Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research

What Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research does

Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) is a non-profit, government-funded mental health research organisation established in 1987 and headquartered at Dawson House within The Park Centre for Mental Health in Wacol, Queensland, Australia. It is funded by Queensland Health, hosted by West Moreton Health, and operates as a statewide research body. The organisation's core product is mental health research services delivered across 11 interconnected research streams spanning child and youth mental health, clinical trials, psychiatric neurobiology, epidemiology and burden of disease, forensic mental health, military and veterans' mental health, mental health evaluation, climate change and mental health, mental health outcomes, physical and mental health, and the CAPES stream. Research outputs include peer-reviewed publications, government reports, podcasts, videos, and open-access reports.

QCMHR's underlying technology and data assets are anchored in research methodologies spanning basic neuroscience, epidemiology, clinical trials, and health services research, supported by a unique Partners in Prevention linked dataset covering 170,000–200,000 suicide crisis events across 70,000 individuals in contact with Queensland Police or Queensland Ambulance between 2014–2017, plus over 10,000 Defence-related health service records. Internationally, the organisation conducts the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys (NAMHS) across Vietnam, Kenya, and Indonesia, and is affiliated with the University of Washington's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation for global burden-of-disease work.

QCMHR's business model is grant- and government-funded rather than commercial. It does not charge for research outputs. Revenue streams comprise recurring Queensland Health baseline funding, competitive research grants (NHMRC, Department of Veterans' Affairs), and PhD scholarship endowments from partners such as Ipswich Hospital Foundation and ARAFMI matched by The University of Queensland. The customer base is concentrated in Australian federal and state government health, defence, and justice agencies, with academic publication and policy influence as the primary distribution channels. The organisation has accumulated over $60 million in research grants historically, employs 51–100 staff, and includes five researchers in the global top 1% by citation impact.

Name

Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research

Legal name

Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research

Website

https://qcmhr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research is a non-profit, Queensland Health-funded research organisation operating 11 research streams in mental health since 1987, serving Australian federal and state government health, defence, and justice agencies with epidemiological research, clinical trials, and the unique Partners in Prevention linked suicide-crisis dataset.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wacol

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Health Funding: QCMHR is funded by Queensland Health and hosted by West Moreton Health as a statewide Queensland Health research organisation.
2. Research Grants: NHMRC grants, Department of Veterans' Affairs funding, and other competitive research grants supporting specific research projects.
3. Partnership Endowments: PhD scholarship endowments from partners such as Ipswich Hospital Foundation and ARAFMI, matched dollar-for-dollar by University of Queensland.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

QCMHR conducts mental health research across 11 research streams spanning basic neuroscience, epidemiology, clinical trials, and health services research. It generates new knowledge about mental health to reduce the impact of mental illness in communities, providing evidence for mental health policy and service planning through research reports, peer-reviewed publications, and clinical trials. The organisation also delivers PhD and MPhil academic programs in partnership with The University of Queensland.

Product overview

Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) operates as a statewide mental health research organization rather than a commercial product company. The organization provides mental health research services through eleven distinct research streams (including child and youth mental health, clinical trials, epidemiology, forensic mental health, military/veterans mental health, climate change, and mental health services research). Research outputs include published reports, peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, books/book chapters, podcasts, videos, and educational programs (PhD/MPhil degrees via UQ partnership). The research streams function as interconnected research programs rather than standalone products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mental Health Research Services Comprehensive mental health research services spanning 11 research streams including child and youth mental health, clinical trials, epidemiology, forensic mental health, military and veterans' mental health, and climate change and mental health. Targeted at government health departments, research partners, and policy makers.
• Research Reports and Publications Extensive collection of research reports covering mental health evaluation frameworks, burden of disease studies, service models, and national surveys including NAMHS reports from Vietnam, Kenya, and Indonesia. Available as open access reports for download from the QCMHR website.
• Academic Programs (PhD/MPhil) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) programs conducted in partnership with The University of Queensland, enabling students to conduct mental health research under expert supervision by QCMHR researchers.
• Podcasts and Video Content Audio and video research outputs including webinars, presentations, and podcasts covering mental health topics, research findings, and expert interviews distributed via the QCMHR website.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% of Australians with major depressive disorder not receiving adequate treatment (2021)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• West Moreton HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQCMHR is hosted by West Moreton Health, providing institutional support and integration with the Queensland public health system. This is the primary organisational hosting relationship.
• The University of Queensland (UQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal research partnership with UQ enabling PhD and MPhil enrolments, academic title holders, and collaborative research. QCMHR researchers hold academic positions at UQ's School of Public Health and Queensland Brain Institute.
• Ipswich Hospital FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhD scholarship endowment fund partnered with ARAFMI and matched dollar-for-dollar by UQ. Supports PhD students supervised by QCMHR researchers to create new knowledge about mental disorders.
• Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill (ARAFMI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal contributor to PhD scholarship endowment fund that has funded 3 PhD students since 2006 whose projects have made critical discoveries in mental health research.
• Gallipoli Medical Research FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal military and veterans' research collaboration for veteran mental health studies. Collaboration on the 'Moments that Matter' police training project for veterans in crisis.
• Department of Veterans' AffairsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in military and veterans' mental health research. Funding provided for veteran mental health services mapping project and other defence health research.
• Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran SuicidemajorOthersQCMHR researchers provided evidence-based research on veteran suicide crisis presentations to inform the Royal Commission's investigation and recommendations.
• Queensland Police Service and Queensland Ambulance ServicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst responder partners in the Partners in Prevention data linkage study, providing suicide crisis event data for over 70,000 individuals in contact with emergency services 2014-2017.
• Toowong Private HospitalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in military and veterans' mental health research ecosystem.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Turning Point: Australian addiction and mental health treatment, research, and education organisation, including Turning Point Eastern Treatment Services and the Eastern Health Clinical School research program. Comparable as an Australian research-active addiction and mental health organisation with strong state-government and clinical linkages.
• Black Dog Institute: Australian medical research institute focused on mental health and mood disorders, translating research into clinical tools, workplace programs, and digital interventions. Highly comparable as a leading Australian translational mental health research organisation with a similar funding mix of government, grants, and philanthropy.
• MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (Cardiff University): UK research centre focused on the genetic and genomic basis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and related conditions. Comparable as a specialised academic research centre conducting psychiatric genetics and neurobiology research, with analogous grant-funded operating model and global publication footprint.
• Orygen: Australia's flagship youth mental health research and clinical translation organisation, headquartered in Melbourne and focused on young people with emerging mental ill-health. Directly comparable in mission and Australian-government funding model, with similar PhD training and clinical-research integration.
• Brain and Mind Centre (University of Sydney): University of Sydney research centre delivering neuroscience, mental health, and neurology research across the lifespan. Comparable as an Australian academic medical research centre combining neuroscience, clinical trials, and policy-facing mental health research.

Broad incumbents

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): The US federal agency for research on mental disorders, the largest funder and producer of mental health research worldwide. Comparable in mission to advance mental health research, but at vastly greater scale and with national funding authority.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world's largest mental health research centres, combining clinical care, research, and policy. Comparable as a publicly funded mental health research enterprise, though substantially larger and integrated with a hospital system.
• Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (King's College London): One of the world's largest and most influential centres for mental health and neuroscience research, embedded in a global university. Comparable as a mental health and neuroscience research powerhouse, though at a much larger scale and with broader translational and educational activity.

Regional players

• Telethon Kids Institute: Perth-based Australian children's health and mental health research institute focused on child and adolescent outcomes. Partially comparable as a West Australian state-affiliated paediatric research institute that includes significant child and youth mental health streams, though broader in disease scope.

Emerging players

• McPin Foundation: UK mental health research charity that involves people with lived experience of mental health problems in setting research priorities. Comparable as a mission-driven, grant-funded mental health research organisation, though focused on patient and public involvement rather than primary epidemiology or clinical trials.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/QCMHR
• Facebookfacebook.com/QCMHR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qcmhr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research