Research Centres

The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health was established in 2001 as Australia's first School of Population Health, a landmark in the development of inter-collegiate study and research.

The Melbourne School of Population and Global Health is divided into seven centres which includes the Centre for Mental Health led by Professor Jane Pirkis. The Centre for Mental Health aims to improve mental health and mitigate the impact of mental illness at a population level. It does this through high quality, collaborative, interdisciplinary research, academic teaching, professional and community education, and mental health system development. The Centre contributes to evidence-informed mental health policy and practice in Australia and internationally.

The Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) was appointed as the National Centre of Excellence in 2008. Funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health, the aim of the National Centre of Excellence is to provide advice around evidence-based best practices and evaluation in suicide prevention, to support Australian Commonwealth Departments, non-government agencies, academics and community groups in their respective initiatives in the field of suicide prevention.

AISRAP research areas include:

• Developing effective data surveillance systems for suicide and attempted suicide in Queensland

• Undertaking primary research and systematic reviews on suicidal behaviour and disseminate the findings

• Evaluating best practice for interventions to reduce suicidal behaviour at the individual, community, and population levels

• Providing strategic and policy oriented advice to government, communities, organisations, and other interested parties.

The Centre of Best practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention is part of University of Western Australia’s School of Indigenous Studies. The Centre is Australia’s leading authority on Indigenous suicide.

The Centre promotes evidence-based suicide prevention practice that empowers individuals, families and communities and respects their culture.

Orygen’s suicide prevention research program comprises a number of discrete projects that together seek to examine the efficacy, safety and acceptability of interventions specifically designed for at-risk young people. It also has a strong focus on informing and evaluating national, and state-based, suicide prevention policy.

The Centre of Research Excellence in Suicide Prevention (CRESP) aims to generate new research to increase the knowledge base around effective prevention and treatment in suicide prevention. The Centre has four research streams focusing on better delivery of interventions, better knowledge of causes and risks, improved help-seeking, and improved prioritising of funds.

The Centre has researchers and advisors who bring varied expertise to the design, delivery and evaluation of programs within a number of research streams, including:

• Crisis and Aftercare Stream
• Means Restriction and Public Safety Stream
• Workplace Stream
• Schools Stream
• Online Detection & Delivery Steam
• Implementation Science Stream
• Lived Experience Research Stream

These are supported by dedicated expertise, including:

• Lived Experience Resource Centre
• Capacity building and mentoring
• Knowledge translation and implementation science
• Methods, ethics and impact.

The University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre strives to produce high-impact research: engaging communities, working with government and industry, and improving the lives of those living with conditions of the brain and mind.

The Brain and Mind Centre is a global leader in research and treatment. The Centre focuses on conditions that affect child development, youth mental health and brain ageing. The Centre aims to understand individual circumstances and to develop solutions that improve the quality of life for both patients and their loved ones.

The Brain and Mind Centre's Early- Career Research Development Initiative invests in early-career researchers in brain and mind sciences to foster personal and professional success.

Established in partnership with government and non-government sectors, the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research and Education Group at the University of South Australia is leading numerous initiatives aimed at improving the lives of people in mental distress and at risk of suicide. They are governed by the commitment to deliver applied research outcomes based on lived experience and a trauma-informed approach.

Directed by Professor Nicholas Proctor, the team works to produce impactful research influencing the future of mental health care and suicide prevention. Researchers represent a multidisciplinary knowledge base with years of experience working with mental health consumers, clinicians and policymakers.

The ALIVE Centre is a national research translation centre to implement mental health care at scale in primary care and community settings. It was established based on $10 million in funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Special Initiative in Mental Health, announced in March 2021.

The Centre will be funded over five years, and will operate as a virtual network, with a research hub based at the University of Melbourne, and linking Lived Experience and Co-Design Living Labs at 14 University partners across all Australian states and territories.

The Centre will be led by Associate Professor Victoria Palmer who leads the University of Melbourne’s Integrated Mental Health Research Program and is internationally recognised for her expertise in primary care mental health research and co-design.

The funded research programs of work for the National Centre include: (1) prevention across the life course, (2) priority populations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people living with severe mental illnesses) (3) mental health care at scale. An objective of the Centre is to support research capacity building for the next generation of mental health researchers and the workforce.