Men’s Health News Review – a look back at 2025 January-June
Throughout 2025, the Australian Men’s Health Forum continued to bring you a broad range of men’s health news, publishing more than 100 news articles across four key websites (AMHF, IMD, KYMF and MHW).
Here we look back on a year in men’s health, with a month-by-month guide to some of our key highlights from 2025.
January 2025
The year began with great news for AMHF member organisation, Brave Brothers and AMHF board member, Rae Bonney, who featured in the annual Australia Day awards.
Brave Brothers, a men’s health charity based in Bundaberg, Queensland, was recognised with an Australia Day Community Group of the Year Award Medallion for its wide-ranging work supporting men.
AMHF’s Vice President Rae Bonney received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her leadership in mental health advocacy, particularly for men and boys. Rae later left the board this year after 7 years of service.
February 2025
In February, we joined forces with Suicide Prevention Australia to call on the Government to publish the much-awaited National Suicide Prevention Strategy. The Strategy was finally published just before the 2025 election was announced.
Our analysis of the Strategy highlighted the limited number of actions focused on male suicide prevention, a fact that has been picked up by a broad range of advocates when calling for Government action to prevent men’s suicide.
March 2025
AMHF’s analysis of the last Federal budget before the 2025 election found that men’s health remained a national priority.
We took a deep dive into the last six budgets and found that the total funding allocated to men’s and women’s health by the first Albanese Government was nearly $1.4 billion, yet less than 2% was directed towards improving men’s health. Our analysis revealed funding levels similar to those under the previous Coalition.
This analysis formed the basis of our Federal Election Platform 2025, which called on MPs standing for election to back funding for policies to improve men's and boys' health; to take action on the social determinants of men's health and to invest in grassroots men's health projects.
April 2025
Throughout April, we promoted our Federal Election Platform 2025, highlighting disparities in funding for men’s health research, the need to focus on boys’ education and campaigning around these 10 surprising facts about men’s health in Australia:
- Men in Australia die 5 years younger than women on average.
- 50 men a day die from avoidable causes
- Suicide kills 7 men a day, accounting for 3 in 4 suicides.
- 7 in 10 young people who die are boys and young men
- 4 in 5 heart deaths under 65 are men
- Men are 50% more likely than women to die from cancer
- 7 in 10 alcohol-related deaths are men
- 3 in 4 road deaths are men
- 95% of workplace deaths are men
- The preventable death rate in poor men is 4x higher than rich women
By the end of April, both the ALP and the Coalition had committed to $32m of Government spending on men’s health in the next parliament, an increase of more than 50% on previous spending.
May 2025
Shortly after Labor won the 2025 Federal Election in May, the Government announced it was creating a new Government position – The Special Envoy for Men’s Health – with Dan Repacholi MP appointed to the position.
We have followed Dan’s work throughout the year, reporting that he hit the ground running in the first few weeks of his tenure and welcoming his early call for more “bloke-friendly services”. As the Special Envoy began to give an indication that he was committed to developing policies to improve men’s health backed by a “huge men’s health package” of funding, we raised the question of whether the Opposition would join the push for men’s health by appointing a Shadow Special Envoy for Men’s Health.
May brought some sad news with the death of one of the pioneers of men’s health in Australia, our former President and co-founder, Greg Millan. The month also saw us launch our latest push for a National Male Suicide Prevention Action Plan and the National Suicide Prevention Conference – we’ve no doubt Greg would have approved.
June 2025
This year’s Men’s Health Week, held from 9–15 June 2025, marked a new chapter in community mobilisation and public awareness, led by key organisations in the men’s health sector, including the Australian Men’s Health Forum (AMHF).
AMHF launched a dedicated national platform – menshealthweekevents.com – to capture the full breadth of events nationwide. The website quickly became the go-to destination for individuals, organisations, and communities looking to get involved. Over 70 organisations, local councils and community groups showcased diverse activities and initiatives, both in person and online, reflecting the broadening scope of men’s health.
AMHF also hosted a series of online Men’s Health Chats throughout the week, covering topics such as prostate cancer, stroke awareness, helping mates, ask a pharmacist, and men’s health facts.