Landmark Federal Budget investment to take mental health support directly to Australia’s transport workforce
Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds (Healthy Heads) has welcomed a landmark Australian Government investment, secured through the Federal Budget, to scale mental health and wellbeing support across the nation’s transport, warehousing, and logistics sector.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon. Catherine King MP, visited the Healthy Heads team yesterday who were onsite at Parliament House with activation vehicle ‘’Kenny’’ to share this announcement.
“The transport and logistics sector plays a vital role in keeping Australia moving, and it is essential that the people who work across it are supported,” Minister King said.
“This investment will help expand practical, on-the-ground mental health support, ensuring workers across metropolitan, regional, and remote Australia can access the resources they need.
“By backing proven, industry-led programs, we are helping to build a more resilient, sustainable workforce for the future.”
Healthy Heads Chair Paul Graham said the funding is a turning point for a workforce that has been overlooked for too long.
“This is a sector of more than 745,000 Australians that has ranked last for workplace mental health for years. This investment acknowledges that reality and does something about it,” Mr Graham said.
“What matters about this funding is not theory, it’s reach. It allows us to get out onto the road, into depots and into regional communities and connect people with support in a way that actually works.”
The funding will deliver two major national initiatives:
- A step-change expansion of the Healthy Heads Road Show, increasing from around 40 events per year to more than 100, reaching over 10,000 workers annually across metro, regional, and remote Australia.
- A dedicated research project to quantify and address suicide among Australian truck drivers and implement evidence-based prevention strategies.
The Australian Government investment was matched through a co-investment commitment from the Goodman Foundation, creating a $5 million national initiative to expand frontline support and suicide prevention efforts across the sector.
Goodman Foundation CEO Kris Ashpole said the partnership demonstrates what can be achieved when philanthropy, industry and government worked together to support a critical national workforce. Goodman are providers of essential infrastructure and the Goodman Foundation’s mission is to provide life’s essentials, food, housing, clothing, and services to improve mental wellbeing, to those most in need in the communities we operate in.
“We’re proud to commit funding to this initiative because Healthy Heads has already demonstrated a practical, industry-led model that is delivering real impact across the country,” Ms Ashpole said.
“The opportunity to partner with the Australian Government to help scale that work nationally creates a powerful model for long-term change.
“This investment recognises that supporting the wellbeing of transport and logistics workers is not the responsibility of one organisation alone. It requires collaboration across sectors, and we’re pleased to support a partnership that will deliver tangible outcomes for the people who keep Australia moving.”
“Industry has already built this model and proven it works. This investment allows it to operate at the scale the sector actually needs,” Mr Graham said.
“This is how you build a national response, not after the fact, but on the ground, every day, where people are. We applaud the Federal Government for backing a practical, industry-led solution and recognising that this is a workforce that needs real support, not just acknowledgement.’’