At MHPN, we are passionate about creating opportunities and resources for Australia’s hard-working mental health workforce. 

That’s why we’re always seeking to understand how best to support you and your peers to work together as you deliver great quality care to the community.  

Earlier this year, more than 1,500 of you participated in an online survey of our audience, providing valuable insights about how you prefer to engage with professional development and networking opportunities.  

Here’s a wrap of what you told us!  

(And we’re already seeking more input from you – this time about the professional issues and challenges you’d like to see addressed in our content. Take the short survey today!) 

Webinars are our most popular MHPN activity 

The survey found webinars remain our most popular way of engaging practitioners. 

That’s great news, because our webinar program continues at pace: 

• This month, we spotlit cultural safety, with a panel conversation about how practitioners can put aside bias to provide inclusive and person-centred care. Sign up now to watch on-demand when the recording goes live in early October. 

• Our next webinar on 21 October is all about supporting patient recovery from workplace bullying and harassment. There is still time to register.  

Respondents also expressed strong interest in practical learning experiences that deliver relevant, immediately applicable knowledge, like our National Networks Program or discussion-based and workshop-style activities.  

Trauma and neurodiversity are priority learning areas 

Across professions, career stages and engagement levels, practitioners consistently identified trauma and PTSD, neurodiversity, and anxiety and depression among their highest-priority clinical topics for future learning.

While we’re not quite ready to share with you our slate of professional development topics for the new year, it’s safe to say you won’t be disappointed! Your feedback has been instrumental in shaping our thinking. Keep an eye on our channels for more news soon about CPD opportunities in 2027.  

But we still want to know more. What professional themes, issues or challenges you’re most interested in? Working with diverse communities? Building (or ending) therapeutic relationships? When and where to refer?  

We’d love you to take part in a small follow-up survey. It’s just a few questions that will take approximately 5 minutes to complete.  

Flexibility is critical for busy practitioners 

One of the clearest messages you delivered in the survey was the importance of flexibility. 

Workload pressures and scheduling challenges were consistently identified as the most significant barriers preventing greater participation in professional development and networking activities.  

When asked what would encourage greater engagement, practitioners strongly favoured: 

• Live and on-demand webinars 

• Short-form digital content, like podcasts 

• Flexible learning opportunities that can fit around clinical workloads 

We were thrilled to offer two different screening times for our first two webinars of the 2026-27 financial year. We look forward to evaluating how this versatility worked for our audience.  

This year we’ve also explored some new network models that make it easier for you to get involved:  

• a successful one-off event in Tamworth during May saw more than 60 practitioners meet; we’re excited to replicate that model again around Australia. 

• We’re also trialling networks with preexisting multidisciplinary teams, bringing professional learning opportunities to you and your colleagues, where you’re at!   

Fortunately, many of you told us you find MHPN’s networking and PD opportunities easy to access, making it easy for you to keep coming back time and time again. 

We’re here to support you!  

Overall, the survey demonstrated our joint commitment to high-quality multidisciplinary learning opportunities that improve practice and connect peers. 

MHPN thanks you for taking the time to share with us what you like – and what you’d like to see more of – from our suite of offerings.

We’re listening and already making changes to ensure MHPN remains relevant and accessible for all our practitioners – no matter their profession, location or level of experience.

Don’t forget to take the short follow-up survey too!