Back Parents. Back Youth Mental Health
Every parent wants their child to thrive.
When parents are supported, young people do better.
It is time government recognised that parents are the most powerful protective factor in a young person's wellbeing. The research is clear. And yet there is no funded national peer parent support network in Australia.
In 2023 the Australian Senate recommended the Government fund one. Three years on that recommendation remains unfunded.
Back Parents. Back Youth Mental Health is a campaign calling on the Australian Government to act. Fund peer parent support as permanent national infrastructure. Because every parent deserves support. And every young person deserves a parent who has it.
Back Parents. Back Youth Mental Health petition.
Add your name. Tell the Government it is time to act.
To date, we have received 42 survey responses. Here’s what Parents Are Telling Us:
100% of engaged members felt less alone, more confident and more hopeful.
70% felt better able to respond before things escalated.
60% reached out for support earlier than they otherwise would have.
98% believe this support should be available to every parent in Australia.
91% wish support like EPIC had been available to them earlier.
97% say connecting with other parents has been helpful.
These aren't abstract numbers. They represent parents who were isolated, exhausted, and often blamed, until they found someone who understood.
"I feel lighter being able to talk with others in a safe space. I am better able to support my young people."
"When I found EPIC I had nowhere to turn and no one to ask. Three years on I am confident in my abilities as a parent. My young person is now a fully functioning contributing member of our community. I am about to begin study in mental health so I can give back to others."
"Supporting the parents is actually supporting the young people."
"A young person in crisis affects their siblings and their parents. EPIC helped me feel less alone so instead of ending up in hospital myself I could lean on the community for support. EPIC supported all of us."
"My world got bigger. I was more positive and active and felt I contributed to the community, giving me purpose outside myself."
The Case for Change
Every parent wants their child to thrive. Parents are the most powerful protective factor in a young person's recovery. Across mental health and education, the evidence is clear. When parents feel supported, connected and equipped, young people do better.
Somewhere along the way, our systems forgot that. Across mental health and education, parents are routinely left without information, without guidance, and without anyone who truly understands what they are carrying. The 2023 Senate Standing Committee inquiry into school refusal heard this directly from families across Australia. Its recommendation was clear. Fund an independent peer support network for parents. Three years on that recommendation is still waiting.
Every parent supported. Every young person better off. Peer support available in every community, free, locally led, and built on lived experience.
Research shows that when parents are connected early and their capacity to support their young person grows, community demand builds, the sector endorses it, and evidence accumulates. Decision-makers move when the pressure to act outweighs the pressure not to. Together we are building that pressure.
EPIC is proof it works. This campaign exists to make it available to every family in Australia.
This is a proven model.
Four countries now fund parent peer support as part of their youth mental health system. Australia is the gap.
Ireland built a named national model in three years. Family Peer Support Workers now sit inside government Community Mental Health Teams with a recognised Department of Health grade code.
The United Kingdom created permanent paid peer support roles inside children's hospitals through a decade of parent led campaigning. The PLACE Network connects peer support groups nationally into NHS referral pathways.
Canada funds Family Peer Support Workers directly through provincial health authorities at no cost to families. Ontario funds two parent led organisations providing free peer support for young people's families.
The United States has made peer support Medicaid eligible since 2013. 33 states now include peer support for parents inside core health financing as a billable clinical service.
Australia has a Senate recommendation sitting unfunded. Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have already acted. It is time Australia did too.
What we are asking for:
Government recognises peer parent support as core youth mental health infrastructure.
Funded. National. Permanent.
The Senate recommended it in 2023. The community is ready. The evidence is here. Parents are asking to be part of the solution.
Share this on your socials if you want to see change.
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Australia has no funded national peer support network for parents of young people with mental health challenges.
Not because it does not work. Because Australia has not funded it yet.
In 2023 the Australian Senate recommended the Government fund an independent peer support network for families. Three years on, nothing has changed.
Ireland, the UK, Canada and the United States have already proven this model works. Each now funds parent peer support as part of their youth mental health system.
EPIC has shown what is possible here in Australia too. Parents who felt less alone, more confident, more hopeful. The evidence exists. The recommendation exists. What is missing is the funding.
If you believe every parent deserves this kind of support, please add your name.
#youthmentalhealth #peersupport #backparents
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Every parent wants their young person to thrive.
For years, families supporting a young person through mental health challenges have carried it mostly alone.
We are asking the Australian Government to fund peer parent support as permanent national infrastructure.
Funded. National. Permanent.
It takes 30 seconds to add your name.
Every signature makes the case louder.
#backparents #youthmentalhealth #peerparentsupport
Take the Survey
Your input helps build the evidence for stronger, more accessible parent support.
Your experience matters. Whether you are a parent, a carer, or someone who works with young people, your voice builds the evidence base for change.
Takes around 6 minutes. Anonymous.
If you have any questions, suggestions, feedback. Please contact the EPIC team here.
Thank you for being here.
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