Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council

What Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council does

Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC) is an entirely consumer-run, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1981 and incorporated in 1986, operating as the peak Victorian body for people with lived experience of mental health or emotional challenges. The organization is headquartered at Level 3, 80 Dorcas Street, Southbank, Victoria, with 11-50 employees, and is registered as an ACNC listed charity (ABN 28 642 080 520). VMIAC delivers individual advocacy through its Consumer Advocacy Service and NDIS Appeals Advocacy Service, peer support via the CHECK-IN program, education through the Consumers Leading in Governance (CLIG) Program delivered in partnership with ICDA, and NDIS-focused resources through the Navigating My Way project. The organization also produces policy advocacy outputs including the Seclusion Report series, Australia's first mental health consumer-led Human Rights Report (released jointly through the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance), and submissions across housing, NDIS integrity, anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes, and voting accessibility.

VMIAC's business model is government-grant funded, with the Victorian Department of Health as the primary funder supplemented by project-specific grants (e.g., NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for Navigating My Way) and event sponsorship ($51,500 from eight sector partners for UnConference 2023). All consumer-facing services are delivered free of charge. Distribution is community-led through the Southbank office, phone/email contact, website (vmiac.org.au), social media, webinars, bimonthly membership meetings, and an annual UnConference that drew approximately 200 participants in 2023 with 15 consumer bursaries. As a non-technology, advocacy-oriented organization, VMIAC's "platform" is its membership base, lived-experience workforce, and policy influence rather than software infrastructure. The organization has been on the frontline of implementing reforms from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System and joined the Victorian Government's The Collective consortium in May 2025 to scale consumer workforce supervision and training.

Name

Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council

Legal name

Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council

Website

https://vmiac.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

VMIAC is a consumer-run, non-profit peak body founded in 1981 that provides advocacy, NDIS appeals support, peer support, and workforce training for Victorians with lived experience of mental health challenges, funded primarily by government grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Consumer Advocacy

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Mental health advocacy
• Consumer advocacy services
• NDIS appeals support
• Peer support programs
• Psychosocial disability support

Headquarters

HQ city

Prahran

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: VMIAC operates as a registered non-profit and ACNC listed charity (ABN 28 642 080 520) funded primarily through government grants and funding arrangements with Victorian Department of Health and other government bodies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

VMIAC is a consumer-run non-profit organisation that delivers individual advocacy support, NDIS Appeals Advocacy for psychosocial disability participants, policy and systemic advocacy, peer-based support programs (CHECK-IN), governance training (CLIG), NDIS-focused resources (Navigating My Way), research and human rights reporting, and community engagement events (VMIAC UnConference) for people with lived experience of mental health or emotional challenges across Victoria, Australia.

Product overview

VMIAC offers a suite of advocacy, peer support, and education services for mental health consumers in Victoria. Core offerings include individual advocacy through the Consumer Advocacy Service and NDIS Appeals support, alongside peer-based programs like CHECK-IN. The organization delivers educational initiatives including the CLIG governance training program and the Navigating My Way NDIS resources. Research and policy advocacy are supported through publications like the Seclusion Report series and the Lived Experience Voices in Research Program. VMIAC also operates a Consumer Register for member engagement and hosts the biennial VMIAC UnConference.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consumer Advocacy Service Individual advocacy support for mental health consumers navigating services in Victoria, provided free of charge to eligible consumers.
• NDIS Appeals Advocacy Service Specialised advocacy support for people with psychosocial disability appealing NDIS decisions at the Administrative Review Tribunal, provided free of charge.
• CHECK-IN Peer Support Program Peer-based connection, support, and skill-building program providing individual and group peer support to mental health consumers in Victoria.
• Navigating My Way NDIS-focused project providing written, video, and illustrated resources to support individuals with psychosocial disabilities in understanding their NDIS rights and making complaints.
• Consumers Leading in Governance (CLIG) Training program supporting lived and living experience consumer leaders to build governance skills through a nationally recognised Certified Community Director micro-credential and placement experiences.
• VMIAC UnConference Biennial conference celebrating lived experience in mental health, featuring presentations, workshops, and networking for consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported development of The Collective - a dedicated supervision and training consortium for the consumer workforce
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Collective ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2025VMIAC joined the Victorian Government's new supervision and training consortium for the consumer workforce known as The Collective. Partners include Self-Help Addiction Resource Centre, Harm Reduction Victoria, Carer Lived Experience Workforce Network, and Tandem. The consortium is crucial to Victoria having a scaled and skilled mental health workforce capable of delivering on Royal Commission reforms. The Collective works with the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
• Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVMIAC delivers the CLIG (Consumers Leading in Governance) Program in partnership with ICDA. Participants complete ICDA's self-paced Certified Community Director course and receive the Certified Community Director micro-credential upon successful completion.
• WellwaysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023 - contributed $51,500 total sponsorship alongside other organizations.
• NEAMI NationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023.
• VIC-TAS Alliance of Public Health NetworksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023.
• Independent Mental Health AdvocacyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023.
• Centre for Mental Health LearningminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023. Note: This organization will close on 1 July 2025 as part of transition to The Collective.
• Flourish AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023.
• Mental Health TribunalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023.
• Mind AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of VMIAC UnConference 2023.
• National Mental Health Consumer AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVMIAC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance to enhance relationships among state-wide mental health advocacy organizations. VMIAC participates in joint advocacy including the release of Australia's first mental health consumer-led Human Rights Report.
• NDIS Quality and Safeguards CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Navigating My Way project is funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This project developed resources to support individuals with psychosocial disabilities in understanding their rights under the NDIS.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tandem (Carers Victoria / Tandem Inc): Victorian mental health advocacy organisation, explicitly a VMIAC partner in The Collective consortium. DIRECT_PEER given overlapping lived-experience advocacy mission and shared consortium partnership on workforce supervision and training for the Royal Commission reform agenda.
• Wellways Australia: Disability and mental health services organisation active across Australia, including NDIS-related support. DIRECT_PEER because both organisations are Australian mental-health/disability non-profits serving similar psychosocial cohorts, with Wellways even sponsoring VMIAC events.
• SANE Australia: National mental health advocacy and peer-support charity operating a helpline, stigma-reduction programs, and policy advocacy. DIRECT_PEER given parallel mandate in mental health consumer advocacy, peer support, and national-level policy work in Australia.
• Neami National: National mental health non-profit providing psychosocial support and peer-led services. DIRECT_PEER as both deliver peer-led mental health support, advocacy, and participate in shared sector partnerships like UnConference sponsorship and Royal Commission-aligned reform work.
• Mind Australia: Major Australian mental health service and advocacy provider operating across multiple states with lived-experience workforce. DIRECT_PEER because both run funded mental-health programs, lived-experience advocacy, and workforce development in the same consumer segment in Australia.
• Flourish Australia: Large lived-experience-focused mental health service provider. DIRECT_PEER as both organisations centre peer workers and lived experience in service delivery, and Flourish Australia has been a VMIAC UnConference sponsor.
• Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA): Provider of independent individual mental health advocacy in Victoria. DIRECT_PEER because both deliver free advocacy to mental health consumers in Victoria and IMHA has been a VMIAC UnConference sponsor.

Broad incumbents

• Beyond Blue: Australia's largest mental health awareness charity with federal scope, broad portfolio, and major donor and government funding. BROAD_INCUMBENT because although it addresses mental health broadly and overlaps with consumer advocacy, it is not consumer-run and not specialist in psychosocial disability appeals.

Emerging players

• Black Dog Institute: Mental health research and clinical translation institute, with growing lived-experience engagement programs. EMERGING_PLAYER as their lived-experience work is more recent and narrower than VMIAC's longstanding consumer-led model, but overlaps on research priority-setting and community education.

Others

• National Mental Health Consumer Alliance: Umbrella body for state/territory consumer peaks including VMIAC, focused on national human rights reporting and policy. OTHERS as a peer member of VMIAC's MoU rather than a direct competitor; functions as ecosystem convenor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VMIAC
• Facebookfacebook.com/theVMIAC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-vmiac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council