Media centre
As the principal organisation representing psychiatrists in Australia and New Zealand, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) can put the media in touch with psychiatrists in relation to stories on mental health issues.
A range of psychiatrists are available to comment on issues relevant to psychiatry and mental health.
Media enquiries
Sarah Carr
Advisor, Media and Communications
T +61 (0)3 9601 4981
M +61 437 315 911
media@ranzcp.org
Media access to RANZCP Journals
Contact media@ranzcp.org to request full text of any article in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry or Australasian Psychiatry for media use.
In the media
►New standards for mental health apps - Sydney Morning Herald
►Coronavirus kills 17 in its deadliest day - The Australian
►Suicide: Predicting the unpredictable - Medical Forum
►Regulator weighs push to legalise MDMA for mental health treatment - Sydney Morning Herald
►Get your mind fit - Herald Sun
►Use of Psilocybin and MDMA for mental health treatment - 2CC Radio
►Healthcare workers struggling with mental wellbeing during pandemic - ABC Online
►Is our hotel quarantine too heavy handed? - The Project
►COVID-19 and the mental health effects on young people - ABC Radio Melbourne
Joint statements
► Significant hospital wait times a symptom of systemic failure
(Joint statement with ACEM)
► An open letter to all Victorians
(Joint statement)
► Medical decisions should be made by medical professionals
(Joint statement with ACEM, ADC, ACSEP, ACRRM, ANZCA, CICM, RACP, RACMA, RACGP, RANZCOG, RANZCP and RANZCR)
► Leading medical authorities ask Parliament to maintain Medevac law
(Joint statement with RACP, ACEM, ACD, ACRRM, ANZCA, CICM, RACMA, RACGP, RANZCOG and RANZCR)
► Health bodies declare aboriginal youth suicide an urgent national priority
(Joint statement with NACCHO and RACP)
► Queensland doctors call on State Government to save lives
(Joint statement with ACEM, ACRRM, RACGP and AMAQld )
► Canadian, New Zealand and Australian medical colleges unite in support of gender equality
(Joint statement as part of the Tri-nation alliance)
Media releases
15 December 2020
The President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), Associate Professor John Allan, has welcomed the report’s findings, culminating five year’s work on how health services can better align with clinical evidence and practice to improve patient outcomes.
07 December 2020
With the Western Australian election only three months away, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Western Australia Branch has called on the Government to provide access, for all Western Australians, to a high-quality mental health system which can provide a seamless continuum of care, from acute crisis care to ongoing recovery and rehabilitation services in the community.
04 December 2020
The RANZCP Queensland Branch welcomed the Labor Government’s commitment of $979 million to building better hospitals while reiterating the call for more investment in the mental health and wellbeing of Queenslanders.
01 December 2020
The COVID-19 global pandemic and its impacts on the country’s mental health has taken centre stage on day two of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ (RANZCP) annual conference, held in Napier this year.
30 November 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has commended the Federal Government on the announcement of their intention to make telehealth permanently available to Australians.
23 November 2020
The RANZCP has called on investigators, and the Federal Government, to be mindful of the mental health issues and possible trauma that could be triggered by the recent announcement to investigate alleged wrongdoing by military personnel.
20 November 2020
RANZCP President, Associate Professor John Allan has warned the Federal Government that the mental health system cannot survive without significant investment.
17 November 2020
The RANZCP Tasmania Branch has welcomed the state government’s investment in the Tasmanian mental health system.
17 November 2020
The Andrew’s Government announced $5.3 billion Big Housing Build to be included in next week’s State Budget 2020-21.
16 November 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has welcomed the Productivity Commission, Mental Health, Inquiry Report and cautioned that the report’s release has come not a moment too soon.
13 November 2020
The RANZCP Victorian Branch has welcomed the Victorian Government’s firm commitment to funding recommendations made in the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System Interim Report.
13 November 2020
The RANZCP South Australian Branch has welcomed the $15.1 million allocated in this year’s State Budget to provide increased short-term mental health services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
12 November 2020
The RANZCP Victorian Branch has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement of funding for specialist training roles in child and adolescent psychiatry to address shortages in this area.
09 November 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Queensland Branch congratulates and welcomes the re-election of Deputy Premier Steven Miles and his reappointment as Health Minister.
09 November 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is marking the week with the celebration of psychiatrists, trainees and Psychiatry Interest Forum members who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
28 October 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Northern Territory Branch has called on the NT Government to take a cue from Churchill and ‘action this day’ the rescue of Mental Health Service funding from decades of neglect.
22 October 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) welcomes the appointment of the two new board directors, Professor Helen Milroy and Dr Jason Lee, both psychiatrists, to the Beyond Blue board.
20 October 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Queensland Branch welcomes the government’s $100 million announced to support the mental health of all school students if it is re-elected.
12 October 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has welcomed new Budget initiatives to strengthen the capacity of the healthcare workforce to provide more timely, seamless and high quality services to veterans and their families.
07 October 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has used the federal government’s announcement of additional allocations for mental health funding in the 2020–21 Budget to reaffirm its call for more fundamental system reform.
05 October 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has called on the government to put mental health planning and spending high on the list of priorities.
29 September 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Victorian Branch has expressed concern for the potential impact of the proposed new policing powers, outlined in the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill.
29 September 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has welcomed the launch of the Suicide & self-harm monitoring website by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
29 September 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Victorian Branch welcomes the announcement of Deputy Premier, the Hon. James Merlino, as the new Victorian Minister for Mental Health.
25 September 2020
A message from the Chair of Tu Te Akaaka Roa – New Zealand National Committee for Mental Health Week.
25 September 2020
Concerns for vulnerabilities experienced by women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, drawing specific attention to the barriers South Asian women face in accessing supports for their mental health and wellbeing.
24 September 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has congratulated the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) on the launch of their important report Nowhere else to go: Why Australia’s health system results in people with mental illness getting ‘stuck’ in emergency departments.
23 September 2020
The RANZCP and Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) joint release on the issue of significant wait times and mental health presentations in South Australia.
18 September 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement to extend use of the telehealth Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers for a further six months.
10 September 2020
Leading mental health body, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), has welcomed today’s announcement of $19 million towards suicide prevention but warned against leaving psychiatrists out of the conversation.
09 September 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is urging the Federal Government to immediately confirm the expansion of the telehealth MBS item numbers past the 30 September expiry date.
25 August 2020
The sad stories told in last night’s Four Corners segment Please Don’t Judge are a part of a much deeper and system-wide problem says the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
20 August 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of $31.5m towards supporting mental health services but cautioned against leaving psychiatrists out of the loop.
17 August 2020
Concerns grow for the mental health and wellbeing of Victorians in lockdown, especially those in aged care facilities.
11 August 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has reiterated their position on the need for sufficient, appropriate, and sustained supply of PPE for all healthcare workers as it remains a vital element of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria and Australia-wide.
09 August 2020
With stage 4 restrictions well underway in Victoria, it is vital that the focus is as strongly placed on the mental health and wellbeing of the community, as much as the physical health.
07 August 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of additional funding to combat the increased demand for mental health services, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
07 August 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has expressed concern in relation to the Federal Government’s decision to reopen the detention facility located on Christmas Island to house people currently in immigration detention on mainland Australia.
04 August 2020
With a State of Disaster declared in Victoria and a small – yet persistent – number of new cases still emerging daily in NSW, it is imperative governments continue to provide sustained new investment in mental health to meet variable and changing circumstances.
30 July 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Victorian Branch has reiterated support for stronger measures to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in the Victorian mental health system.
30 July 2020
We know this year has been tough so far. The good news is lives have already been saved with COVID-19 restrictions and this can continue by following the latest health advice to slow the spread of the virus, and by continuing to look after our own health.
30 July 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has applauded today’s announcement on the Close the Gap agreement and its historic commitment to reducing the incarceration, domestic violence and suicide rates in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
16 July 2020
When we venture out in public these days, it is more and more common to see people wearing face masks and this is a good thing.
07 July 2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Victorian Branch has expressed deep concern for the findings outlined in the recent report on suicides of Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the Coroners Court of Victoria.
05 July 2020
With around 3,000 of Melbourne's residents will be locked in nine public housing estates for at least five days due to a coronavirus outbreak the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry (RANZCP) Victorian Branch is urging the government to provide mental health support for these vulnerable communities.
30 June 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought risks, dangers and impacts for the whole community, but it has had specific and severe consequences for vulnerable populations such as asylum seekers and refugees.
29 June 2020
The peak body for psychiatrists has urged Australia’s Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, to make permanent the availability of telehealth and telephone consultations for all patients wherever they happen to live.
26 June 2020
In the wake of Qantas’s announcement to shed over 6000 jobs as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, the President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has reaffirmed his concern for a potential next wave of mental ill health.
► View older media releases in our News Archive.