The NSW Mining HSEC Conference is the largest and most influential health, safety, environment, and community event in the state’s mining sector and this year, Mental Health Movement (MHM) is proud to be taking the stage.
Alongside Sharif Burra, Executive General Manager Health, Safety & Sustainability at Yancoal Australia, our CEO Dan Hunt will be co-presenting the success story of Yancoal Australia’s multi-year, company-wide Mental Health Program a program we’ve had the privilege of designing and delivering in partnership since 2022.
We’re honoured to be part of such a prestigious event, where the industry’s best and brightest gather to explore what’s next in safety, leadership, culture, and innovation. To present on mental health at this level in front of hundreds of leaders across the mining sector is not just exciting for us, it’s a sign of how far the industry has come in prioritising psychological wellbeing and how far we have come as a company.
A Whole-of-Company Approach to Mental Health
Over the past five years, MHM has delivered a structured, phased program across all 9 Yancoal Australia sites, reaching over:
- 4,000+ workers
- 50+ certified mental health training courses
- 700+ onsite workshops and sessions
This isn’t tick-the-box mental health training. This is a strategic, embedded, and evidence-based initiative that’s seen real change on the ground from the head office, to site, to the frontline.
Six Key Phases, Measurable Impact
Yancoal’s Mental Health Program has followed a six-phase roadmap:
- Leadership Development & Support Structures
- Identification + Awareness & Education
- Mental Health Literacy, Resilience & Support
- Workplace Champions Peer Support Program
- Mental Health Contributing Factors Series + Survey
- Ongoing Targeted Education (Psychosocial Hazards, Financial Wellbeing)
Each phase was designed to build capacity, shift culture, and strengthen early intervention. This approach has driven:
- Greater awareness of psychosocial hazards
- Improved leadership support capabilities
- Stronger peer-led support culture
- Increased psychological safety
- Better coping strategies and help-seeking behaviours across the workforce
- Improved mental health literacy
- Improved mental fitness
- Improved help seeking behaviours
- Removed stigma
Why This Matters
In an industry historically built on toughness and stoicism, this work is about something more: Breaking stigma, creating mentally safe spaces, and building stronger, more human-centred organisations.
To be able to present this story at HSEC 2025 alongside a values-driven partner like Yancoal is a proud moment for our entire MHM team. It shows what’s possible when leadership, evidence, and lived experience come together with purpose.
Let’s Keep Raising the Standard
Thank you to NSW Minerals Council and the HSEC 2025 organisers for providing a platform to elevate mental health alongside safety, environment, and leadership. And massive thanks to Yancoal Australia for trusting MHM to support such critical and personal work across their business.
We believe this is just the beginning.
If you’re attending the conference, come along to our session at 1:15pm on Tuesday, 5 August in the Workplace Health stream. Let’s keep building the future of mining one conversation, one connection, one culture shift at a time.
Empowering people. Supporting workplaces. Changing the way, we talk about mental health.
