Preventive Mental Health Conference 2026
'Doing Better – Working together to promote and protect
the mental health and wellbeing of people in Australia.'
Tuesday 24 to Wednesday 25 March 2026
Novotel Parramatta
Parramatta (Sydney)/Dharug Country, NSW
#PMHC2026
About the Hosts
Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)
​
The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is recognised as the principal non-government organisation for public health in Australia and works to promote the health and well-being of all Australians. The Association seeks better population health outcomes based on prevention, the social determinants of health and equity principles.
​
PHAA is a national organisation comprising around 1900 individual members and representing over 40 professional groups concerned with the promotion of health at a population level.
​​
Via our conferences, workshops, forums and other member events, we bring together those seeking to debate scientific evidence, policy and program evaluation and options for the further and better development of public health in Australia.
​
For more information about the Public Health Association of Australia, visit our website.
Prevention United
​​
We're different. Unlike other mental health organisations in Australia, we have an exclusive focus on promoting mental wellbeing and preventing mental health conditions – across the entire spectrum of conditions.
​
There is now good scientific evidence to suggest that these conditions are not inevitable and they can be prevented using the same approaches we use to prevent conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancers. While we don’t yet know how to prevent every condition among every person, we know enough to make big in-roads while we continue to conduct research to develop more and better ways to promote mental wellbeing and prevent mental health conditions.
​
By 2050 we aim to prevent 1 million mental health conditions in Australia. At present nearly 1 in 2 Australians will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. We believe this rate is unacceptably high and something must be done, starting now.
Ultimately, we envision a world free of mental health conditions. That might sound like a fanciful statement but, even if preventing every single mental health condition turns out to be impossible, we believe it’s still worth a shot.
​​
For more information about Prevention United, visit our website.