How are award winners selected?
The Mental Health Service Awards is a peer reviewed process, based on information supplied in the written entry. Each entry is evaluated against the published criteria for that Award category. For a TheMHS Award to be granted, an entry must satisfy each of the stated criteria.
TheMHS Learning Network reserves the right to make changes to the number of awards in each category. There is a possibility that no award is granted for a category. The Judges’ decision is final.
Non-Award Level Recognition
In addition to the Award winners, judges may wish to award a Highly Commended recognition to acknowledge quality aspects of an entry and encourage further development.
The Judging Panels
TheMHS Awards Judging Panels are convened for each category of the Awards. Each panel is comprised of a minimum of four judges, who cover a broad spectrum of mental health disciplines, lived and learned experience, across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. These can include mental health consumers and carers, academics, researchers, psychiatrists, program managers, and health workers.
The Journalism Media & Storytelling Awards Judging Panels are comprised of a mix of communication and media professionals, and mental health experts.
Where there are a large number of submissions in any given category, there may be a shortlisting process enacted before submissions are reviewed by the Judging Panel. This process is completed by members of TheMHS Awards Reference Group and TheMHS Board. Submissions are shortlisted based on evidence of addressing each of the judging criteria.
The respective Judging Panels review the allocated Award submissions and decide on the Award winners in collaboration with the Awards Manager.
Award Judges 2025
Kat Bhathena
Nicole Buckland
Katrina Champion
Chris Cheers
Carol Churchill
Ann Dadich
Lynne Dunbar
John Farhall
Shane Fenwick
Heather Gow
Matthew Green
Roger Gurr
Nicola Hancock
Tim Heffernan
Julia Hennessy
Sam Higgins
Simon Katterl
Alexandra Keller
Sharon Lawn
Alex Li
Carrie Lumby
Lynne Malcolm
Peter McKenzie
Gayle McNaught
Julie Millard AM
Mindframe
Nickie Newton
Brendan O’Hanlon
Emma Paino
Lorraine Powell
Kate Priddle
Jo River
Sadie Robertson
Tully Rosen
Gisele Rossini
Justin Scanlan
Lyndal Sherwin
Mark Smith
Mike Smith
Steve Suttie
Andrea Taylor
Karen Wells
Anne White
The Judging Process
Judges score each entry according to the criteria as stated on the website (for specific criteria please see the webpage for the relevant category). These criteria need to be addressed in the full description section (“Part B”) of each entry.
To help control for inter-rater variability, those entries receiving first and second places for each judge are taken into account. Judges meet to confer on each Award category and to decide who will receive Awards or Highly Commended recognition. A decision is made through a majority consensus. All judges must be comfortable to proceed with the decision and where a final decision cannot be reached, this is escalated to TheMHS Awards Reference Group and TheMHS Executive Director where necessary for the final decision.
Entrants are asked to nominate 2 referees as part of the submission process. Referees may be contacted to provide further clarification regarding content of an entry.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE JUDGING PROCESS
If a conflict of interest arises where a judge or other person concerned with the Awards Program finds that they have been involved in the development or implementation of an Award program or service, the judge notifies the Awards Manager. They will not be involved in marking the relevant entry and will absent themselves from any discussions regarding that entry.
To learn more about the TheMHS 2025 Awards, click here.