Disability Action Week Highlights, 2025 QPHCN Event

CheckUP brought together health professionals, community leaders, and disability advocates for our final Queensland Primary Healthcare Network (QPHCN) event of 2025, exploring the theme “Communicate. Connect. Create.”

Hosted by Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM (doctor, lawyer, researcher and disability advocate), the event featured powerful conversations about what inclusion really means. The day highlighted inspiring examples from Joshua Bamford on practical disability employment at M&H Ward (McDonald’s) Australia, DJ on his inclusion in schools program reaching 5,000+ students yearly with Social Futures, and Chithrani Palipana on vocational rehabilitation and creating pathways for people with disability.

Debbie Rooskov presented CheckUP’s Disability Friendly Business Basics micro-credential program, designed to help small businesses unlock the disability customer base while building genuine inclusion. The credentials focus on appropriate services, challenging biases, and effective communication.

The event explored real barriers and real solutions. From employment success stories to education programs that shift how young people see disability, speakers shared lived experience alongside practical strategies.

Resources

Sponsor acknowledgement: Thank you, PSC MediProtect

We gratefully acknowledge PSC MediProtect for their support. From humble beginnings in September 1999, PSC Mediprotect has grown to become a market leader in innovative insurance solutions for health professionals, medical, and affinity groups. A commitment to these markets has seen the company develop unique products.  PSC MediProtect sponsorship means we can facilitate events to raise disability awareness.

View the 2024-2025 Annual Report on Issuu

Read the FY2024-2025 Audited Annual Financial Report (including Director’s Report) HERE

MEDIA RELEASE
29 September 2025
For immediate distribution

Queenslanders unite to shine light on mental wellbeing

Communities called to connect as Queensland Mental Health Week returns this October

Queenslanders are being urged to come together in support of connection, community, and wellbeing as Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) returns from 4–12 October 2025.

Funded by the Queensland Government through the Queensland Mental Health Commission, this statewide movement aims to bring Queenslanders together to spark conversations, strengthen connections, and bring the importance of mental wellbeing to the forefront.

The week comes at a pivotal time, with demand for mental health support rising across Queensland, particularly in regional and remote communities. Almost half of Australians (43%) are expected to experience a mental illness in their lifetime, with one in five affected every year (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022).

Behind every statistic is a friend, colleague, teammate, or family member – a reminder that mental health touches all of our lives.

Queensland Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic said the week is a vital opportunity to foster understanding and connection around mental health.

“Mental health and wellbeing are essential for every Queenslander,” Mr Frkovic said.
“We all experience ups and downs, and over 40% of Australians are estimated to experience mental illness at some point in their lives.
“Good mental health and wellbeing helps us live fulfilling lives, build strong relationships, and navigate challenges, but it takes effort and it’s something we need to work at and protect.
“By practicing the six building blocks of wellbeing – get healthy, keep learning, show kindness, connect more, take notice, and embrace nature – we can all support our mental health and wellbeing.
“This Queensland Mental Health Week, I encourage you to get involved – host or support a local event, take some proactive steps to look after your wellbeing, and check in with those around you – it can make the world of difference.”

James Hill, a mental health advocate with lived experience, said sharing stories openly is key to building empathy and encouraging people to seek support.

“Anyone can experience mental ill-health – it doesn’t discriminate,” Mr Hill said.
“The more we talk about it, the more we create safe environments for people to reach out for help. Initiatives like this show that mental health is something we all share a role in, and they remind us how powerful connection and understanding can be.”

From workplace wellness mornings to coffee-and-chats, Queenslanders are being asked to make mental health visible in their own communities by hosting and registering events.

This year, the impact of QMHW will be strengthened by $150,000 in community grants, awarded to grassroots organisations across the state. More than 150 community-led events are being supported, from wellbeing expos and art exhibitions to workshops, festivals, and morning teas.

Queensland Mental Health Week is a reminder that communities thrive when people connect – and that no one should ever feel alone when it comes to mental health.

For more information or to register an event, visit: qldmentalhealthweek.org.au/events/register-event

ENDS

Media Contact
Alexandra McGuckin | alexandra@inthemaking.com.au | 0499 055 880
Samantha Borland-Smith | sam@inthemaking.com.au | 0447 688 450

About QMHW

Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) is an annual statewide awareness week held during October that aims to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing, increase understanding of mental health challenges, and reduce stigma around mental health.

QMHW 2025 runs from Saturday 4 October to Sunday 12 October 2025 to align with World Mental Health Day, celebrated annually on 10 October. This year’s theme is Connect for mental health.

QMHW is funded by the Queensland Mental Health Commission, on behalf of the Queensland Government, and in 2025 is being delivered by CheckUP through strong cross-sector collaboration.

Safe media reporting

Visit the Mindframe website for advice on how to support safe media reporting, portrayal and communication about suicide, mental ill-health, and alcohol and other drug use.

Support services

• Lifeline | 13 11 14 | lifeline.org.au/gethelp

• Beyond Blue Support Service | 1300 224 636 | beyondblue.org.au

• MensLine Australia | 1300 789 978 | mensline.org.au

• 13YARN | 13 92 76 | 13yarn.org.au

• SANE Australia Helpline | 1800 187 263 | sane.org

• QLife (LGBTIQA+) | 1800 184 527 | qlife.org.au

• Kids Helpline | 1800 551 800 | kidshelpline.com.au

These challenges—burnout, disconnection, and rising mental health concerns—underscore the importance of early intervention and open dialogue. As Queensland Mental Health Week approaches, the QPHCN forum offers a timely opportunity to spark meaningful conversations and strengthen support networks across the sector.

Carole’s message is clear: workplaces must foster environments where people feel safe, supported, and empowered to thrive.

Meet Carole Cooper

Carole Cooper

With more than 25 years of experience across business and People & Culture, Carole Cooper is recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts in cultural transformation with a particular focus on challenging workplaces not delivering on potential.

Her clients say they:

• Gain clarity on where to focus their efforts to strengthen culture and performance
• Feel confident in sustaining culture change beyond the initial shift
• Build the commercial maturity of their organisation without losing sight of people
• See higher levels of engagement, accountability and ownership at every level

To find out more, or to connect with Carole, please visit www.carolecooperconsulting.com

Building homes for all Queenslanders – Now and for the future

As fifty-two (52) organisations representing people with disability, older people, families/carers and the disability, housing and community sectors, we strongly support Queensland’s continued implementation of the Livable Housing Design Standard (LHDS) under the National Construction Code.

Everyone needs a place to call home that meets their needs. Accessible housing is not a luxury; it’s a basic human right for all people. We are an ageing population and also with disability mobility needs. It is critical that the homes we build today must meet the needs of both today and tomorrow’s Queenslanders.

The Queensland Productivity Commission’s Interim Report – Opportunities to Improve Productivity in the Queensland Construction Industry released on Thursday 31 July 2025 recommended that Queensland opt out of these Livable Housing Design Standards unless a net benefit to the State can be demonstrated. The Queensland Productivity Commission has argued that the new minimum accessibility standards in the National Construction Code fail to meet the required economic test, relying on analysis by the Centre for International Economics (CIE). However, the CIE’s findings have been contested across multiple reports, and it is important that we consider the social and societal outcomes and benefits of accessibility.[i]

Accessibility costs little up front (around 1% of build costs), but saves millions in health, aged care, and retrofit expenses. Building right the first time is cheaper than fixing later. This is confirmed by new research by the Melbourne Disability Institute, which shows that when the full benefits and full costs of LHDS are properly accounted for the benefit-cost ratio is at least 1.7.[ii]

LHDS ensures the homes we build today are accessible, safe and future-proof.

Queenslanders deserve homes that are not only affordable, but livable and accessible – homes that let people live independently, age in place, leave hospital faster, and be part of their communities.

Rolling back the LHDS would:

• Deny people with disability and older people their right to safe, accessible housing and a place they can call home.
• Undo standards in place since October 2023 that have existing flexibility through exemptions that address industry concerns.
• Drive up long-term care in health, disability and aged care.
• Push expensive retrofit costs to State and Commonwealth administered schemes.
• Create national inconsistency and industry uncertainty.

Queensland cannot afford to reverse this progress.

We call on Queensland’s elected representatives to ensure we maintain mandatory implementation of the Livable Housing Design Standard and give everyone a place to call home that delivers accessibility, dignity, independence and safety for the Queenslanders of today, and for generations to come.

Media contact: Steve Coulter, PH: 0492 800 772, General Manager, Queenslanders with Disability Network

[i] The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, Final Report; Volume 7, Part C: Housing, pages 671-675, the Working Together to Deliver the NDIS: Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Final Report – Supporting Analysis, pages 665-668, and the Melbourne Disability Institute, Submission on the productivity of the Queensland construction sector, June 2025.

[ii] Carter, R. & Bonyhady, B. Economic Advice Prepared To Assist Responses To The Queensland Productivity Commission On The “Net Benefit To The Community” Of The National Building Code Regulation To Achieve Accessible Housing”26/08/25

Critical Skin Cancer Education Scholarships now available for Queensland GP’s

16 May 2025

Today at the Australasian Skin Cancer Congress held on the Gold Coast, the Queensland Deputy Premier, Hon Jarrod Bleijie, attending alongside his mum Christine, a melanoma survivor, announced a new lifesaving initiative which will support 12 General Practitioners based in regional Queensland to access world-leading education to help them better detect and treat the potentially deadly disease.

Queensland has the highest rate of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, making it the skin cancer capital of the world.

The initiative, which will be delivered and jointly funded by Skin Cancer College Australasia and Queensland Health through CheckUP’s Skin Cancer Early Detection (SCED) program, aims to upskill GPs based in rural, regional, and remote locations where such services are limited or non-existent.

Deputy Premier Bleijie said skin cancer impacted thousands of Queensland families, including his own.

“We were all shocked when my Mum was diagnosed with melanoma in 1993,” he said.

“It started as a small, itchy mole on her back, which was removed. However, the melanoma sadly returned 13 years later as a stage 3 diagnosis. Her treatment required more surgery and the only further option at the time was to join a clinical trial to try and stop the spread of the deadly disease. We know thousands of Queenslanders have a similar story and as a Government, we are committed to improving the early detection and treatment of skin cancer for more families, just like mine.”

Christine Bleijie survived and has subsequently dedicated her life to support other people facing a diagnosis of melanoma across Australia by volunteering with Melanoma Patients Australia.

Victoria Beedle, CEO of Skin Cancer College Australasia said, “We congratulate and thank the Queensland Government for supporting this initiative. Providing high quality education on the
detection and treatment of skin cancer to our general practitioners in rural and regional areas could not be more important as they are often the only medical professional that patients can access, and we know that an accurate diagnosis can be a matter of life or death.”

CheckUP’s CEO, Ann Maree Liddy said: “The Skin Cancer Early Detection Program is focused on creating fairer access to professional assessment and treatment of skin cancer for Queenslanders most in need and our new joint initiative will mean more doctors have access to high quality education they need to accurately diagnose and treat skin cancers early.”

Since the SCED program commenced in mid-2023, 1,957 Queenslanders living in rural and remote communities have accessed a skin cancer early detection clinic and had their skin checked. Of these patients, 563 received treatment for suspected skin cancers with 67% of these patients having histologically proven cancers detected.

The Skin Cancer Early Detection Program is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.

Submit your scholarship application today!

To find out more about the available scholarships for General Practitioners and how to access them visit Critical Skin Cancer Education Scholarships now available  or email education@skincancercollege.org

Learn more

About Skin Cancer College Australasia

The Skin Cancer College Australasia provides a strong and collective voice to skin cancer medicine practitioners across Australia and New Zealand. We lead education excellence in the Trans-Tasman region. We aim to ensure high quality, equitable access to the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of skin cancer to patients and communities across Australia and New Zealand.

About CheckUP

CheckUP is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities in need, especially those in rural, regional, and remote areas. We are committed to advancing equity in healthcare by strategically collaborating at both regional and local levels, ensuring that health and community services are more accessible and responsive to people who need them most.