Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

August is Tradies National Health Month, a time to invest in tradie health. While the original intent of Tradies National Health Month is to encourage tradies to invest in their physical health, I want to take this opportunity to talk about mental health. One in five Australians will develop a mental health condition at some stage in their lives. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental illnesses in Australia. Everyone is vulnerable to experiencing mental ill health at some point, even tradies. It affects people regardless of age, education, income or culture. Building strong friendships with your mates and working with a crew you can trust is a great way to keep mentally well, as well as looking out for others.

My message here today is: don't ever forget the power of a simple conversation. This TradeMutt shirt that I'm wearing may not strictly meet the parliamentary dress code, but it's important for mental health amongst tradies. They're designed to make the invisible impossible to ignore and to get blue-collar Aussies talking about how they're really doing.

In 2015 TradeMutt co-founder and carpenter Dan Allen lost his best mate to suicide. His apprentice and co-founder Ed Ross was Dan's support as he worked through the aftermath, trying to process the grief. It was during that time that Dan and Ed recognised the closed-off conversationalist culture on worksites around the country. There was a lack of meaningful conversations about life's struggles. The shirts were developed to start the necessary conversation amongst tradies, and the counselling services soon followed. When you need a little more than a conversation with a mate, the best thing to do is to reach out to a professional. While many tradies are still reluctant to seek professional help, it doesn't have to be that daunting.

'This Is A Conversation Starter'—or TIACS, as it is now known—doesn't just make great shirts like this one. The organisation provides professional mental health counselling to Australia's blue-collar community. TIACS removes the physical and financial barriers to accessing help through a simple text and call service directly to professional counsellors. It's free, it's professional and it's confidential. It's available between the hours of eight in the morning and 10 at night, via text or call, and, most importantly, it's designed specifically for the blue-collar workforce, meaning that, whether you're a tradie, a farmer or a truck driver, they'll speak your language.

So, if you want to take your first step to improving your mental health this Tradies National Health Month, start the conversation by texting 0488846988, and a TIACS crew will be there to listen and work with you to make a real difference.