Chair Report
Kerin Wicks
Board Chair – Non-Executive Director
It is an honour to hold the position of Board Chair of APMHA Healthcare Limited and I take this opportunity to thank Tung Le, Inaugural Chair, for his guidance.
It is with immense pleasure APMHA welcomed two new board members this year, further strengthening the board’s diverse experience and skill sets.
Ms Cherie Krake: Cherie has a long-standing business career and experience in General Management and strategic creative marketing.
Dr Michael Moon: Michael specialises in mental health, AOD (alcohol and other drugs), urgent care and sexual health as well as general practice.
Working in Mental Health provides unique, ongoing, and demanding challenges. From these we continue to learn much and are constantly reminded of the importance of social connection, working together collaboratively and that mental health is an integral part of our being and our humanity. Investing in good mental health and wellbeing must be an individual, community and national priority.
Moving through the impacts of a global pandemic and adjusting to a post-COVID norm has seen this year to be one of reaffirmation of APMHA’s core principles and long-term objectives. Updating the APMHA 5-year plan and maintaining ongoing growth, reinforce APMHA is best positioned to continue to deliver over and above on our guiding philosophies.
Mental health services remain under significant pressure, facing challenges to keep up with increasing demand. The APMHA Executive Team continue to secure long term sustainable funding to ensure everyone who accesses mental health services in our local areas gets the support they need and deserve.
To our funders, thank you for your ongoing support for the work we do. Funding that enables us to provide not only the invaluable programs and services outlined in this report but also innovative new programs, ensuring some of the most vulnerable consumers in our funded regions receive vital mental health support.
Strong and focused fiscal management remains integral to APMHA ongoing success. Our cash reserves remain healthy with this last financial year profits 243% above projected. The APMHA Finance and Administration Team remain vigilant and thorough. On behalf of the board, I thank Charles and Zac for their ongoing and relentless diligence.
Our clinical workforce continues to be the coal face, ensuring APMHA service is second to none, providing ongoing high-quality care for clients. As the Board Chair and on behalf of the Board, I extend our deepest gratitude and acknowledgement for the exceptional work they have done.
Through collaboration and engagement with APMHA’s established partnerships, we continue to enhance our understanding of the needs of our local communities. Our partners continue to bolster and support APMHA’s ability to achieve our goal of delivering services that, from the community’s perspective, is functional, equitable, compassionate, caring, agile in its response and available when and where people need it.
The continual focus and hard work by our Executive Team and Board of Directors throughout this year is without peer. Their advice, support, encouragement, and active engagement is exemplified by APMHA’s achievements. I thank each of them for their enthusiasm and contributions.
I also thank those who have engaged with us during the year from the mental health and social services sectors, people with lived and living experience and members of communities in which we work for their generosity and tenacious commitment and contribution to strengthening our mental health programs.
Finally, my thanks to APMHA’s people. Their knowledge, curiosity, professionalism, and hard work remain fundamental to our work and achievements this year. APMHA’s strength is our people. Our motivation is pride in our organisation and what it continues to accomplish. Integrity our foundation, quality and fairness our deliverables, with care our core objective. Care for our clients and the communities in which we participate, and care for our people, our clinicians, and our partners.
Board of Directors
Renee Hayden
Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary – GAICD
Renee Hayden is the founding member of the initial Company design and redesign to a Not-for-Profit. As the CEO of APMHA, she comes from a diverse executive, management and clinical background firmly cemented in mental health, AOD and primary care. She has an extensive history working with and leading management and executive teams. Renee’s Board experience and training has led to various Board positions, overseeing governance, operational and strategic matters.
Donal McGoldrick
Executive Director – MAICD
Donal McGoldrick is an experienced Board Director and Executive and has applied his learnings and insights of business operations, as well as business and clinical governance to his role as General Manager Business Operations (Deputy CEO). As one of the founding members, he has led compliance across contracting, reporting, quality & safety, recruitment, HR, and risk management.
Tung Le
Executive Director – MAICD
Tung Le has over 23 years of experience in mental health and AOD across a diverse range of environments. Tung was one of the original founding members of APMHA, and has held various Board and Executive roles externally and within the Company as it has rapidly grown. Tung brings with him energy and professionalism to all aspects of his work as the General Manager Stepped Mental Health at APMHA. His expertise and passion continue to support our frontline triage team and external clinicians working across clinical services available through APMHA HealthCare.
Kerin Wicks
Board Chair – Non-Executive Director
Keran Wicks is proof that hard work and determination are the prerequisites for success, going against all predetermined notions of “traditional” business leaders. Founder and CEO of The Network Group, Keran Wicks is a true self-made business leader, and carer with lived experience of mental health. Keran is also a committed mentor and advocate of strengthening businesses across the nation.
Rodney Johnstone
Non-Executive Director
Rodney Johnstone has been providing financial advice to clients for the past 22 years and really enjoys the process of helping people use their money wisely. The role encompasses understanding client needs, providing analysis of investment alternatives and creation of retirement strategies within the rules of the day, to move clients closer to their lifestyle goals. He has a real interest in people and their mental health as he meets lots of people in different financial and lifestyle situations. Rodney is involved in various community charity groups including Footscray Rotary Club, and Community Bike Hub which re-purposes donated bikes for allocation to refugees, asylum seekers and locals in need.
Dr Thai Ohtsuka
Non-Executive Director
Thai Ohtsuka is a bilingual clinical and health psychologist who has extensive experience working in private and public mental health services. Her special interest has been in the use of data-driven and information technology in combination with interpersonal relationship building to understand and influence positive change at both individual and systemic levels.
Dr Michael Moon
Non-Executive Director
Michael became a qualified doctor after graduating with an MBCHB from Manchester University in 2009. Michael specialises in mental health, AOD (Alcohol and other drugs), urgent care and sexual health as well as routine general practice consults. Michael became a board member at APMHA in 2022, and brings his unique experience in primary care to this growing and developing team, to help provide greater care, to greater numbers of clients, in a greater number of areas.
Cherie Krake
Non-Executive Director
Cherie Krake has a variety of skills which include sales and creative marketing. Cherie gains professional satisfaction by guiding a team to achieve company goals whilst empowering them as individuals. Cherie loves working with people displaying a passion and natural skill for understanding them, their motivations, preferences, and decisions. It is that love of people and family experiences that has led to an interest in mental health and assisting in the improvement of systems and processes.
CEO Report
Renee Hayden
Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary – GAICD
I would firstly like to acknowledge the land in which I am writing my report today, the land of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, the traditional owners and extend this acknowledgement to all Traditional Custodians of the lands on which APMHA meet, work and visit across Australia and pay my respects to the Elders, past, present and emerging, as the holders of the memories, the traditions, the culture and the spiritual wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This 22-23 annual report by the APMHA HealthCare Team will share with you our ongoing business growth and dedication to vulnerable communities, disaster response and our unique stepped care focus, always ensuring that our clients receive services commensurate to need at any given time of their journey. Our clinicians are so dedicated and always step forward to support referred clients. We thank you for working with APMHA, you are our backbone, and we could not do what we do, without you.
This financial year has seen the full return to face-to-face operations and outreach post COVID without disruption to services, whilst continuing to traverse the precarious COVID landscape with our staff and our clients.
In October 2022 we experienced devastating floods to many of our regions in NSW and Victoria. We lost our Seymour satellite office to the floods and our Shepparton office had water lapping at the doors. Our Victorian Team, whilst also impacted personally – voluntarily diverted their support to Emergency Services Victoria and other key stakeholders in the initial flood response over four weeks of on-site engagement and evacuation of victims. We extended this support to the mental health and wellbeing of other first responders. Our broader workforce provided telehealth and face to face disaster counselling to those referred to APMHA. I would personally like to thank all of you who helped during this difficult time.
The need for mental health support from our communities continues to grow, and APMHA’s Corporate Team works tirelessly to recruit a highly trained clinical workforce to enable our programs to respond to the growing demand in our regions. With this comes extensive credentialing, re-credentialing and contracting. Often seen as a nuisance by those going through the process, but so necessary to ensure strong Clinical and Business governance which drives excellence in service delivery.
I personally have been challenged this year navigating the confusing web of Centrelink and My Aged Care my elderly parents and Aunt who have had significant physical and cognitive struggles, which has required intensive support, assistance, navigation and palliative care. For us at APMHA we have always been passionate about our older citizens, and we were very humbled and proud to be invited to take on half of North Western Melbourne PHNs region to expand our innovative Older Minds Mental Health program across 65 facilities in the Western Region. We are now busy recruiting to commence services on 1 July 2023.
From a financial perspective, we have received $6.2 million in funding this financial year and shown a healthy surplus to add to our cash reserves, which ensures APMHA is solvent and able to expend funds for innovation and expansion.
Our payment system to subcontractors, continues to be a complicated process.
I would like to thank our wonderful Senior Financial Accountant and our FRAC committee for guidance and robust monitoring of our financial status throughout the year.
We successfully passed our annual surveillance audit in August 2022 under Quality Accreditation with AS/NZS ISO-9001 and NS&QHS – National Mental Health Standards with commendations. Thank you to our Quality and Compliance Manager for all her continued hard work on ensuring our standards are met, and reviewed with regular service improvements applied when identified.
We expanded our Board Non-Executive Directors, welcoming Dr. Michael Moon (GP) and Ms Cherie Krake (Comms & Marketing) to compliment our Board in October 2022. Our Board and Executive Team worked on our new Strategic and Business Plan
We were extremely lucky to recruit Roslyn Stewart who has taken on the role of Consumer Lead – establishing our Consumer Voices Committee and providing an extensive experienced consumer perspective across APMHA’s service design and implementation. Roslyn will be working with our new Relapse Prevention & Discharge Clinician, to develop the Wellness and Discharge Toolkit – ready for implementation in the second quarter of next financial year.
Over 2022-23 we finalised our PTS contract with WVPHN and moved to transition of active clients to the new incoming providers. This was certainly a difficult time for our clinicians and clients. Our Executive Team would like to formally recognise all those clinicians who have worked with APMHA over the past 7 years on the WVPHN contract. Your dedication and client support is truly appreciated. Thank you for all that you have done.
The final report from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommended the establishment of 50-60 Local Adult and Older Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals
Local Services will:
- Be a welcoming front door to the public mental health and wellbeing services which will close the service gap in the mental health and wellbeing system for Victorians experiencing mental illness, psychological distress and drug & alcohol issues.
- Provide free, easy to access, high quality treatment, care and support to people aged 26 years and over experiencing mental illness or psychological distress, whose needs cannot be met by primary and secondary mental health care providers alone
Round 2 tender submissions were announced on the 2nd of Feb 2023, which included Greater Shepparton as one Local sites (incorporating Moira and Strathbogie Shires). APMHA was excited to partner with Wellways (Lead) and GV Health to submit for this exciting new service in Greater Shepparton and at the time of writing this report – our status is that we have been shortlisted and now patiently awaiting the outcome which is due in September 2023.
Finally – we would like to thank our funders, partners and dedicated national workforce. APMHA is funded to deliver 11 different program streams from 8 different funders. This has enabled APMHA to achieve amazing outcomes.
Our intake team have triaged 4,253 referrals and ensured allocation in a timely manner to the most appropriate, skills matched clinician and our National Workforce has provided 26,880 clinical sessions to 4026 individuals living in Victoria and NSW.
Again, I extend my gratitude to all our wonderful staff and extended workforce who have been the backbone of all that we do and what we achieve – we could not do what we do without you.
Finally, I want to thank our Leadership Team, Executive Team and Board for steering APMHA so solidly and for your tireless efforts to ensure the Company remains robust, responsive and resilient.
General Manager Business Ops Report
Donal McGoldrick
General Manager – Business Operations – Executive Director – MAICD
Reflecting on another year in my role with APMHA Healthcare, I feel truly privileged and humbled to be part of an organisation with an unwavering focus on delivering quality services to vulnerable clients across Australia. There is an invigorated and renewed drive to deliver the highest quality of mental health servcies to our clients, aided by new Board Directors and new staff, building on our existing committed and passionate workforce. The welcome addition of Roslyn to the team, our new Consumer Representative, will provide us with a depth of experience and insight, which will further bolster the quality of services we deliver.
As an organisation, we’ve always understood the need to invest and grow our quality systems in tandem with our expansion into new regions and the delivery of new programs; this year was no exception.
Our investment in all thing’s quality is evidenced by continued successful accreditation against multiple National Standard; the establishment and refinement of APMHA committees and subcommittees; and our continued partnering with highly reputable, local health providers and businesses as we adopt to the emerging issues and priorities at a local, State and National level. The result of our investment and continued focus on quality ensures APMHA continues to epitomise business and clinical governance excellence.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to provide a special thanks to Renee (CEO) for her ever present and on-going successful stewardship of APMHA. Renee continues to lead the organisation by example and her dedication to the organisation, our staff and our clients, is truly commendable.
General Manager Service Delivery Report
Tung Le
General Manager – Service Delivery – Executive Director – MAICD
Its hard to believe another year has passed and as I reflect on the year I make note we continue to see confronting images with the war in Ukraine. COVID19 has less of a presence but many more local uncertainties remain. We have seen both floods across Australia alongside financial pressures due to increase in cost of living. No-one is immune and often there can be feelings of fear associated with our everyday lives.
As a Not-for-Profit mental health service, APMHA Healthcare continues to be front and center in responding to the associated increased mental health needs of vulnerable communities. I am incredibly proud to be part of such a company.
With our vision to provide accessible primary mental health services APMHA continues to work collaboratively to support people living with a mental illness to reclaim well being and live their best lives.
The end of this year saw us finalising our contract with Western Victoria and ensuring all clients were seamlessly handed over to the new incoming provider.
Our South Western Sydney Primary Health Network funds the wonderful Credentialed Mental Health Nursing Service, and the program transition was in full delivery through 22-23 FY. The program provides intensive support to consumers with severe and persistent mental illness. We continue to be fortunate in being able to retain (and expand) the experienced credentialed mental health nurse workforce responsible for delivering this important program. In May and June this year we transferred the clinical management system to our APMHA owned FIXUS software enabling a supported responsive and clinically appropriate service is provided.
We continue to provide services in partnership with Central Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network, under the Psychological Support Services programme and again we are fortunate to have a team of wonderful clinicians working with us to provide this service.
Our contract with Murray Primary Health Network allows APMHA to truly deliver full stepped mental health care due to the cross program funding. This ensures referred clients are able to be aligned to the most appropriate program stream which best suits their needs at any given time and stepped up / down as needs change. Flood Support in October and November was front and center, with APMHA workforce diverted as first responders to local communities. Sadly our Seymour office was directly impacted by the floors and closed for some time, whilst we organised new office space for our clinicians. A Wellbeing Clinic was set up using the skill set of a Nurse Practitioner (NP) Candidate, followed by a Nurse Practitioner allowing for provision of both mental health and physical health needs to be to be simultaneously managed.
Our tailored Employees Assistance Program is a boutique offering which continues to provide staff counselling and wellbeing.
We invested in a more secure cloud based softphone system for our 1300 line, to provide us with more reliability of phone systems and expansion as our programs grow. Without relying on internet access this provides minimal services disruption.
Our Clinical Intake and Triage team remains an essential arm to APMHA’s service delivery. The team is paramount in effectively and efficiently assessing, referring and allocating clients to our broader mental health workforce across multiple programs, ensuring client presenting needs are matched to the most appropriate and accessible clinician. The team offers an important interface and advice point for consumers and professionals requiring support to navigate the often fragmented and complex service system and they support a true stepped mental health care approach in line with the recommendations of the National Mental Health Commission.
APMHA’s clinical workforce, primarily consisting of experienced Credentialed Mental Health Nurses, Mental Health Social Workers, Mental Health Occupational Therapists and Psychologists were supported to effect the highest quality service delivery in NSW and Victoria by our broader administrative staff, care navigators, educators and others.
APMHA has continued to face tough challenges over the last 12 months and has again stood up to those challenges. In recognising the work our staff do every day to support their local communities and I would like to say thank you. Their resolve and willingness to evolve and pivot continues to amaze us.
I look forward to tackling the on-going challenges faced in the mental health space and continue to feel privileged in being a small part of an organisation committed to improving mental health outcomes for vulnerable consumers.
Our Team
Charles Mahagodage
Senior Financial Accountant
Charles joined APMHA five years ago and is an experienced NFP certified practicing accountant with more than 20 years of experience in accounting and financial management for both profit and non-for-profit sectors. He brings significant depth of financial knowledge and skills to APMHA HealthCare, ensuring robust financial oversight and reporting.
Zac Williams
SIT/Finance Officer
Zac is a founding member of APMHA and has a background in small business management/finance and IT. Zac currently manages and administers all contractor payments, for our sub-contractor workforce and collates program data and reporting for our funders.
Monique Ataryniw
Quality and Compliance Officer
Monique has an initial background in education, welfare and IT and became a Mental Health First Aid instructor in 2018. In her past roles, Monique has been involved in the development of child and adolescent respite programs, adult english classes, community programs and the implementation of differentiated learning programs for adolescents in Brisbane and Melbourne. Monique has a passion for helping people access and navigate health pathways, resources and education. Monique is an original founding member of APMHA and has grown extensively with the Company. Initially working in our Intake team, she then moved to Education & Marketing, and now is fully embedded within our corporate contracting and compliance team.
Rosley Stewert
Consumer Voices Lead
Roslyn joined APMHA’s Leadership Team in June 2023 as the Consumer Voices Lead. Roslyn 40 years + of lived experience provides APMHAs program design, implementation and review with informed guidance to ensure our programs meet consumer and carer needs and language. Roslyn’s representation as a consumer advocate includes: Mental Health & Wellbeing Interim Body – Hume Region, Goulburn Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisory Committee, VMIAC Consumer Register, Social Prescribing Project Committee. In addition, Roslyn’s training includes: Peer support Training: Intentional Peer Support 2022, Diploma of Counselling 2023, MHFA Instructor, Retired pharmacist – 40+ years. Roslyn was the recipient of the Victorian Rural Health Awards: Outstanding Contribution by a Rural Health Consumer Advocate in July 2023.
Sharyn Amos
Accredited Mental Health Clinician
Sharyn is an experienced senior clinician, credentialed mental health nurse leading our team in North Western Melbourne PHN’s Older Mind and SWAP Programs. Sharyn has extensive experience working in various AOD and mental health services both in metro, rural and remote areas. Sharyn also assists with clinical auditing and reviews.
Trish Van Den Enden
Mental Health Intake Clinician
Trish has practiced as a registered nurse and mental health clinician for the past 30 years. Trish has worked in a variety of roles including operations management, intake coordination, outreach management, day programs, and management of inpatient and community units in private hospitals, not for profit organisations and for the Victorian government. She has extensive experience in triage, crisis management, staff/student training, management and running of day programs, behavioural management, clinical governance, and communication with clients, professionals, families, and service providers for people with mental health challenges, disabilities, comorbidities, and homelessness, from diverse backgrounds.
Phoebe Logan-Jacobson
Mental Health Intake Coordinator
Phoebe completed her Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) in 2019 and has been working with since 2019. Phoebe works in APMHA’s Intake Team reviewing incoming referrals, triage, managing waitlists and allocating referrals for Murray PHN and SWSPHN.
Brooke Belzunce
Mental Health Intake Worker
Brooke has completed a Bachelor of Social Science (majoring Behaviour)and has worked in various mental health and wellbeing roles. Brooke Joined APMHA in 2022 and works with APMHA’s Intake Team reviewing incoming referrals, triage, managing waitlists and allocating referrals for CESPHN.
Alaya House Shepparton Team
Dr Louise Bradley
General Practitioner – FRACGP, MRCGP, MBChB, BSc (Hons), BSc
Dr Louise Bradley (FRACGP, MRCGP, MBChB, BSc (Hons), BSc) is a British GP with a specialist interest in Women’s Health, Sexual Health, Mental Health and Emergency Care. She has been working as a doctor for 10 years, with most of that time spent in general practice. Louise has been living in Australia since 2019 and supported our Shepparton clinic until Feb 2023.
Sacha Finlayson
Practice Manager
Sacha is an experienced practice manager working in multidisciplinary clinics in the Goulburn Valley. Sacha joined APMHA as the practice manager of Alaya House and GP clinic in Shepparton and slowly transitioned her role to our practice receptionist Lauren, as Sacha prepared to move to WA in June 2023.
Lauren Millar
Practice Receptionist – Alaya House
Lauren commenced as practice receptionist at Alaya House in June 2023, supporting client access and appointments and coordinating the smooth running of Alaya House in Shepparton.
Marg Lingard
Accredited Mental Health Clinician
Marg has practiced as a registered general and mental health nurse for over 25 years. Marg has worked in a variety of roles including: acute inpatient units in Victoria and Queensland, Community Mental Health in Case Management, Acute Response Teams and Triage. Marg has also worked in Forensic in a 2IC position working across two prison sites in Victoria for over four years. Marg worked in Primary Mental Health for several years before transitioning to APMHA HealthCare in 2017. Marg is working across a number of programs; PTS, PMH-CCC and Older Minds Mental Health Program providing support to clients. Marg has a keen interest in Meditation and Mindfulness and how these practices benefit mental health and recovery by empowering clients with a sense of internal strength, resilience and peace.
Hayley Fitzgerald
Generalist Counsellor
Hayley works at Alaya House in Shepparton and the Seymour satellite site. Hayley has an interest in strength based approaches, empowerment and self direction. Hayley employs an overall holistic approach to helping people improve their psychosocial outcomes. Hayley aims to provide a warm referral pathway to support individuals to connect with appropriate care and she is passionate about providing high quality mental health care. Hayley has a Bachelor of Health Sciences, a Master of Health and Human Services, Graduate Certificate in Mental Health and is currently completing a Master of Social Work with the University of Melbourne.
Kerry Coyle
Mental Health Clinician
Kerry is a registered nurse who has worked in mental health for the past 20 years. Kerry commenced working with APMHA in 2019 and provides therapeutic interventions across a number of programs in the North East Victorian regions. Kerry is passionate about recovery orientated practice, empowering and ensuring positive client outcomes.
Liane Margis
Accredited Mental Health Clinician
Liane is a credentialed mental health nurse with 30 years experience in public and private hospital settings, and now in primary mental health as a counsellor/psychotherapist, hypnotherapist and music therapist.
Liane is an experienced trainer, which has included ASIST, BLS, counselling and stress management.
Liane moved into private practice in 2008, where she worked with a number of Medical Clinics under the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program. Liane commenced with APMHA in 2018.
Catherine James
Mental Health Clinician
Catherine commenced with APMHA in May 2023 and works at Alaya House in Shepparton and delivers outreach services in Benalla. Catherine is a qualified Social Worker working in the PTS, H2H and CCC program and works across all age cohorts.
Donna Tagart
Mental Health Clinician
Donna commenced with APMHA in April 2023 and is a Social Worker, Play Therapist and Credentialed SMART Recovery Group facilitator for individuals as-well as the family & friends of someone with addictive behaviours. Donna currently works in our H2H, PTS and CCC Programs supporting children, youth and adults and provides services to Shepparton, Wangaratta, Beechworth and Euroa.
Kaitlan Niblock
Generalist Counsellor
Kaitlan commenced with APMHA in June 2023 and is a Social Worker at Alaya house in Shepparton and also supports APMHA’s Intake Team triaging clients, managing waitlists and allocating referrals to the most appropriate clinicians so that clients can access therapeutic support. Kaitlan has a specific focus and passion for young people.
Jane Phillips
Mental Health Clinician
Jane is a RN with a Degree in Psychology, Family Therapy, Grief and Trauma Counselling. Jane started with APMHA HealthCare in 2019, and has worked in various regions. Jane retired in February 2023.
Bronwyn Beadle
Mental Health Clinician
Bronwyn is a registered nurse and mental health nurse with over 35 years of experience in a diverse range of settings. Bronwyn helped establish APMHAs Wellbeing Hub in Shepparton, whilst undertaking her Nurse Practitioner Candidate training. Bronwyn moved to Western Victoria in February 2023 with her family.
Sian Pritchard
Is an experienced Nurse Practitioner (addiction and mental health) and replaced our GP and NP candidate in March 2023 and will join our Executive Team in July as a General Manager – Population Health and Mental Health Reform.
Connecting as a team
As a national company, our employed workforce comes together two times a year to celebrate, connect, and unwind. We cherish these moments and celebrate each other.
Our Partners
