Over 100 Australian organisations are uniting.
They will meet at the Prevention Convention in Melbourne on Tuesday 10 November.
The goal is to present a united proposal for $1.25 billion in mental illness prevention funding.
The initiative supports the 5% for Prevention campaign.
The documentary 'Raising Superheroes' is a key part of the campaign.
If we know how to prevent mental illness, why aren't we investing in it?
Half of all mental illness begins by age 14, yet less than 1% of Australia's mental health budget goes towards prevention.
Prevention is possible, but it requires changing the systems around children and families.
For the first time, more than 100 organisations will meet in Melbourne on Tuesday 10 November 2026 to develop a coordinated proposal for how $1.25 billion could be invested in preventing mental illness, as they work towards presenting a united case to the Federal Government ahead of the May 2027 Budget.
Education providers, early childhood services, youth organisations, healthcare professionals, mental health organisations and government representatives will gather for the Prevention Convention, led by Prevention United with the support of Spark Studios and Medibank Group.
This unprecedented cross-sector collaboration aims to give the Federal Government a united, evidence-based proposal for how to invest in preventing mental illness before it starts, backed by the expertise of more than 100 organisations working across children's services, education and mental health including Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Beyond Blue, Black Dog Institute, QLD Mental Health Commission, Mental Health Australia, School Can't, UNICEF, The AFL, VicHealth, University of Melbourne, Movember, Gotcha4Life, Smiling Mind, Centre for Mental Health Research, Cool. Org and Our Futures Institute.
The initiative forms part of the 5% for Prevention campaign, which is calling for at least five per cent of the national mental health budget to be directed towards evidence-based prevention.
The case for investment is urgent. Less than one per cent of Australia's mental health budget is currently directed towards preventing mental illness, according to analysis by the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health.
These sectors usually make their case to government separately, competing for the same limited budget. This time they are working together on a single plan, so that if government agrees to invest, the sector is ready with an answer on where the money should go.
The push has been galvanised by Raising Superheroes, an Australian documentary by award-winning health journalist, filmmaker, and parent turned advocate Shannon Harvey and explores whether mental illness in young people can be prevented.
Filmed over three years across Australia, the United States and Nepal, the documentary investigates the evidence for prevention and the opportunities to intervene before mental illness takes hold. Every organisation participating in the national roundtables watched the film ahead of the discussions.
The importance of early intervention and social connection is a central theme of the documentary. Experts featured in the film highlight how safety, connection and stable relationships can change children's outcomes, even in the most challenging circumstances, with social connectedness described as a potential 'vaccine for mental health issues'.
Among them is Professor Frank Oberklaid, Foundation Director of the Centre for Community Child Health at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital and paediatrician at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, who says Australia's approach to child mental health needs to place greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention.
“There are early signs we can pick up at a much earlier stage, in school or when visiting the GP – and that's when we should be intervening, rather than waiting until these problems become entrenched, and so much more complex, difficult and expensive to deal with,” Professor Oberklaid said.
He believes prevention has been overlooked partly because its benefits are difficult to see.
“I think prevention has been under-invested in because it's invisible. You can't take the media or politicians or anybody to a school and show them prevention.”
He says the complexity of prevention also presents a challenge when seeking government investment, making a coordinated approach across sectors particularly important.
“Governments don't do well with complexity, for reasons that are understandable. One of my staff, tongue in cheek, said, ‘For government, it's gotta be as simple as add water and mix.’”
But Professor Oberklaid says preventing mental illness is achievable, particularly when it comes to supporting children.
“It's absolutely possible. In fact, sometimes I say in relation to child mental health, it's the only game in town.”
He says the focus must extend beyond individual children to the environments and systems shaping their lives.
“We can't expect children to do this by themselves. I think we have to start looking at the systems around children and families.”
Australia already knows how to prevent harm before it happens. In 1970, Victoria became the first government in the world to make seatbelts compulsory, following a campaign by doctors, researchers and the media. Road deaths fell by 13% in the first year. In 1981, Slip Slop Slap began in Melbourne, supported by policies encouraging hats and shade in school playgrounds. Today, governments, fire services, councils and communities work together to reduce bushfire risks before summer through hazard reduction, building standards, fire danger ratings and local preparedness.
None of these approaches relies on individuals simply trying harder. They change the conditions around people, and Australians accept them as common sense. The alliance says preventing mental illness in young people requires the same thinking.
Ms Harvey said the documentary had revealed both the potential of prevention and the opportunity to bring different sectors together.
“I made this film because I wanted to know if mental illness could be prevented, and what I found is that it can.
“Prevention can sound complicated, but we do it every summer. Before bushfire season, fire services, councils and communities clear fuel, check building standards and get people ready. Nobody waits for the fire and then asks the hospital to cope. Mental health is the one area where we still wait for the crisis.
“What I didn't expect was the response. Schools, early childhood services, youth workers, clinicians and researchers watched it and saw their own work in it. Normally these sectors are competing with each other for a slice of the pie. On Tuesday they'll be in one room agreeing on a single plan.
“We have five months to convince Canberra, and we're going to hand them a plan shaped by the organisations working across the sector.”
Prevention United CEO Suzanne Dick said the collaboration represented an important opportunity to turn years of advocacy into a coordinated national investment proposal.
“Prevention United has been making the case for prevention to government for years, and too often it has fallen on deaf ears.
“Raising Superheroes is the public awareness campaign we've always wanted, and it will reach hundreds of thousands of Australians this month.
“We know prevention works. Prevention helped cut cancer deaths by 27% and cardiovascular disease by 47%. Mental health deserves the same.
“What's been missing is a shared plan for how to invest in it, and that's what the sector is building together on Tuesday.”
The Prevention Convention will consider investment across four priority areas: supporting children and families during the early years and adolescence; community-led prevention programs; the workforce and data needed to understand what works; and a national campaign to change how Australians think about mental health prevention.
The resulting national plan will be released publicly on Monday 23 November, alongside a week of free online screenings of Raising Superheroes from 19–25 November.
Australians will be invited to watch the documentary and sign the 5% for Prevention petition, calling on the Federal Government to invest in stopping mental illness before it starts.
-END-
Editors Notes
Available for interview:
Shannon Harvey, Director, Raising Superheroes, and Campaign Director, Prevention Is Possible
Suzanne Dick, CEO, Prevention United
Professor Frank Oberklaid, Foundation Director of the Centre for Community Child Health at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital and paediatrician at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Event details
The Prevention Convention
Tuesday 10 November 2026, from 10am
Medibank Melbourne Hub (on Wurundjeri Land), Level 2, 695 Collins Street, Docklands
Media are welcome to attend.
Watch the film free: https://raisingsuperheroes.com.au/Sign the petition: https://preventionispossible.com/
About us:
About Raising Superheroes
Raising Superheroes is a feature documentary directed and produced by Shannon Harvey (Spark Studios). Free online screenings run 19–25 November, and free community screenings run in schools, workplaces and communities across Australia until March 2027.
About Prevention United
Prevention United is the only national organisation in Australia solely focused on preventing mental ill health. Founded by public health and mental health experts, it works across research, policy and systems to embed prevention wherever Australians live, work, learn and play. Prevention United leads the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health, the National Network of Mental Health Promotion Practitioners and the Municipal Association Network (Victoria). It is a registered charity based in Melbourne.
Contact details:
Jackie Evans 0407 776 222 [email protected]
