

We have compiled factual information about the Referendum, and resources that can support wellbeing here. This page also includes a list of mental health, counselling, Social and Emotional Wellbeing, relationships, and other holistic support services.

We are also analysing survey data to track levels of mental health and wellbeing in the lead up to, and following, the Referendum. Reports and summaries from this analysis will be made available to download under the ‘Documents & reports’ heading on the right-hand side of this page as the project progresses.

This project is not about the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the Referendum, and did not collect or analyse any data about voting intentions.

The team, and the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, do not have a position on the Voice to Parliament Referendum. This project is independent and neutral with respect to the Referendum. The aim of this project is to find ways to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the lead-up to and beyond the Voice to Parliament Referendum.

This project was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.