Voluntary Mental Health Check Tool

The education system plays a pivotal role in the formative years of young Australians and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption, with students subjected to lengthy lockdowns, remote learning and social isolation.

The Productivity Commission’s Mental Health Inquiry Report 2020 indicates that the mental health and wellbeing of students has had a substantial effect on their academic learning outcomes and the classroom environment. Implementing quality interventions through schools to support mental health and wellbeing has been proven to improve student outcomes.

There is a concerning upward trend in mental health issues experienced by Australian children and young people. These issues have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last three years.

A Voluntary Mental Health Check Tool will enable early identification to mitigate the issues of declining mental health and give teachers the confidence to refer students, especially with or at risk of declining wellbeing, to additional support as needed. Early intervention and prevention strategies are key to positive learning and long-term life outcomes and align with the recommendations from the 2021 National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

A supplier with demonstrated expertise in digital mental health assessment will design, develop and deliver the Voluntary Mental Health Check Tool to enable schools (with parental permission) to undertake a point in time assessment of its students’ mental health and wellbeing. The Voluntary Mental Health Check Tool will be able to help school’s awareness of the current state of wellbeing amongst their students, allowing them to ensure that students are appropriately supported.

To mitigate potential privacy risks the use of the new Voluntary Mental Health Check Tool will require parental permission and collected data will only be held at the school level. The supplier will be required to demonstrate data management is compliant with relevant legislation and that appropriate cyber security protections and regular performance testing is undertaken.

The supplier must also demonstrate that an ethics process is included in the development of the Voluntary Mental Health Check Tool.