The Melbourne Charter for Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental and Behavioural Disorders

The Melbourne Charter for Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental and Behavioural Disorders is the outcome of a worldwide discussion initiated by the organisers and participants of the Global Consortium for the Advancement of Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health (GCAPP) conference.

Download: The Melbourne Charter (101KB)

The Melbourne Charter for Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental and Behavioural Disorders is the outcome of a worldwide discussion initiated by the organisers and participants of the Global Consortium for the Advancement of Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health (GCAPP) conference entitled From Margins to Mainstream: 5th World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and the Prevention of Mental and Behavioural Disorders, in Melbourne, Australia, September 2008.

The Charter reflects the input and support of organisations from all over the world. It articulates some common principles and recommendations that should be part of our future action in mental health promotion and mental illness prevention.

The Charter provides a framework which recognises the influence of social and economic determinants on mental health and mental illness and identifies the contribution that diverse sectors (including but not exclusive to health) make to influencing those conditions that create or ameliorate positive mental health.

You'll find a full-colour poster version of The Melbourne Charter in the VicHealth Letter (Issue 34, Autumn 2009). The magazine provides a snapshot of some of the issues arising at the conference and the dynamic nature of the work occurring in mental health promotion and prevention of illness, both in Australia and globally.

Learn about our more recent mental health and wellbeing research and programs here