mental health technician

psychologist

clinician

senior clinician

occupational therapist

Mind Australia

Mind Australia fosters a supportive and inclusive culture (my experience in Melbourne was exceptional). However, my time in Brisbane was marked by inconsistencies, especially when collaborating with certain individuals who did not share the same values or work ethic. The partnership between Mind Australia and Queensland Health at the Step Up Step Down (SUSD) facility in Caboolture highlighted numerous inconsistencies, particularly in the scope of practice we were able to deliver.

**MIND AUSTRALIA SERVICE MANAGER**  
During my 12 months in Melbourne, I was fortunate to work under an outstanding service manager in the Dual Disabilities team. A similar experience awaited me at SUSD Caboolture, where the service manager demonstrated remarkable dedication and consistently went above and beyond to support the team. Unfortunately, both of these exceptional service managers have since left Mind Australia.

**MIND AUSTRALIA TEAM**  
I had the privilege of collaborating with some remarkable colleagues who were committed and passionate about their work. However, there were also those whose "clock on, clock off" mentality undermined the team's efforts, contributing little beyond fulfilling basic requirements while still receiving their paychecks.

**ENVIRONMENT**  
Overall, the working environment was positive and conducive to professional collaboration. That said, the dynamics of any workplace depend heavily on the people involved. While the Queensland Health nurses and psychiatrists were supportive and appreciative of our contributions as part of the Mind Australia team, management on their side was another story.  

Queensland Health's leadership, unfortunately, is hindered by an individual whose management style can best be described as unsuitable for leading people. This person lacks fundamental leadership qualities and might be better suited to roles in environments such as politics or correctional facilities, where a different approach to interpersonal dynamics is required. Similarly, Mind Australia also has an individual whose lack of empathy and compassion echoes the issues seen within Queensland Health's management.

It is my hope that both of these individuals will have moved on by the time "you, the reader" consider applying for a position at SUSD Caboolture.

If you are neurodivergent or autistic, as I am, you may wish to explore alternative working environments, especially within the framework of this partnership.


Words cannot describe how dysfunctional and toxic this organisation is. Five years ago, there was a major restructure that did not benefit the organisation. Since then, executive management has pushed for rapid growth without increasing resources or support, which has led to widespread staff burnout and low morale. The most recent merger has been poorly handled and has exacerbated this problem. 

Executive leadership is disconnected from day to day realities and operates with an outdated, top-down mindset. Their decision making is often reactive, lacking strategy and thoughtfulness. Constructive, evidence based feedback is routinely ignored, and there is little to no consultation with those impacted by decisions. 

Their approach to work is bureaucratic, overly risk-averse, disorganised, and inefficient. Everything somehow becomes 'urgent,' which creates unnecessary stress and chaos. Even basic things like saying hello or acknowledging you in the hallway are rare. You end up feeling more like a number than a human being. 

There is ongoing tension between general management and the executive team and this trickles down to team members, making the atmospshere tense and unpleasant. 

Staff at every level are extremely burnt out, and the turnover is alarmingly high, particularly among frontline workers. So many good people have left or are trying to leave. The ones who are still here mostly seem to be counting down to retirement. 

It’s not surprising how many one-star reviews there are. Feedback is not listened to or implemented, and meaningful change never materialises. Much of the software is outdated which hinders daily tasks and there is minimal budget for training and development or recognition for extra effort. There is also a distinct lack of communication across divisions, compounding the inefficiencies. 

If you value your career, mental health, and wellbeing, do not work here. I deeply regret not leaving sooner.

Mind Australia Brisbane is in partnership with Queensland Health, but my tenure was profoundly affected by the problematic leadership exhibited by a Queensland Health Service Manager. Their approach—characterised by undermining behaviours and occasional intimidation—led me to decide it was time to move on. Conversely, the culture at Mind Australia Limited was exemplary, with one notable exception: a Family Engagement staff member whose overly rigid approach often stifled individual expression, despite one's natural likability. Overall, while the core team at Mind Australia embodied strong values and professionalism, certain influences from Queensland Health compromised the organisation’s fundamental principles—especially compared to my rewarding experience in Melbourne.

I remained in my role largely due to the support of an exceptional Service Manager (no longer with Mind Australia) and an outstanding original Team Leader who later relocated to Western Australia. These leaders provided invaluable guidance that helped me gain a wealth of experience, insights, and skills. Most importantly, I learned that even in environments dedicated to supporting individuals with mental health challenges, there can be disconnects between staff behaviour and an organisation's core values.

While I understand that new leadership has since been introduced at Mind Australia, it appears that Queensland Health continues to face challenges with its leadership dynamics.

Terrible upper management (state managers, BOD etc) - Money for state funded programs used to fund NDIS programs leaving state programs chronically understaffed. DISGRACEFUL behaviour. Wonder what dhhs will say.

0 job security! Approx 20 staff members made redundant in a catchment within 6 months. 

They will get rid of you in a heartbeat by making life so difficult (doesn't matter who you are even CEO) if you disagree with the way they misuse funding. Used to be a good place to work at but not anymore. 

All they care about is profitability. Call and ask if this NDIS registered provider provides anything other than support coordination, SIL and allied health services. I GUARANTEE they will not because it's not financially viable haha. Even groups are going to stop because new NDIS rules state that providers will receive a flat rate per hour as of 01/07/2020.

Mind provided good opportunities for learning. Management is horrible; micromanaged, unprofessional favouritism from management- management will let particular workers get special privileges and not others. Management that are friends with particular workers will allow them to do whatever they want basically but then micromanage and stalk the workers that they aren’t friends with. Extremely negative culture; not once in the entire 12 months of working here did I receive a single compliment or any form of appreciation from management for the work that I have done. Other staff have felt the exact same, there is constant bullying which has been alerted to management but nothing is ever done about it. Overall, go to mind if you want experience but be expected to be treated horribly and feel extremely under appreciated, not recognised or heard.

Overall the experience of working for Mind Australia has been positive. The environment is stimulating and changeable, which I like. You also feel you’re contributing to the team, the organisation, but utmost, the possibility of better outcomes for the service users. Their experience of what the program offers is hopefully a positive and healing one. 

If I had one thing I’d like to see Mind do differently is find a way to offer their long-term casual / relief staff the same benefits and permanency that contractual workers have, especially once they’ve been employed over a year and are wanting this to be an option for staying on with the organisation.  

Having worked within a number of teams now at Mind, the overall culture has been positive, genuinely supportive and encouraging for employees. I have felt supported within my current role, as well as future career growth and learning opportunities. I have had the chance to undertake a number of great trainings with Mind and feel lucky to have found a workplace with such a positive and welcoming culture. This is only relevant to outreach related roles, my time working at the SIL was significantly different. HR isn't great but I'm not sure any HR is.

Being at Mind when l started was fulfilling and supportive. 
Over the years, l have watched  Mind shift and  the work environment become toxic,  with many managers come and go. 
l learnt from the few good ones and also from the many not so good ones — how not to manage a team! 
Managers are often friends with upper management which makes addressing  pressing concerns,  almost impossible.  
Safety issues with violent residents were not addressed and staff  literally left unsupported and caused harm to staff. 

Heavily micromanaged, managers who lack the skills, qualifications or experience needed to support staff, poor pay for what is expected of workers compared to elsewhere. Huge disconnect between management and frontline staff -  management are fine with demoting staff and not paying correctly for work that is done. Extremely condescending toward staff and do not promote confidence or team morale for workers who are clearly struggling and being exploited financially for the work that is being done.

This Organisation is by far the worst not for profit I have worked for, they don’t care about the safety of their staff or clients, they care about money. The Management is awful, there is no training and no regard for the well-being of staff. They passive aggressively bully people in the work place. The stress level is high, they have a high staff turnover rate and refuse to accept any accountability! Please avoid working here for the sake of your own health and well-being. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mental health technician 3 salaries reported	$72,667 per year
Psychologist 4 salaries reported	$100,000 per year
Clinician 2 salaries reported	$107,500 per year
Senior clinician 1 salary reported	$110,000 per year
Occupational therapist 1 salary reported	$75,000 per year

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