Tasmanian Government 20-Year Preventive Health Strategy Consultation

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the development of Tasmania’s long-term preventive health strategy. The APS supports the Tasmanian Government’s commitment to a whole-of-system approach to prevention and long-term health improvement. As we highlight in our submission, psychologists play a vital but under-recognised role in preventing mental ill-health, promoting wellbeing and addressing the broader social and emotional determinants of health.

Our key recommendations include:

1. Suicide Prevention – Embed suicide prevention across the life course and in everyday settings such as schools, workplaces and communities. Psychologists are well placed to identify early risk and build protective factors through integrated, preventive care.
2. Climate Resilience – Invest in scalable, community-based mental health initiatives to promote psychological preparedness before, during and after climate-related events. This includes partnering with psychologists and the APS Disaster Response Network to co-produce strategies that support vulnerable populations and build long-term resilience.
3. Psychologists in Schools – Fund a minimum 1:500 school psychologist-to-student ratio in Tasmanian primary and secondary schools. School-based psychologists are critical to early intervention, building emotional wellbeing and reducing the escalation of mental health concerns. Strengthening this workforce will deliver lasting benefits for Tasmanian children, families and communities.

View submission