Today, I’m delighted to be able to present the key findings from BEING’s annual Member Survey.
We started our annual member survey in 2022 to ensure BEING represents the views and needs of NSW’s mental health consumers. The latest survey was launched in November 2024 and ran until the end of December to make sure as many of our members as possible could contribute.
BEING is for and by people living with mental health conditions and psychosocial disability, so I’d like to express my thanks to everyone who completed the survey! We heard from a fifth of you! Your voice helps us better represent the views and needs of consumers.
While finding an alternative to police response and eradicating seclusion and restraint continue as priorities in 2025, this year advocating for trauma-informed care also made your top three concerns. Many of you are still asking for an increase in the number of Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions, something that the newly formed National Mental Health Consumer Alliance is well-positioned to advocate for.
The survey also highlighted your views on the ways BEING work. We will continue to work transparently and will look to address members’ desires to increase leadership and networking opportunities for members.
In 2024, BEING also ramped up its recruitment efforts to coincide with the launch of BEING CONNECTED (our members’ only community platform). As a result our membership has grown by more than 200% in the past 12 months! This is great news because it means our membership and the survey better reflects the views of all NSW consumers. However, because of this phenomenal growth, a year on year comparisons is difficult so we’ve focused on the raw numbers in this update. Diversifying and growing our membership in 2025 will continue to be a strategic priority for BEING, so we can go from strength to strength!
The results of our member survey were also reflected in our Board’s strategy for 2025. The survey results have especially influenced the way BEING will work this year, so members can be clear on how your views relate to our work. I’m excited that soon we’ll be able to share specifically how your feedback is being reflected in BEING’s activities for 2025.
Finally, I want to thank you for your ongoing support for BEING. It is a pleasure and an honour to advocate on behalf of NSW’s mental health consumers. If you have any feedback on the work we do or have suggestions, please email us at info@being.org.au.
Warm regards
Giancarlo de Vera
