Arafmi Ltd

In rural and remote Queensland, caring for someone experiencing mental health challenges can look very different to the city, and that's exactly why it matters that services are set up differently too.

One of the priorities in Arafmi's state budget submission is locally co-designed, place-based mental health support for rural and remote communities, including support for the families and carers behind the scenes.

Because connection, conversation and community already exist out here. We just want to see them properly supported and resourced.

Queensland's State Budget is handed down Tuesday 23 June. We'll let you know what it means for mental health carers across the state.

Health professionals: the person supporting your patient/client may hold some of the most valuable information in the room.

Mental health carers are often the first to notice changes, understand what has helped in the past, and see the day-to-day impact of treatment and medication.

Their knowledge and support can make a real difference to the recovery and wellbeing of the person they support.

Join us for a workshop and learn how to better engage carers, family and kin in mental health settings.

We'll introduce 'Working with Carers, Family and Kin: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals' (https://buff.ly/9pCNd8m) – a resource packed with conversation starters and tools you can use straight away.

Drawing on the guide's four key steps, you'll learn practical ways to:
• identify and acknowledge carers
• open lines of communication
• navigate consent and confidentiality
• share essential information appropriately.

📅 Wednesday 24 June
⏰ 2pm–4pm
📍 Cairns
🎟️ Register now: https://buff.ly/6uRqT4i

What I wish someone had told me about being a mental health carer. 💙

Supporting someone with mental health challenges can be rewarding, exhausting, and full of ups and downs.

Whether you've been caring for weeks or years, it's not something you have to figure out on your own.

This free workshop will help you make sense of your experiences as a carer, better understand the ups and downs of caring, and feel more confident in your caring role.

📍Cairns | In-person
📅 Wednesday 24 June
⏰ 10am - 12noon

Who is this for?
Mental health carers supporting a family member, kin or friend experiencing mental health challenges.

🎟️ Register now to secure your place: https://buff.ly/LrMv84f

What if the way you communicate could change everything? Sometimes it's not about how much you care. It's about not knowing what to say next. Those quiet moments. The missed connections. Wanting to help, but feeling like it's not landing.

Adapting Our Communication to Help our Caring Responsibilities is a free 2-hour workshop designed for mental health carers who want practical, real-life ways to communicate with less conflict and more connection.

You'll learn the L.E.A.P. method (Listen, Empathise, Agree, Partner), a simple but powerful approach to help you connect, even in the tough moments.

No judgement. No pressure. Just tools that can make things feel a little easier.

Join us:
💻 Online | Wed 24 June | 1pm
https://buff.ly/7mm2jLb
🏢 In Person | Thu 9 July | 10am
https://buff.ly/ddMx7Rr

Here's something worth sitting with.

Queensland can't deliver the health support people need through hospitals alone. Families and carers are already quietly filling that gap every day, often at real cost to their own wellbeing.

Without investment in carers, that gap only gets harder to fill.

This is part of why Arafmi's state budget submission focuses on respite, rural support, community-based care and measuring the inclusion of carers in the system. Because investing in carers means a stronger system for everyone.

Queensland's State Budget is handed down Tuesday 23 June. We'll let you know what it means for carers.

Registrations are now open for Arafmi's Mental Health Carer Forum 2026! 🎉

This year's theme is The Carer Journey, with speakers and panellists sharing lived and living experience as mental health carers, from the early days through to recovery and stability.

Expect a day of carer connection, information and a few nice surprises (hello, complimentary massages, watercolour painting 🎨 and lucky door prizes).

📅 Tuesday 28 July 2026
📍 Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, or join online via livestream
💸 Free for all mental health carers

Whether you attend in person or from home, this is a great chance to connect with others who get it, and take a little time for yourself.

🔗 Register via https://buff.ly/Lc5dhw9
the link in bio.

A different way to see Brisbane. ☕ Join us for a guided walking tour through Brisbane City and uncover some of the fascinating stories behind the streets and landmarks we pass. Afterwards, we'll stop for a coffee and chat.

📍 Brisbane City Hall, King George Square
🗓️ Friday 10 July, 10am–12pm
💚 For mental health carers

Out and About is Arafmi's monthly social outing for mental health carers, who need to do something that's just for them. Come for the fun, stay for the connection and leave feeling lighter.

Limited spots available. Register via https://buff.ly/PPRm6kE

Some services talk about valuing Lived Experience. A few actually hand over the keys.

Join Robyn Priest for a free online session exploring examples from around the world where people with Lived and Living experience are leading and delivering mental health services - not as an add-on, not as a token role, but as the driving force.

If you believe systems can do better — this is the talk you don’t want to miss.

Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland

📢Join us NEXT WEEK on 19 June, 9.30–11am (AEST) with Robyn Priest as we explore lived experience‑led models from around the world that centre mutuality, humanity, and real‑world impact.

If you believe mental health systems should include and honour lived experience, this is for you!

🔗Join by copying the link or scanning the QR code below.

Are you the guy that everyone relies on? Maybe you're the person they call when things get tough. Helping them through life's challenges, supporting them day-to-day or making sure they get the help they need.

Arafmi is here to support the carers, the ones holding it together for everyone. Carers are carrying complexities behind closed doors that most people would never imagine and they deserve a break too.

This International Men's Health Week (15-21 June), we're inviting male mental health carers to take some time for themselves.

🌿 LIGHTEN — Men's Reset & Connection Day
📅 Friday 19 June 2026
📍 Northern Inner City Brisbane

No agenda. No pressure to talk about anything you don't want to. Just time outdoors, good company and a genuine chance to switch off.

Spots are limited, register before spots run out 👇
https://buff.ly/Pf949MU

Ahead of the Queensland State Budget on 23 June, we wanted to share what we've asked for.

We're grateful for the support mental health carers already receive through the Queensland Government. It's making a real difference.

However, carers tell us there's more to do, and we've listened.

🏡 More respite for mental health carers
🌾 Locally designed support in rural and remote communities
🤝 Greater investment in community-based mental health supports
📊 Carer outcomes measured as part of how the system tracks success

We look forward to continuing this conversation with government and we'll be closely watching budget day. Stay tuned.