Open Dialogue Centre

What Open Dialogue Centre does

Open Dialogue Centre Limited is an Australian purpose-driven, charitable nonprofit established in 2021 and headquartered at Level 1, 68 Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park NSW. Its sole function is to enable the widespread adoption of the Open Dialogue approach to mental health care — a relational, network-based method that originated in Finland in 1981 and uses facilitated social network meetings as the primary intervention, grounded in seven principles (immediate help, social network involvement, flexibility, responsibility, tolerating uncertainty, dialogical stance, generalist perspective) and twelve key elements of dialogic practice. The Centre works in partnership with schools, mental health services, youth services and community organisations, and its core offerings are a tiered training ladder (One-Day Exploration, Four-Day Skills Training, One-Year Foundation Course) plus co-design and implementation support, ongoing supervision/intervision, a Mentor-in-Training advanced pathway, a Lived and Living Experience Worker scholarship program, and research outputs such as a Rapid Review commissioned from the University of Melbourne.

The go-to-market is B2B enterprise field sales led by the CEO and Head of Partnerships, augmented by event-driven demand generation (annual national conference, School Symposiums, state launch events) and inside-sales course registration through the Centre's website and Stripe. Pricing is per-delegate in Australian dollars, ranging from $35-$75 for school symposium entries up to $6,050 for the One-Year Foundation Course and $990 for the four-day online introduction.

Revenue is a hybrid mix of fee-for-service training, tax-deductible donations, corporate partnership contributions and philanthropic grants. Grant Family Philanthropy is the founding partner and primary funder; the William Buckland Foundation has made a landmark commitment for the Goulburn Region Open Dialogue Connect (GRODC) place-based initiative. Implementation partners include Alfred Health, Sydney Children's Hospital, Goulburn Valley Health, Townsville HHS, Youth Insearch (across 30 communities), Korowal School, Relationships Australia NSW, Neami National, One Door Mental Health and Education First Youth Foyer. The approach carries validation from the World Health Organisation and is referenced in the Victorian Royal Commission into Mental Health recommendations.

Name

Open Dialogue Centre

Legal name

Open Dialogue Centre Limited

Website

https://opendialoguecentre.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Open Dialogue Centre is an Australian nonprofit founded in 2021 that trains mental health professionals, schools and community organisations in the Open Dialogue approach to mental health care through tiered courses and implementation partnerships across VIC, NSW, SA and QLD.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Training and Implementation Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (611710), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care (Collaborative Care) (HLAFACAO)

Keywords

• Open Dialogue training
• Mental health training
• Dialogical practice education
• Mental health implementation support
• Family-inclusive mental health

Headquarters

HQ city

Port Macquarie

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Programme Fees: The Centre generates revenue from fee-for-service training programmes including One-Day Exploration workshops, Four-Day Skills Training, and the One-Year Foundation Course. These are offered both online and in-person across Australia.
2. Philanthropic Foundation Funding: The Open Dialogue Centre is a purpose-driven organisation led and primarily funded by philanthropy. The Grant Family Philanthropy is a founding partner and funder. The Centre also receives support from corporate partners and project-specific funders.
3. Donations: The Centre accepts tax-deductible donations from individuals and organisations via direct bank transfer or credit card. Donations are processed through Stripe and the Centre has deductable gift recipient status registered as a charity with the ACNC.
4. Corporate Partnership Contributions: Corporate Partnerships involve multi-year financial contributions from philanthropic organisations, foundations, and larger NGOs. Partners gain involvement in the corporate governance of the Centre and contribute to expanding Open Dialogue across Australia.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Open Dialogue Centre provides structured training programs and implementation support for the Open Dialogue approach to mental health care, which originated in Finland in 1981. Its core offerings are a progressive training pathway (One-Day Exploration, Four-Day Skills Training, and the One-Year Foundation Course) for mental health professionals, plus co-design and implementation partnerships with schools, mental health services, and community organisations across Australia. The Centre also delivers supervision, a Mentor-in-Training advanced pathway, the LLEW Scholarship program, conferences/symposiums, and the commissioned Rapid Review research report.

Product overview

Open Dialogue Centre offers a suite of evidence-based training and workforce capability programs focused on the Open Dialogue approach to mental health care. The core offering consists of progressive training programs (One-Day Exploration, Four-Day Skills Training, and One-Year Foundation Course) that develop practitioners' ability to facilitate network meetings involving individuals, families, and support networks. The Centre also provides co-design and implementation support for organizations, ongoing supervision services, and advanced pathways through the Mentor-in-Training program. Research publications and professional conferences support the evidence base and community building around Open Dialogue in Australia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One-Year Foundation Course (OYFC) A comprehensive 20-day training program delivered across four blocks over one year, developing skills to facilitate Open Dialogue network meetings. Combines theoretical knowledge, experiential learning, family of origin work, and dialogical practice for mental health professionals, clinicians, and community workers. Priced at $5,500 + GST with a minimum cohort of 16 students.
• Four-Day Skills Training Skills training for team members who want to support lead facilitators to deliver Open Dialogue network meetings, with APS Member ($1,100 + GST) and non-member ($1,200 + GST) pricing. Delivered virtually across two two-day blocks and acts as a pathway to the One-Year Foundation Course.
• One-Day Exploration of Open Dialogue Virtual workshop providing an overview of Open Dialogue origins, principles, 12 key elements, evidence base and application potential across different services and settings in Australia and globally. Priced at $220 + GST for APS Members and $250 + GST standard fee.
• Open Dialogue Discovery Workshop Half-day or full-day discovery workshop for organisations or teams interested in exploring the potential adoption of Open Dialogue, including an organisational readiness assessment, typically delivered as the entry point of an enterprise co-design engagement.
• Co-design and Implementation Support Bespoke partnership service in which the Centre collaborates with organisations to co-design, embed, and support the implementation of Open Dialogue approaches across executive teams, the workforce, and administrative processes.
• LLEW Scholarship Program Scholarships for Lived and Living Experience Workers (LLEW) residing in Victoria to attend the Centre's Open Dialogue training courses, subsidising access to the One-Day Exploration, Four-Day Skills Training, and One-Year Foundation Course.
• Intervision / Supervision Services Ongoing supervision and intervision services delivered by experienced faculty to support Open Dialogue practitioners and teams in maintaining reflective practice and skill development after completion of the training pathway.
• Mentor-in-Training (MiT) Program An additional year of advanced training offered to One-Year Foundation Course graduates who wish to begin the process of becoming qualified Open Dialogue trainers or more experienced practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced hospitalisation and readmission cycles when Open Dialogue is implemented with fidelity in mental health services.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Alfred HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlfred Health, through its Child and Youth Mental Health Service and Headspace, is a key implementation partner of the Open Dialogue Centre. Dr Paul Denborough (Clinical Director) and Rachel Barbara-May (Dialogical Practices Lead) serve as key presenters at the Centre's conference. They are implementing Open Dialogue in eating disorders programmes, youth early psychosis, and the Women's Recovery Network. Jenny Babb also leads implementation of Dialogically Informed Practice across Alfred Mental and Addiction Health.
• Youth Insearch FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Insearch is a national implementation partner actively implementing Open Dialogue in its peer-led youth trauma recovery programmes across 30 communities in Australia. CEO Stephen Lewin is a conference speaker and advocate for the approach. The organisation is taking part in the Centre's One-Year Foundation Course.
• Korowal SchoolflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKorowal School in the Blue Mountains, NSW, is a flagship school implementation partner that has completed a five-year journey of adapting Open Dialogue into their school. The Centre partnered with Korowal to host a School Symposium in August 2024, sharing evidence of how Open Dialogue has benefited the entire school network.
• Goulburn Valley HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoulburn Valley Health (GV Health) is a key partner in the Goulburn Region Open Dialogue Connect (GRODC) initiative. Sally Thomas oversees the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and is part of the transformation team implementing Victorian Royal Commission recommendations using Open Dialogue.
• Education First Youth Foyer (Shepparton)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior Manager Anita McCurdy leads implementation of Open Dialogue within the Education First Youth Foyer and Better Futures programme in Shepparton, Victoria, as part of the Goulburn Valley place-based approach. The Youth Foyer supports young people unable to live at home to achieve education goals and build independence.
• Townsville Hospital and Health ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiz McNamara from Townsville HHS led a 12-month pilot to implement dialogical practices, aiming to engage better with First Nations young people and families and enhance the Lived Experience workforce implementation in Queensland.
• University of Melbourne (Centre for Mental Health Nursing)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA/Prof Bridget Hamilton from the University of Melbourne's Centre for Mental Health Nursing led the Open Dialogue Impact Rapid Review commissioned by the Centre — a systematic review of international literature on how Open Dialogue contributes to mental health system transformation. The Centre for Mental Health Nursing is a key research partner.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenDialogueCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-dialogue-centre
• Xx.com/opendialogue4

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Dialogue Centre