Statement from the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) #NoRacism
5 September 2025
Re: Acknowledging the distress caused to First Nations and Culturally, Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Mental Health Nurses following recent protests throughout Australia
The Australian College
of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) wishes to address the recent protests throughout
Australia, including the assaults that occurred, and documented, at Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne; on
public transport in NSW; and the many micro aggressions and profound racism
that have been experienced by First Nations and CALD peoples related to these
protest events. We acknowledge the significant distress these events have
caused to our First Nations and CALD Mental Health Nurses, and we denounce the
racist behaviours, sentiments and actions that have resulted in physical and
psychological harms to many people. We are aware that many of our colleagues
throughout Australia report feeling culturally unsafe, and as mental health
nurses, we are aware that these conditions are frequently associated with
poorer mental health and social and emotional outcomes.
As the peak professional
body for mental health nurses in Australia, we recognise that the protests and
subsequent public discourse have had a disproportionate and deeply personal
impact on our First Nations and CALD colleagues. For many First Nations people,
the trauma has been compounded by the outcome of the Referendum for a Voice to
Parliament. The pervasive racialised trauma continues to cause social and
emotional distress for First Nations and CALD mental health nurses and their
families and communities.
Furthermore, these
events have caused considerable emotional and psychological distress to First
Nations mental health nurses and CALD mental health nurses. The atmosphere
created by these protests has led some of our First Nations and CALD members to
feel unsafe and unwelcome in their workplaces and communities.
The ACMHN reaffirms its
unwavering commitment to providing ongoing support to all affected members and
actively advocates for the rights and wellbeing of First Nations and CALD mental
health nurses and the communities they serve.
As a college we will
continue to promote cultural humility, awareness, sensitivity and responsible
practice within our organisation and throughout the mental health nursing
profession. We will continue to work closely with First Nations mental health
organisations, First Nations and CALD communities to ensure our responses are
culturally appropriate and effective.
As mental health nurses,
we understand the profound impact that societal events can have on individual
and community wellbeing. We are committed to utilising our expertise to promote
healing, understanding, and reconciliation.
We stand firmly against
racism. We call for generous collegial allyship by the mental health nursing
community, and the wider mental health professions communities, to stand with
First Nations and CALD mental health nurses during this challenging time. In
doing so, we are united in action to eradicate racism in all its forms within
the health and mental health sectors, and throughout the wider Australian
society.
ACMHN calls on all other
peak nursing and health professions associations to join us in upholding the
mental health and social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations and CALD
peoples’ through allyship. Together we promote culturally safe health and
mental health environments where all people can celebrate diversity and thrive in
the knowledge that cultural respect and responsible practice will uphold the
dignity, personal safety and social and emotional wellbeing of all as
fundamental to lives well lived within Australia.
For crisis support, please contact:
About ACMHN:
The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses is the peak professional organisation representing mental health nurses in Australia. For nearly 50 years, ACMHN has been committed to enhancing community mental health through improved service delivery and care standards.
ENDS
For more details, visit the official ACMHN website at https://acmhn.org/
For further comment, please contact ACMHN Media, on: (02) 6285 1078 or email [email protected].
TAGS Australian College of Mental Health Nurses press release, mental health nursing