Out of the Roundabout: Tuggeranong’s New Medicare Mental Health Centre Offers a Way Forward

For too many Canberrans, seeking mental health support has felt like being stuck on a roundabout with no exits. It’s a metaphor that resonated deeply as Amy, a peer worker and former consumer, took the microphone at the opening of the new Tuggeranong Medicare Mental Health Centre last week.

“Just endless circling with no idea where to turn off,” she said, describing what it felt like to navigate Canberra’s mental health system during one of the darkest periods of her life. “And now try and imagine navigating that roundabout when you barely have the energy to get out of bed every morning.”

Amy’s story isn’t unique, but that’s exactly why this new centre matters.

A Long-Awaited Southside Solution

Opened on a crisp July morning with coffee, community, and country at its heart, the Tuggeranong Medicare Mental Health Centre was launched with clear intent: to offer local, free, accessible care for people in mental distress, no GP referral, diagnosis, or treatment plan needed.

And for once, as Ngunnawal Elder Selina Walker joked, “Yay, it’s on Tuggeranong side!”

While Civic’s city-based Medicare Mental Health Centre has already made a powerful impact, for southside residents, that access often meant distance, transport challenges, and unfamiliarity. With Tuggeranong now home to the ACT’s second federally funded centre, the journey, both metaphorical and literal, just became a lot shorter.

Not Just a Building

The centre, delivered by Think Mental Health and commissioned by Capital Health Network through the Australian Government’s PHN Program, offers something unique: a welcoming, trauma-informed, inclusive space with a multidisciplinary team on site. Peer workers, psychologists, social workers, First Nations staff, and clinicians work side-by-side and clients choose who they want to see.

“We’ve designed this space to be inclusive, trauma-informed and culturally safe,” said psychologist Vanessa Hamilton, Clinical Director of Think Mental Health. “Because we know that the best care happens when people feel seen, heard, and respected.”

And this wasn’t just lip service. Amy’s testimony offered proof of impact: “When I first engaged with the Medicare Mental Health Centre, I was unemployed, financially struggling, and had been told I was too complex to treat. They didn’t just help me survive, they helped me rebuild.”

Walking Beside, Not Ahead

At the heart of this centre’s design is lived experience, not as an afterthought, but as a compass. Consumers were involved in the co-design of services, feedback loops are built in, and lived experience leadership is embedded in operations. Even the beanbags were chosen after feedback from clients who said they needed a softer, safer space to rest during appointments.

Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride, who officially launched the centre, underlined the significance of this model.

“When you walk into the centre, you’ll be asked: ‘Do you want to work with a peer worker or a clinician?’ That choice, that agency, is because of the voice of lived experience.”

She spoke directly to frontline workers too: “It’s often hard, and I know it takes a toll, but it matters. You’re making a difference.”

Place, Purpose, and Footprints

Selina Walker’s Welcome to Country offered a profound reminder that this isn’t just a health initiative, it’s a community footprint.

“When we speak of footprints, we don’t talk about our physical steps. We speak of the work we do today for the people to follow tomorrow,” she said. “The footprint of this mental health unit is going to be huge for our future generations.”

She invited everyone to tread lightly, acknowledging the blood of Ngunnawal ancestors that still nourishes the land beneath our feet.

This respect for culture and community isn’t just ceremonial. The centre includes First Nations peer workers and is committed to providing culturally safe pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.

From Beanbags to Big Change

Amy’s reflections gave the event its emotional core. From seeing a poster on the back of a toilet door in Queanbeyan “always keeping it classy,” she joked, to finding hope through the city centre, to now advising on the creation of the Tuggeranong space, her journey reflects the full spectrum of what these services can offer.

“There are many services that ask for feedback, but it’s rare to find one that genuinely listens and even rarer to find one that actually puts these changes into action,” she said, smiling at the memory of how the beloved beanbags made it from a suggestion to the lounge.

She ended her speech with quiet power:

“This isn’t just a building. It’s a door to hope… a chance for someone who may be at their lowest point to step forward and finally feel seen, supported, and heard.”

No Wrong Door, No More Loops

The ‘no wrong door’ approach is something we’ve heard before in mental health circles. But in Tuggeranong, it’s tangible.

The centre connects clients not only to mental health professionals but to broader supports like housing, employment, and social services. It’s designed to act as both entry point and bridge, helping people access what they need, when they need it.

Importantly, it also supports carers, friends, and family members, recognising that mental ill-health doesn’t happen in isolation and neither does recovery.

From Policy to People

Federal Member for Bean, David Smith, reflected on how proud he was to see a centre like this open so close to home. But the significance was bigger than proximity.

“In a city like Canberra, with such sprawling communities, we need services where people live, work, and play,” he said. “Health shouldn’t be an interstate adventure. It should be local.”

And that’s exactly what this centre delivers. Located near key transport links, government services, and the iconic Tuggeranong Hyperdome (yes, it’s still called that to locals), the clinic is right where people already are.

A System in Motion

This opening is just one part of a broader national investment, $3.5 million allocated for this centre, and a federal expansion from 61 to 91 Medicare Mental Health Centres across Australia.

Tuggeranong’s centre will also soon be part of the national virtual network, providing video-conference access to psychiatrists and psychologists for clients who need more specialised care.

As Emma McBride put it: “We’ve put mental health into the heart of Medicare, and centres into the heart of communities.”

Looking Ahead: A New Way to Navigate

For those who’ve spent years circling the system, applying for Better Access only to hit the 10-session cap, waiting months for a psychologist, or falling through eligibility cracks, this centre is a meaningful departure.

Here, support is free. Appointments are available. The staff are trained, ready, and welcoming. And most importantly, the system doesn’t ask you to prove your worthiness for help, just your willingness to walk through the door.

Amy’s final words lingered after the speeches ended:

“Thank you for giving people out there the chance to find their way out of the roundabout and reminding them that there is always hope.”

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If you or someone you know needs support, the Tuggeranong Medicare Mental Health Centre is now open.

Walk in. No referral. No cost. Just help, right here on the Southside.

📍 Corner Anketell and Cowlishaw Streets,
Greenway

🌐 www.canberrammhc.com.au