Connection Is Prevention: Calls For A National Social Health Plan To Address The Mental Health Crisis That Can’t Be Solved With 7,500 Psychiatrists And 30,000 Psychologists

A copy of the new report ‘Connection Is Prevention’ can be found here.

The Foundation for Social Health, in partnership with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP NSW Branch), is convening a first-of-its-kind national conversation today in Sydney today bringing together medical leaders and members of Australia’s hidden workforce — the informal frontline of mental health: hairdressers, hospitality staff, early educators, gym trainers, baristas and others who hear disclosures of distress daily — to discuss how Australia’s mental health system can evolve from a crisis-based model, to one that begins with connection, community, and care.

Findings from the report developed in collaboration with Gen Z mental health advocates, academics, pollsters and researchers, ‘Connection In Prevention’ shares how loneliness, social isolation, and disconnection are fuelling the youth mental health crisis, the inability of a medicalised approach to exclusively address the full social context of this crisis, and evidence-based solutions centred on social connection, community infrastructure, and integrated research-to-practice models.

​The coalition backing calls for a National Social Health Plan are also asking that all Federal Election candidates and parties support a government-backed, private-sector-supported Social Health Network—with microgrants, measurable outcomes, and real partnership between community, business, and research institutions.

Public opinion in a 5,000-person collective sample from Ipsos, Redbridge and OmniCompass polls supports the need to shift towards a social health framework to address the mental health crisis, and the loneliness epidemic driving it. It also shows us where social connection is breaking down:

• Smartphones and social media are driving disconnection for the majority of people and impacting the quality of social connection for Gen Z and Millennials the most.
• Online dating apps are causing Gen Z and Millennial users to feel lonelier and more socially isolated than when they started swiping right. ·  
• Many workplaces - both online and offline - are not mentally healthy. More than two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials support a shorter work week to reduce loneliness and improve their mental health.              
• The cost-of-living crisis is a mental health crisis, stopping almost 90% of Gen Z and Millennials from pursuing their dreams and ambitions.

Quotes attributable to Melanie Wilde, Foundation for Social Health CEO

“Connection is prevention. Let’s stop talking about the mental health system like it begins at crisis. Let’s build the infrastructure that makes it possible, and let’s build it together.”

“The loneliness, burnout, youth disconnection, online radicalisation, and overflowing hospitals that our research reveals all trace back to one thing: we’ve stopped investing in human connection. The mental health crisis is predominantly a social health crisis. But our policies - and therefore the way we spend our tax dollars - haven’t caught up.”

“This isn’t a problem you can solve with 7,500 psychiatrists and 30,000 psychologists. Nor is it something you can fix by inventing new bureaucratic roles and calling them ‘peer workers’ without grounding them in real community connection.Nearly half of Australians, 11 million people, will experience mental ill health in their lifetime. One in five are struggling right now.”

“What we need is a national strategy that funds the places, people, and platforms that keep communities strong - from pubs to libraries, sports clubs to cafés, gyms to grassroots arts organisations. .It's time we recognised who is actually on the frontlines — and started funding what works.”

Quote attributable to Dr Pramudie Gunarante, RANZCP NSW Chair

"There's an important distinction between promoting mental health and treating mental illness. Both are essential. We need bold and visionary leadership to reshape our broken system so that it meets people where they are."

Quotes attributable to Milly Bannister, Gen Z mental health advocate and ALLKND CEO

“For too long, we’ve asked young people to fix a broken system by being more resilient. To download a meditation app. To wait quietly on a therapy waitlist. To breathe through it. But what if it’s not your fault you’re falling apart - but the system’s, because it was never built to hold you?”

“That’s why this report matters. It names the crisis for what it is—not just a mental health emergency, but a social one. Disconnection is everywhere. You’ll see it in the data, in the stories, in the burnt-out workplaces, overpriced sharehouses, empty friendship circles, and in the faces of a generation that’s more digitally ‘connected’ than ever but lonelier than we’ve ever been.”

Quote attributable to Stuart Kinner, Professor of Health Equity & Head of Health Justice Group at Curtin University

“The mental health of young Australians is declining, particularly for those living at the margins. Investing in age-appropriate mental healthcare for all Australians is essential, but the biggest gains will be realised by investing in scalable prevention of mental ill health. By targeting the social and structural drivers of mental illness, we can create a fairer and healthier Australia.”

Quote attributable to Kosmos Samaras, Strategy & Analytics Director at Redbridge Group

“Mental health is deeply interconnected with nearly every major issue of concern for Australians, from the cost-of-living crisis and housing to even climate change. It represents a critical policy area with immense potential for positive impact—yet politicians often overlook it, treating it as a hidden epidemic rather than a priority.”

Quote attributable to Dr Rebecca Huntley, Director of Research at 89 Degrees East

“Volunteering has the potential to break down the walls of isolation. It provides more than just assistance to those in need—it creates meaningful connections that can transform lives, giving individuals a sense of belonging and purpose. Through volunteering and civic engagement, we build stronger, more resilient and compassionate communities.”

Quote attributable to Ben Vasiliou, The Man Cave CEO

“Young people and their families need the 3 C’s: Connection, Care & Community. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to flip the script on mental health with a focus on prevention. People first. Funding and policy siloes last.”

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