Latest Update – September 2026
Tranche 3 – New Contracts to Commence by 1 July 2027 – in progress
Adults and Older People (Open Grants Process):
Applications for the Mental Health Adults and Older People Grant are open until 3pm 14 October 2026.
Read the Mental Health Adults and Older People Grant page for more information.
An information session will be held on 10 September at 1pm. A recording of the session will be available on the SmartyGrants landing page. To attend the information session, please register via Humanitix.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing (Select Grants Process):
Input is now being sought on this Stream through Community Conversations. To support this, a Community Conversations Document has been released with an overview of the process and areas for input. Input can be provided until 2 October 2026.
There will be a public forum available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community members to participate in discussions. If you are interested in attending this forum, please reach out to mentalhealthcommissioning@act.gov.au to register your interest.
Following these conversations, a listening report will be developed to summarise the input received. This listening report will be provided as additional material for the grants process when it opens later this year. This grant will only apply to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations or Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.
Tranche 2 – New Contracts to Commence by 1 July 2027 – in progress
Child, Youth and Families Grant (Open grant process)
Applications for the Mental Health Child, Youth and Families Grant closed in August 2026. It is expected that applicants will be notified of the outcomes of the assessment in January 2027 by email.
Tranche 1 – New Contracts commenced 1 July 2026 - completed
Individual Advocacy and Residential Community Supports (Direct Grants Process)
Applications for Tranche 1 closed in February 2026 and the grant process is now complete. Services started 1 July 2026.
Mental Health Sector Support Opportunities
Mental Health Commissioning have engaged Mental Health Community Coalition (MHCC) to provide sector development opportunities to community organisations to support the commissioning processes.
MHCC will be delivering skills building workshops and preparedness activities which are available to all organisations that would like to participate.
Updates about the available opportunities can be found of MHCC’s website as they become available: Mental Health Community Coalition - Events
Resource Library
We have compiled all relevant Mental Health Commissioning documents to ensure they are easily accessible for the commissioning process.
Questions and answers
If you have a question about a Mental Health Commissioning grant email HCSDgrants@act.gov.au .
Each Mental Health Commissioning grant will now have a separate Questions and Answers (Q&As) document that will be published on the respective SmartyGrants landing page. Uploading directly to the SmartyGrants page allows the Q&As documents to be updated more frequently and provide quicker information to all applicants during the grant response period.
Questions will be accepted via email until 5 business days before the application period ends.
Responses to questions for the Adults and Older People Grant will be shared on the SmartyGrants landing page.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Please subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates throughout the Invest phase.
Discover and Strategise (completed)
These phases concluded in February 2022 and provided an opportunity for Mental Health Policy and Strategy to engage with carers, consumers, service providers, Peak NGOs, and partners within the ACT Government to highlight what the community sees as priorities, needs, and challenges in the mental health system.
This included looking at what is currently working well in the community mental health sector, what is not working as well, and any service gaps. The workshops and consultations within this phase of commissioning was guided by the Discovery Paper.
Through the Strategise phase the Mental Health Commissioning team ran two workshops to support discussion around the Discovery paper, and ten questions included within the Answers to the Discovery Questions. These workshops provided a number of valuable insights and themes that have been captured in a Listening Report and a Companion Document, which provides the raw answers to every question.
Design (completed)
The Design phase is where essential collaboration between commissioner, sector partners, service providers and other stakeholders takes place. The Design phase enables us to examine, shape, and align key service models and characteristics with desired health and wellbeing outcomes for the community. The Mental Health Commissioning team have developed an Insights report which synthesises the feedback that was heard throughout all consultation activities from May – July 2023. This Insights Report also includes an appendix that includes a summary of all the feedback received during the Design Phase to date across each individual consultation activity. You can access the Design Phase Insights Report here [PDF 955KB] [Word 603KB] |
Invest (in progress)
The Invest Phase provides an opportunity to define our approach to market and commissioning health services which meet the needs of the ACT community, in accordance with the Territory’s Value for Money Considerations and the Commissioning Principles.
The Invest Phase commenced in November 2025 and is informed by Design and all consultation that has occurred across the previous phases.
Progress | Activity | Date |
Complete | Tranche 1 - Approach to Market | December 2025 |
Complete | Tranche 1 - Contract Commencement | July 2026 |
In progress | Tranche 2 - Approach to Market | June 2026 |
Not yet started | Tranche 2 - Contract Commencement | July 2027 |
Not yet started | Tranche 3 - Approach to Market | September 2026 |
Not yet started | Tranche 3 - Contract Commencement | July 2027 |
Deliver (not yet started)
The Deliver phase is all about delivering high quality health services, monitoring the reach and impact of health services and drawing on lessons learned to inform future Commissioning cycles.
Integrate (not yet started)
The Integrate phase is about integrating the knowledge and experience gained from previous commissioning cycles into future commissioning cycles as part of a quality improvement and continuous system reform approach.
How to participate
You can have your say by registering and participating in a scheduled commissioning activity.
What we are looking at, listening to, and sharing
We are seeking insights, perspectives and experiences that help us understand:
- What service gaps you have identified
- What emerging needs you have identified
- How your organisation is providing services
- Any new or emerging groups you have identified for targeted services
- What are meaningful measures and indicators
- Lived experiences of people accessing services
- Solutions or ideas or innovations that could meet the service needs
- How to develop better linkages and coordination across service delivery
- How to ensure services are delivering and reporting on outcomes
We will use your views to
- Innovate ways we can address the service gaps
- Refine outcomes in line with the ACT Wellbeing Framework
- Design and improve service models
Related commissioning cycles
We are listening to, connecting with, and drawing from these related commissioning cycles:
Key links
We are referencing the following plans, strategies and frameworks in this cycle:
Page updated: 01 Sep 2026
