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ACMHP

About ACMHP

ACMHP organises Australia's bilingual mental-health workforce into a pathway to care for Chinese and multicultural communities.

For Chinese-speaking Australians, the average delay before seeking mental-health support is around seven years (Ho, Hunt & Li, 2008). ACMHP exists to shorten that path.

Who we are

同路人: we have walked this path.

Around 95% of our practitioners are first-generation migrants, most arrived as international students. We are 同路人: we have walked the path our communities are on.

Chinese-Australian communities are our first proof of model; the playbook, in-language psychoeducation, culturally-rooted outreach, an organised bilingual workforce, is built to extend across CALD Australia.

Our mission

ACMHP is the practitioner network for first-generation Chinese-Australian mental health clinicians. We support the communities we came from — international students, recent migrants, and the CALD families who raised us — by building a workforce of culturally-competent practitioners and connecting our communities to them.

Our vision

A mental health system in which first-generation Chinese-Australian, international student, and CALD communities receive culturally-rooted, language-matched, evidence-based care from practitioners who understand their lived experience.

What we hold to

同路

Walking the path together

We honour the lived journey of migration, study, and settlement that members and clients share.

专业

Professional rigour

Evidence-based practice, AHPRA / AASW standards, ongoing supervision and CPD.

包容

Cultural inclusion

Our Chinese-Australian focus does not narrow our charitable purpose: we welcome and serve practitioners and clients across all CALD communities.

互助

Mutual support

Peer supervision, mentorship, and community of practice for members.

公益

Public benefit

Services, advocacy, and research for the public good, not member enrichment.

What we do

Two engines, one mission.

Two engines, one mission: community psychoeducation that meets people where they are, and a bilingual workforce equipped to receive them.

Community engine

Bilingual psychoeducation and outreach: 38 public events since 2022, from ADHD and substance use to campus bullying and international-student mental health.

Workforce engine

Early-career development, bilingual peer supervision, and cross-professional CPD, building the practitioner pipeline behind the community engine.

Our place in the sector

Complementary, not competing.

For depth in psychology there's ACHPA; in social work, ACSW; for consumer resources, Shapes and Sounds; where the professions meet, there's ACMHP.

ACHPA ↗

Depth in psychology

ACSW ↗

Depth in social work

Shapes and Sounds ↗

Consumer resources

Governance & trust

Accountable by design.

Australian Association of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Mental Health Practitioners Inc.

Vic registered non-profit association · ACNC Registered Health Promotion Charity + DGR (2025) · volunteer-run · Privacy Act compliant

Legal status

ABN
25 194 980 475
Incorporation
Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic)
ACNC registration
Registered charity from 19 March 2025
ACNC subtype
Health Promotion Charity (HPC)
DGR endorsement
Deductible Gift Recipient from 19 March 2025 (Item 1, s. 30-15 ITAA 1997)
Donations
Tax-deductible to the donor

ACMHP operates a dedicated Gift Fund (the ACMHP CALD Mental Health Access Fund) held separately from operational accounts, consistent with DGR obligations under ACNC and ATO rules.

Constitutional safeguards

  • Non-profit: no distribution of surplus to members (Rule 4)
  • Charitable dissolution: surplus assets pass to a registered charity with similar purposes (Rule 34)
  • Conflict-of-interest disclosure required (Rule 16)
  • 7-year financial records retention (Rule 29)
  • Term limits: max 9 years, rotating every 2 years (Rule 17)

Committee, by role

Total voting cap: 12 Committee members.

Roles and portfolios only. ACMHP does not publish personal details of committee members on this page.

Office Bearers

4 positions, elected at the AGM

President

Chairs Committee and General Meetings; leads strategic direction; public representative of ACMHP.

Deputy President

Supports the President; chairs in the President's absence; leads special projects as directed.

Secretary / Public Officer

Maintains statutory records; files with CAV and ACNC; manages correspondence, minutes, and the disciplinary register.

Treasurer

Manages financial accounts; countersigns subcommittee expenditure; maintains the DGR gift-fund ledger separately from operational accounts.

Portfolio Leads

5 designated positions; each chairs a subcommittee and reports to the Committee monthly

Education & CPD

Builds the practitioner pathway: AASW MHSW credentialing support, supervision matching, CPD events.

Events & Community

Runs member events, supports state chapters, moderates WeChat groups.

Research & Policy

Advocacy submissions, literature reviews, HREC management, research outputs.

Communications & Brand

Brand guardianship, website, social media, member email, public-statement approvals.

Partnerships & Sponsorship

Organisational members, MOUs, grants, sponsorship.

At-Large & Advisory

Membership Officer

Directory management, onboarding verification (AHPRA/AASW), membership register.

Cultural Advisor

Cultural-competence standards, conflict mediation, culturally-aware change management.

State Convenors

Appointed where 10+ members reside in a state; run local events with Committee oversight. VIC, NSW, and QLD are the first states forming chapters.

Advisory Committee

Senior clinicians, lived-experience advocates, academic researchers, and legal/finance advisors who contribute expertise without execution burden.

Milestones

  1. 2023Incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic).
  2. 2025Registered as an ACNC Health Promotion Charity; DGR-endorsed from 19 March 2025.
  3. 2026State chapters begin forming in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.

ACMHP · ACMHP

240+

bilingual practitioners

38

community events since 2022

6

professional disciplines

2025

ACNC registered charity · DGR

Partners & supporters

Partnerships in conversation. If your organisation works with CALD communities, we would love to talk.

Get in touch →

Photo credits

Community photography on this site, credited by source file.