Western Australian Association for Mental Health

What Western Australian Association for Mental Health does

Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) is a Perth-based nonprofit peak body founded in 1960 that represents the community-managed mental health sector in Western Australia. Its primary constituents are non-government mental health organisations, individuals with lived experience of mental ill-health or suicide, corporate and government associate members, and the broader public reached through mental health promotion activities such as Mental Health Week. WAAMH delivers four core service lines: systemic advocacy to state and federal governments; sector development and training, including the NDIS Sector Legacy Toolbox and the Workforce Survey Project; mental health promotion; and IPS Works, an Individual Placement and Support employment service for people with mental health challenges.

The operating model is membership-based, with four tiers — Full Individual, Full Organisational, Associate Individual, and Associate Organisational — priced annually on a graduated scale. Organisational membership fees range from $99 to $3,300 depending on member mental-health revenue, while individual fees span $15 to $150. Beyond membership dues, revenue is generated through fee-for-service training (with member discounts of 10-20%), ticket sales for the biennial WA Mental Health Conference and WA Mental Health Awards, and project-based government contracts such as the NDIS QSC Sector Readiness Project (Department of Communities, concluded December 2023) and the Workforce Survey Project (2025, delivered with Human Capital Alliance). Distribution is single-country and domestic to Western Australia, delivered via a website portal, social media, email newsletters, events, and annual reports.

WAAMH operates without a proprietary technology platform; its digital footprint consists of a content website, online training catalogues, downloadable toolboxes and templates, and social channels. The organisation is governed by a Board of Directors and led by CEO Taryn Harvey, with Robyn Plaistowe listed as founder. There is no parent company, no funding rounds, and no public listing. Strategic positioning centres on lived-experience leadership, peak-body representation, and convening power rather than technology differentiation.

Name

Western Australian Association for Mental Health

Legal name

Western Australian Association for Mental Health

Website

https://waamh.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Western Australian peak body for community mental health, providing systemic advocacy, sector training, membership services, and IPS employment support to mental health NGOs, lived-experience individuals, and corporate/government associate members across Western Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Mental Health Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Wellbeing, Mental Health & Employee Assistance (EAP) (BPACAPAO)

Keywords

• Community mental health
• Mental health advocacy
• Nonprofit peak body
• Workforce training
• Psychosocial disability support

Headquarters

HQ city

Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership fees from both organizational and individual members. Fees vary by member type and organizational revenue size.
2. Training services: Fee-for-service training programs, including customized courses and professional development for the mental health sector. Members receive discounts.
3. Events and conferences: Revenue from ticket sales to the biennial WA Mental Health Conference and Annual Awards events.
4. Government contracts: Funded projects such as the NDIS QSC Sector Readiness Project (Department of Communities) and Workforce Survey Project.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WAAMH is Western Australia's peak body for the community mental health sector, delivering membership services, systemic advocacy, sector development and training, mental health promotion, and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment services through its IPS Works sub-brand. It runs the biennial WA Mental Health Conference, the WA Mental Health Awards, Mental Health Week activities, and government-funded projects such as the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Sector Readiness Project and the Workforce Survey Project.

Product overview

WAAMH is a membership-based peak body organization providing advocacy, sector development, and mental health promotion services. The organization operates as a unified service portfolio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core offerings include Systemic Advocacy for policy reform, Sector Development & Training including the NDIS Sector Legacy Toolbox, Mental Health Promotion activities, IPS Works employment support services, the annual WA Mental Health Awards, and the biennial WA Mental Health Conference. Membership services provide access to training discounts, event tickets, and participation in reference groups and steering committees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IPS Works: Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment services for people with mental health challenges

Products and services

• Membership Program Four membership tiers: Full Individual ($85 waged / $25 unwaged per year for consumers, carers, and family members with lived experience), Full Organisational (tiered by annual mental health revenue from $99 below $100K to $3,300 above $7.5M), Associate Individual ($150 professional / $60 supporter / $15 unwaged per year), and Associate Organisational ($440 Corporation/Government/Tertiary/Private mental health provider; $330 NFP/SME; $154 School). Provides advocacy representation, training discounts (10–20%), event discounts, policy consultation, and reference group participation.
• Sector Development & Training Workforce development programs for the WA community mental health sector, including upcoming scheduled training, custom training, professional lived-experience speaking, a training catalogue, and the Training Team. Members receive discounts on training fees.
• IPS Works (Individual Placement and Support) Employment services under the IPS Works sub-brand helping people with mental health challenges find and maintain employment, delivered through about-IPS, our-IPS-services, and an IPS Tools & Templates resource hub.
• WA Mental Health Conference

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Human Capital AlliancecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025Management and research consultancy firm that worked closely with WAAMH and a Project Reference Group to develop survey questions and pilot test a draft survey for the inaugural WA workforce survey project.
• Project Reference Group (nine organisations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025A reference group formed in response to an Expression of Interest in July, consisting of nine organisations from across WA's community mental health sector. Provided insights and feedback on survey development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• headspace (National Youth Mental Health Foundation): National youth mental health foundation delivering frontline services, training, and workforce development, comparable to WAAMH on sector development and training but with a youth-only mandate and federal funding base.
• Mental Health Australia: National peak body for the mental health sector in Australia, comparable to WAAMH in advocacy, policy representation, and member-based governance, but operating federally rather than within a single state.

Direct peers

• SANE Australia: National mental health advocacy organisation with peer support, stigma reduction, and lived-experience leadership, overlapping with WAAMH's advocacy, training, and lived-experience remit at a national scale.
• Suicide Prevention Australia: National peak body for suicide prevention, structurally analogous to WAAMH as a membership-based advocacy and policy organisation, serving overlapping member organisations and lived-experience communities.
• Mind Australia: Major community-managed mental health service provider delivering psychosocial support, housing, and employment services across Australia, comparable to WAAMH on NDIS-aligned service delivery and IPS-style employment support.
• Community Mental Health Australia: National peak body for community-managed mental health services, the most direct functional peer to WAAMH at the state level, with overlapping advocacy, sector development, and NDIS-aligned missions.

Emerging players

• Mental Health Carers Australia: Peak body representing mental health carers and families nationally; shares WAAMH's lived-experience and policy advocacy focus but targets the carer segment rather than community-managed organisations.

Regional players

• Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand: Cross-Tasman counterpart operating as a national mental health promotion, advocacy, and training charity, structurally similar to WAAMH as a membership- and project-funded peak body but serving New Zealand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/WA-Association-for-Mental-Health/938774459490827
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thewaamh
• Xx.com/TheWAAMH

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Western Australian Association for Mental Health