What Prevention United does

Prevention United is an Australian non-profit mental health charity established in 2018 and headquartered in North Melbourne, Victoria. It is positioned as the only national Australian organization with an exclusive focus on promoting mental wellbeing and preventing mental health conditions, applying a public health prevention model similar to those used for chronic physical illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. The organization is governed by a board chaired by Pat O'Leary and is led by CEO Suzanne Dick (appointed 2024), with founder Dr Stephen Carbone remaining involved as a director.

The organization's core intellectual property is the Mental Health Promotion Competency Framework — a structured six-domain competency model describing the knowledge, skills, and attributes required to design, deliver, and support mental health promotion initiatives. This framework is supported by How-to Guides (Community Engagement and Evaluation), bi-monthly commissioned Evidence Summaries, and the AHEAD prevention strategies framework (Awareness, Healthy lifestyle, Emotional flexibility, Adversity support, Direction). Product delivery spans six core training programs (covering introductory, masterclass, wellbeing, community engagement, evaluation, and leadership curricula), end-to-end consulting services (baseline data collection, policy review, resource development, action planning), speaking and webinar services, and writing/research content services. Community assets include the National Network of Mental Health Promotion Practitioners (over 600 members), the Youth Ambassadors Group (16-21) producing the Positive Potato Podcast, and active policy advocacy through briefs and submissions including to the Royal Commission and Productivity Commission.

The revenue model combines three streams: tax-deductible donations processed via the GiveNow platform, government commissions (notably from the Victorian Department of Health's Wellbeing Promotion Office and the ACT Health Directorate), and fee-for-service training and consulting contracts with schools, workplaces, local councils, and community organizations. Primary buyer segments are organizational and community leaders across education, workplaces, and local government, with secondary segments serving individuals, parents and caregivers, and young people. Headcount is approximately 13 employees, and operations are domestic to Australia with no disclosed international footprint.

Name

Prevention United

Legal name

Prevention United

Website

https://preventionunited.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Prevention United is an Australian non-profit mental health charity that delivers training, consulting, frameworks, and advocacy to organizations, communities, and individuals to promote mental wellbeing and prevent mental health conditions across Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Promotion Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education (BPAGACAC), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK)

Keywords

• Mental health promotion
• Mental wellbeing training
• Prevention consulting services
• Wellbeing program delivery
• Mental health advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Prevention United is a registered charity (ABN 66 623 532 392) and registered health promotion charity. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible in Australia. All money raised is used to create and deliver resources, programs and services, raise awareness, support research, and advocate for increased government investment in prevention.
2. Government Grants and Commissions: Commissioned by government bodies for specific projects, such as the ACT Health Directorate commissioning a paper on Mental Health Promotion and Prevention approach, and the Victorian Department of Health's Wellbeing Promotion Office funding the 'How to Guides' and evidence summaries.
3. Training and Consulting Services: Fee-for-service training programs and consulting services for organizations including schools, workplaces, local councils, and communities. Services include baseline data collection, policy reviews, tailored resource development, training, and data analysis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Prevention United delivers training programs, consulting services, and evidence-based resources focused on promoting mental wellbeing and preventing mental health conditions. The organisation works with schools, workplaces, local councils, and communities to build mental health promotion capability, while also providing individual-facing prevention strategies, frameworks, and advocacy resources for the Australian public.

Product overview

Prevention United is a mental health promotion charity offering a portfolio of training programs, professional services, frameworks, resources, and community initiatives focused on promoting mental wellbeing and preventing mental health conditions. Their core training suite includes six programs: Introduction to Mental Health Promotion, Masterclass in Mental Health Promotion, Looking after our Mental Health and Wellbeing, Community Engagement in Mental Health Promotion, Evaluation in Mental Health Promotion, and Wellbeing-Centred Leadership. Professional services encompass consulting/training/organisational change, speaking/facilitating/webinar hosting, and content/writing/research services. Their resources include the Mental Health Promotion Competency Framework, two 'How to Guides' (Community Engagement and Evaluation), bi-monthly Evidence Summaries, and the AHEAD prevention strategies framework. Community initiatives include the Youth Ambassadors Group (YAG) with the Positive Potato Podcast, the National Network of Mental Health Promotion Practitioners (over 600 members), and the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health. They also host advocacy events including the Preventive Mental Health Conference 2026 and produce policy briefs and submissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Positive Potato Podcast: A youth-led initiative developed by Prevention United's Youth Ambassadors Group (YAG), exploring topics that support mental health and wellbeing through open, meaningful conversations.
• Mental Health Promotion Competency Framework
• How to Guides for Mental Health Promotion
• National Youth Survey

Products and services

• Introduction to Mental Health Promotion Introductory training session helping participants gain knowledge and confidence to play a role in building mental wellbeing and preventing mental ill-health in their organisations and communities.
• Masterclass in Mental Health Promotion Advanced training providing essential language, deeper dive into mental health promotion theory and frameworks, and guides participants through a systematic approach to designing and delivering mental health promotion initiatives.
• Looking after our Mental Health and Wellbeing Training session helping people gain knowledge and confidence to support their own mental health and wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of others, particularly in the workplace, including guidance on recognising and responding to mental health difficulties.
• Community Engagement in Mental Health Promotion (Training) Training equipping participants with tools and frameworks to actively engage communities in the design, delivery, and evaluation of effective mental health promotion initiatives.
• Evaluation in Mental Health Promotion (Training) Training equipping participants with foundational skills and knowledge to confidently evaluate mental health promotion initiatives using validated tools and best practice methods.
• Wellbeing-Centred Leadership Training equipping senior executives and organisational leaders with knowledge and confidence to support their own mental health and wellbeing and that of their teams, while considering wellbeing in delivering goods and services.
• Consulting, Training, and Organisational Change Services End-to-end service for organisations seeking to make mental health promotion a core focus, including baseline data collection, policy review, resource development, action planning, training, and data monitoring support.
• Speaking, Facilitating and Webinar Hosting Speaking services by qualified mental health experts on topics related to promotion of mental health and prevention of mental health conditions for lay and professional audiences including parents, educators, community groups, HR managers, and policymakers.
• Writing, Reviewing, Research and Evaluation Content Services Content development services for audiences on mental health topics, including evidence summaries, policy briefings, website content, brochures, e-learning, training manuals and publications.
• Mental Health Promotion Competency Framework Framework providing a shared understanding of the underpinning competencies necessary to design, deliver and support effective mental health promotion initiatives across six key domains, developed with practitioners from various settings.
• How to Guides for Mental Health Promotion (Community Engagement and Evaluation) Two practical guides supporting mental health promotion practitioners in planning and implementing community engagement and evaluation, with resources, readings, templates and toolkits. Funded by the Wellbeing Promotion Office at the Victorian Department of Health.
• Evidence Summaries Bi-monthly summaries of peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature on what works to promote mental wellbeing and prevent mental ill-health, commissioned by the Wellbeing Promotion Office at the Victorian Department of Health.
• AHEAD Prevention Strategies Prevention framework grouping strategies into five categories - Awareness, Healthy Lifestyle, Emotional Flexibility, Adversity Support, and Direction - for promoting mental wellbeing and preventing depression and anxiety in individuals.

Named customers4 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026PHAA and Prevention United are co-hosting the Preventive Mental Health Conference 2026 on 24-25 March 2026 in Parramatta Sydney, with the theme 'Doing Better - Working together to promote and protect the mental health and wellbeing of people in Australia'.
• ACT Health DirectoratemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The ACT Health Directorate commissioned Prevention United in 2024 to provide a paper exploring the creation of a systematic Mental Health Promotion and Prevention (MHPP) approach with unique consideration of the ACT context. The paper 'ACT-ing Upstream' was launched at a webinar in January 2025.
• Victorian Department of Health (Wellbeing Promotion Office)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The Victorian Wellbeing Promotion Office at the Department of Health collaborated with Prevention United to host the second Wellbeing Promotion Symposium in November 2024, drawing over 200 attendees from across the sector.
• Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Prevention United is a proud member of the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health - a group of like-minded organisations committed to enhancing Australia's approach to preventive mental health. The coalition advocates for systemic, long-term approaches to mental health through investment in prevention across workforce development, cross-portfolio coordination, long-term planning, and sustainable funding. They have published multiple joint submissions and policy briefs including consensus statements on prevention of mental disorders.
• Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders (APMD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018The Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders (APMD) co-hosted the Joining Forces Forum with Prevention United in 2018.
• Communities that CaresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunities that Care partnered with Prevention United for the 'Building Connectedness – Promoting Mental Wellbeing' forums focused on increasing young people's social connectedness and protective factors. The forums were funded by the Victorian Government.
• Youth Coalition of the ACTsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Prevention United for the ACT-ing Upstream webinar launch in January 2025, with Erin Barry, Director of Policy and Advocacy, participating as an expert speaker.
• Mental Illness Education ACTsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Prevention United for the ACT-ing Upstream webinar launch in January 2025, with CEO Prudence Slaughter participating as an expert speaker.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Orygen: Australian youth mental health research and treatment organization combining clinical, research, and prevention work. Comparable target segment (youth) and parallel evidence-to-program pipeline model.
• ReachOut Australia: Australian digital mental health service for young people delivering prevention-focused information and self-help resources. Comparable target audience (youth) and prevention-first content orientation.
• Mental Health Foundation Australia: National mental health promotion and advocacy charity focused on prevention, stigma reduction, and community wellbeing. Comparable advocacy-led charity model and prevention positioning in Australia.
• batyr: Australian youth mental health organization focused on prevention through lived-experience education programs in schools and workplaces. Closely comparable to Prevention United given a similar prevention-first, education-led model with youth engagement at its core.
• Black Dog Institute: Australian medical research institute focused on depression, bipolar, and suicide prevention with a significant emphasis on population-level prevention and workplace/school programs. Closely comparable on the prevention and evidence-based frameworks axis.
• RU OK?: Australian suicide prevention charity focused on awareness and everyday conversation as prevention. Comparable charity structure, national prevention mandate, and community-based training programs.

Broad incumbents

• headspace: National youth mental health foundation with a network of physical centers and prevention/early intervention services. Overlapping youth focus and government-funded service model; broader mandate including clinical service delivery.
• SANE Australia: National mental health charity providing information, peer support, and advocacy for people affected by complex mental health conditions. Comparable charity structure and broad national audience but focuses more on lived experience and support than prevention.
• Beyond Blue: Australia's largest mental health organization addressing depression and anxiety across support, information, research, and prevention. Overlapping mission but broader scope; Prevention United's leadership team has direct lineage to Beyond Blue.

Others

• VicHealth: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation funding prevention and wellbeing initiatives across physical and mental health. Comparable focus on prevention and population health, but operates as a government-funded statutory authority rather than a small charity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prevention-united

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Prevention United