International students face unique stressors, including a greater risk of depression, financial and housing stress, academic pressures, and navigating cultural and language differences far from home. These stressors, combined with barriers to seeking help, can increase their risk of suicide. Addressing these challenges requires, a multi-faceted, student-empowered approach across systems, services, and agencies. Since 2022, the International Students’ Wellbeing Taskforce, led by The Victorian Suicide Prevention and Response Office at the Victorian Department of Health, has worked to support international students’ wellbeing in Victoria. The taskforce has now concluded and has produced many valuable wellbeing and suicide prevention resources. This Journey mapping project aims to build a shared understanding of issues, driven by international students' lived experiences​ (funded by the Department of Health)

This literature review has been drawn from academic and grey literature available within Australia and internationally. It focusses on good practices that are considered to improve the lives of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds that are experiencing mental ill-health and are being supported in the community, including primary care settings. This aligns with the role and mandate of primary health networks (PHNs) to: Support region-specific, cross sectoral approaches to early intervention for children and young people with, or at risk of mental illness (including those with severe mental illness who are being managed in primary care) and implementation of an equitable and integrated approach to primary mental health services for this population group.

This study examines: • What is known about the mental health of immigrant and refugee communities in Australia; • Whether Australian mental health research pays adequate attention to cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) in the Australian population. • Whether national mental health data collections support evidence-informed mental health policy and practice and mental health reform in multicultural Australia. The recommendations, based on the main findings, aim to contribute to the development of a culture of inclusion in Australian mental health research.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW): This report explores the use of linked data to report on the health of CALD populations, including it’s benefits, challenges and limitations. It investigates each of the available CALD variables individually, using 3 health outcomes to explore differences between CALD groups within each CALD variable.

Victorian Transcultural Mental Health has many important resources which you can search for under Reports and Publications.