Australian fatherhood experts have called for dads to be included in national efforts to screen new parents for depression.

Screening mothers for mental illness before and after birth is now standard practice in Australia, but the mental health of dads is not routinely assessed at any point. 

This article was compiled by Richard Fletcher, University of Newcastle; Jacqui Macdonald, Deakin University, and Louise Newman, University of Melbourne and is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

England’s National Health Service (NHS) this week announced it will offer mental health screening and treatment for new and expectant fathers whose partners are suffering from mental illness. The NHS described this as a “radical action to support families”, and it certainly is an unusual step.

Men with a disability should be considered a priority group when it comes to forming policy around suicide prevention, according to a group of researchers and academics at Melbourne University.

Their recommendation comes as a result of a study into male suicide, which showed that those who reported a disability were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than other men.

The American Psychological Association has developed 10 guidelines to help practitioners working with boys and men.

The guidelines cover a range of issues and encourage psychologists to deepen their awareness, knowledge and skills in key areas, including the nature of masculinity, traditional gender roles and cultural diversity.

The former NRL star, Nathan Blacklock, is supporting an International Men's Day event in Moree, New South Wales. Blacklock will speak about overcoming his own mental health challenges at a men's gathering to be held at Moree Sport Health Arts and Education Academy at 10am on Monday 19th November. 

The No Bull HQ gym in Melbourne held a fundraising and awareness-raising event for the Australian Men’s Health Forum (AMHF) on Saturday 17^th November.

The event was held in the run up to International Men’s Day with the money raised from the gym’s 9am “bootcamp” being donated to AMHF.

Movember 2018 is underway. The men's health fundraising campaign that started from humble beginnings in Australia in 2030, has grown into a global movement that has been supported by more than 5 million people.

With just three weeks to go until International Men's Day (IMD) on Monday 19th November 2018, more Australian organisations are announcing how they will mark the day. 

As IMD is a grassroots event, most activities take place in local communities and workplaces and never gain national attention. This year, for the first time, the Australian Men's Health Forum is working to develop a map of IMD events in Australia to help promote and grow the celebrations of day. 

By Kim O’Neill, CEO, On the Line

More than 45% of Australians aged 16-85 years have experienced a mental illness at some point in their life, yet 65 per cent of people with a diagnosable mental illness do not access treatment.¹

Today is World Mental Health Day (Wednesday 10th October 2018) and to mark the day we've produced a list of 10 surprising facts about men and boys' mental health, some of which you may not know.

If you share our commitment to creating a healthier future for men and boys then we invite you to share this information with others. We'd also love to hear from you about any news, research, information, events or programs focused on men’s mental health that you think we should be promoting.

In the meantime, here's our list of 10 surprising facts about men's mental health in Australia: