The Collab 2026

The Collab celebrates and showcases the specialist practice of Mental Health Nursing, and the ways in which this practice contributes to better health outcomes for consumers of mental health services.

This event is an accessible, ‘grassroots’ event that welcomes early, mid-career and veteran mental health nurses, researchers, nursing academics, nursing students, people with a lived experience and working in the mental health health services community.

Following a year of celebrating everyday heroes and collective strength, The Collab 2026 looks forward carrying with us the wisdom earned through experience and the voices that continue to shape mental health care. 

This year is about legacy; the knowledge built over decades. The stories, relationships, and lived experiences that inform practice. The clinical, consumer, and community voices that deserve to be heard and respected. Together, they form the foundation for what will come next. 

Our wisdom is embedded in years of practice, advocacy, and learning. It lives in the roots, the lessons passed down, the connections forged, and the shared knowledge that has sustained mental health care. 

Our voices are the trunk and branches, stronger together. Mental Health nurses, lived experience consumes workforce and community members stand side by side, shaping conversations, challenging systems, and creating space for every story to matter 

Our future is the new growth. Emerging ideas, fresh perspectives, and bold possibilities take shape as we nurture innovation, inclusion, and compassionate practice. 

At The Collab 2026, we honour where we have come from while creating space for what’s next. Mental Health Nurses, lived and living experience consumers, workforce and community members will come together to share insight, challenge assumptions, and imagine a future grounded in compassion, equity, and collaboration. 

This is a gathering shaped by experience and strengthened by diversity.  A space where wisdom is shared, voices are amplified, and the future of mental health care continues to grow. 

Join us as we continue the journey and shape what’s next. 

Please note:

• To ensure a safe and equitable experience for all attendees, each ticket allows entry for one named individual only. Multi-day tickets (including two-day tickets) must be used by the same individual for the full duration of the event and cannot be shared or split between multiple people. Sharing tickets or admitting multiple people on a single ticket is not permitted.

NEW! One day ticket pricing structure:

This year at The Collab, all 1-day tickets are priced proportionally the same as a 2-day ticket.

We understand that working in hospitals and the mental health sector often means navigating complex rostering, and not everyone is able to attend both days of a 2-day conference. We don’t want to penalise attendees for this.

That’s why a 1-day ticket costs exactly half the price of a 2-day ticket — fair, flexible, and accessible for our workforce.

If you require an invoice please contact Beck.hockin@unimelb.edu.au

A minimum of 5 tickets is required to raise an invoice