On Friday 26 June, around 45 people gathered at St Lukes in Hobart for the Hobart Digital Mental Health Roundtable, co-hosted by MHCT and the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC). The invitation-only, full-day event brought together mental health leaders, service providers, researchers, policymakers, First Nations representatives, people with lived and living experience, and national and international digital mental health experts from across the globe.
The theme was Closing the Distance: Digital Mental Health as a Tool for Equity in Tasmania, and the timing was deliberate. Tasmania is finalising its next Mental Health Strategy (Rethink and Beyond), alongside the 20-Year Preventive Health Strategy and the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, but the state still has no statewide Digital Mental Health Framework to guide investment, coordinate existing initiatives, or set quality standards.
Why now
The case for action rests on a clear set of numbers. The April 2026 Psychology Supply and Demand Study found access to psychology services is already falling short by 57.3%, projected to reach a 96.6% shortfall by 2038. As Australia’s most geographically dispersed state, Tasmania is disproportionately exposed. Nearly two-thirds of Tasmanians live outside Hobart, and rural and remote communities experience higher rates of psychological distress and suicide, longer waits, fewer specialists, and significant transport barriers.
MHCT CEO Dan Vautin opened the day by identifying Tasmania’s “one wicked problem” – population dispersion compounded by limited internet connectivity, transport disadvantage and long waiting lists. He also pointed to the state’s strengths, describing Tasmania as “a fantastic place to pilot ideas” given the short distance between decision-makers and community. His central message was to keep the focus on people rather than the technology: “am I getting what I need, when I need it, where I need it, and can I afford it?”
Progress moves at the pace of trust
One idea recurred throughout the day, repeated by speaker after speaker. Technology adoption depends far less on how sophisticated a tool is than on whether clinicians, communities and consumers trust it and trust the system that stands behind it.
Maureen Abbott from the Mental Health Commission of Canada presented data that underlined the point. A February 2026 national poll found that 1 in 7 Canadians are already using AI for mental health support. OF those who use it, 76% find it effective, yet only 14% say they trust it. People are reaching for these tools anyway, often out of necessity, but without the institutional trust that would support safe and informed use.
Access is not the same as equity
Several speakers highlighted a point that is often overlooked in strategy documents: digital access in Tasmania cannot be assumed. The state has among the lowest rates of household internet connectivity and digital literacy in the country, with Bridgewater ranking lowest nationally on the Digital Inclusion Index.
Juanita Wilson from Beyond Blue illustrated the issue, describing a growing digital divide in which some residents rely on Starlink that performs poorly under tree cover, while others must travel one to three hours to a community centre simply to get online. Her message was clear: “Access is not the same as equity. Someone might have a phone or internet connection but may still not have access to support that feels culturally safe or relevant.” A framework that assumes universal access will, by design, most disadvantage the communities it most needs to reach.
Co-design means governance, not consultation
First Nations speakers, including Juanita Wilson and WellMob’s David Edwards, drew a firm distinction between genuine co-design and token consultation. Authentic co-design means leadership, employment and governance from the earliest stage, not feedback on an already-built prototype. As David Edwards put it, “nothing about us without us.” The practical warning was equally clear: poorly designed digital referral pathways can re-traumatise people by forcing them to retell their story repeatedly.
AI: real opportunity, real risk
Session C addressed artificial intelligence directly. On one side, AI offers genuine promise for triage, system navigation, app quality assurance at scale, and multilingual support for CALD communities. On the other, UTAS researcher Associate Professor Aaron Drummond offered a sobering counterweight, naming emerging and under-recognised harms such as gambling-adjacent “loot box” mechanics, AI companion misuse and non-consensual synthetic imagery – for which Tasmania has no dedicated frameworks or responses.
Extend relationships, don’t replace them
Every perspective converged on the same conclusion. Digital tools work best when they strengthen an existing relationship – with a GP, a family member, a peer worker or a community – and are far less likely to be trusted when positioned as a replacement. One local GP captured it well: “Very, very rarely do I say to my clients in distress… why don’t you get on an app? I say, where do you find your joy? How do you connect to your community?”
Where to from here
The day produced ten recommendations, synthesised from the plenary sessions and two facilitated table exercises. Among the headline calls: commission a current-state analysis of the digital tools already operating in Tasmania; embed digital mental health within Rethink and Beyond rather than creating a separate standalone strategy; treat connectivity and literacy as foundational infrastructure; and establish an app assurance mechanism drawing on proven models rather than building from scratch.
The day also included a moment of recognition, with Krista Vanderheide from the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing presented with eMHIC’s 2025 Global Leadership Excellence Award and inducted into the eMental Health Hall of Fame.
Tasmania has a narrow but genuine window. Its small, closely networked population makes large-scale community co-design achievable in a way it is not in larger jurisdictions, and international partners have already offered to collaborate. As Professor Anil Thapliyal of eMHIC reminded the room, “digital has no geopolitical boundaries.” The Roundtable was the start of the conversation, not its conclusion.
The roundtable was facilitated by MHCT’s Policy and Advocacy Lead, Dr Tasdik Hasan, and Professor Andrew Greenshaw from the University of Alberta.
