Evaluation of the NSW Aboriginal mental health and wellbeing strategy

In 2020, NSW published its Aboriginal mental health and wellbeing strategy 2020-2025 in an effort to improve the provision of culturally appropriate mental health and wellbeing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW. Yulang was commissioned to evaluate the strategy.

We worked closely with the NSW Ministry of Health from June 2022 to June 2025 and examined:

• how the strategy was developed
• how plans to implement it were developed and supported
• how it is being monitored and evaluated
• how the workforce required is being supported and developed
• how the Aboriginal cultural models of mental health and wellbeing care (developed by us) were being incorporated
• the economic benefits of investing in the strategy
• what impact the strategy has had.

We collected data in five ways.

1. Document analysis relating to development of the Strategy; implementation support and governance structures; District/Network implementation plans; the monitoring and reporting framework; and Aboriginal mental health KPIs.
2. Qualitative data collection, including stakeholder consultations (51 consultations with 52 people), key informant interviews (28 interviews with 22 people), three case studies, and participant observation, with the majority of consultations and interviews being with Aboriginal people.
3. Quantitative data collection, including:

• • Adult Admitted Patient Survey 2019 and 2022, supplied by the Bureau of Health Information
  • Inpatient data (mental health admissions) 2019-2023 from the Admitted Patient Data Collection, supplied by InforMH
  • Emergency department data (mental health presentations) 2019-2023 from the Emergency Department Data Collection, supplied by InforMH
  • NSW Health community mental health service data 2019-2023 from the Non-Admitted Patient Data Collection, supplied by InforMH
  • YES (Your experience of service) data 2019-2023, supplied by InforMH
  • CES (Carer experience survey) data 2019-2023, supplied by InforMH
  • Workforce data 2020/21 to 2022/23, supplied by Workforce and Talent Branch, NSW Ministry of Health

4. Two surveys of Aboriginal Mental Health Clinical Leads – one in 2023 and one in 2024.
5. Publicly available data from sources including Australian Bureau of Statistics and NSW Mental Health Commission.

We selected these methods because, together, they feasibly provide relevant material with rigour to answer the evaluation questions and provide recommendations.

We privileged the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, carers, community members, staff and service providers, and were supported by our Aboriginal Sounding Board to ensure our work was respectful, appropriate, safe and based in reality.

Our evaluation, particularly its findings on the importance of Aboriginal leadership, uncovered through a novel use of quantitative data, has had a significant impact within NSW Health, and has been presented to the leadership of health departments around the nation. They have brought about structural change and will continue to do so.

Suggested citation

Williams, M., Ragg, M., Marlin, D., Lawson., & Van Ogtrop, F. (2025).  Evaluation of the NSW Aboriginal mental health and wellbeing strategy 2020-2025. NSW Health: Commercial-in-confidence.