Frequently Asked Questions

Mental Health Academy (MHA) is an Australian-based, global provider of continuing professional development (CPD) for mental health professionals. We’re passionate about creating lasting change in the world through education and altruism. Our focus is to put world-leading knowledge at the fingertips of mental health professionals, regardless of location, empowering them to optimise mental health and wellbeing in our communities.

For your convenience, all MHA courses are delivered online. Each course is hosted on our website and includes a range of learning materials and resources such as readings, videos, assessment questions, handouts and other supplemental resources (this will vary within each course). Our courses also fall into two main groups: Membership courses and Credential courses.

MHA Membership courses are shorter, specific programs – with most courses ranging from 1 to 7 hours in duration. MHA members can access membership courses by paying a fixed monthly or annual membership fee. MHA Credential courses are designed to provide a deep-dive, content-rich experience (24+ hours of learning) backed up by real-life case studies, activities and illustrations. These programs require a separate enrolment fee.

Note: To access Membership courses, you must have a current MHA membership. You can, however, enrol in Credential courses with or without a current MHA membership.

Yes. All MHA courses include an online, multiple-choice assessment which is built into the course. To complete a course, you must first attain a minimum 80% pass rate in your course assessment. If you don’t initially pass your assessment, you can review and update your answers, and re-submit your questions. Upon completing the assessment, you can download a Certificate of Attainment that includes your name, the course title, the course duration (in hours), and other relevant details. Participants of Credential courses are also awarded with an MHA Digital Badge upon completion of all assessment requirements for the course.

Yes, to access membership courses you must be a Mental Health Academy member. You do not need to be a member to enrol in a Credential course.

A Digital Badge is a form of Digital Credential (also known as ‘micro-credential’) that can be verified/validated online. A digital badge signals your achievement to potential employers and stakeholders, as they are able to verify your learning/skill acquisition outcomes in real-time, over the web. MHA Digital Badges are issued to learners who have completed an MHA Credential course.

Click here to access our ‘Join’ page, select your preferred membership type, and complete our secure online registration form. Upon completing your registration, you will receive on-screen and email confirmations, and gain instant access to courses.

Visit our Catalogue page to view a list of all currently available MHA membership courses. You can find courses by typing keywords into the search box or using the filter system – where you can refine your search by topic; course format (text or video); or course type.

You don’t need to pay any extra fees to enrol in MHA membership courses - your monthly or annual membership fees cover access to all 400+ courses. Additional fees are only required if you wish to enrol in an MHA Credential Course.

Anyone can become a Mental Health Academy member. Our membership options are suitable for both personal and professional development purposes.

Most professional associations and registration bodies require members to undertake professional development each year. As a mental health or allied health professional, you may be able to accrue CPD/OPD hours/points by completing Mental Health Academy courses. Following is information specific to a number of professions.

COUNSELLORS

MHA courses are approved for OPD points by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA). ACA members accrue 5 OPD points each time they complete a MHA course.

SOCIAL WORKERS

MHA courses are endorsed for CPD hours by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). AASW members accrue 1 CPD hour per 1 hour (duration) for MHA courses they complete.

COMMUNITY WORKERS

MHA courses are endorsed for CPD by the Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA). ACWA members accrue 1 CPD hour per 1 hour (duration) for MHA courses they complete.

PSYCHOLOGISTS

AAPi, APS and the Psychology Board of Australia do not accredit any CPD activities or providers. Therefore, psychologists are not limited to CPD offered by specific providers – they have the flexibility to choose the CPD options that best suit their own needs, including the Summit. Refer to the Psychology Board of Australia's CPD standards for more details.

The associated cost of a Monthly Membership is for the full duration of the minimum term (i.e. 12 months). Cancellations received within the initial term will accrue a cancellation fee equal to the unpaid portion of the minimum term. For example, a cancellation received 3 months prior to the end of the membership period will accrue a cancellation fee of 3 times the monthly membership fee. The cancellation fee will be applied automatically upon processing of cancellation to the account’s registered credit card. Upon completing the minimum term, your membership will continue on a month-by-month renewal basis, and you can cancel at any time without incurring any extra fees.

Our social impact programmes intersect education and altruism into a common cause: supporting people in need. Since 2009, we have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to social impact causes we’re passionate about, including suicide prevention, supporting children at-risk of abuse and neglect, expanding mental health resources and services to underserved and never-served communities, and more. You can learn more about our social impact programmes here.

Mental Health Academy courses and related materials are only to be used by the individual person that registered. All resources are available at a very fair and reasonable investment. Only by strictly following our copyright restrictions can we continue to deliver courses at a low rate for everybody.

If you wish to reproduce any articles and other content from our newsletter, you will need to email our team and request permission to reproduce a particular section. We will review your request and provide you with a response generally within 1-week.

Generally, we require a credit card to process your membership payment. If you do not have a credit card and are unable to obtain one, please contact us to discuss alternative payment options.

MHA membership investment is $39/month (minimum 12-month term applies) or $349/year (upfront, discounted fee). Both include access to all MHA membership courses (400+ courses amounting to over 750 hours of learning).

Firstly, make sure you are logged on to your profile. Then visit our Catalogue to search for, and enrol in, courses. Other tips are available via the Help Centre of your member dashboard.

MHA membership and credential courses are self-paced and can be completed progressively, at any time. Whilst we do not stipulate a minimum period to complete a course, please note you must be an active member to gain access to any membership courses you have enrolled in. If you cancel or fail to renew your membership, you will no longer be able to access membership courses (although you will be able to renew/ reactivate your access at any time). If you have enrolled in a Credential course, you will be able to access the course content at any time, irrespective of your membership status (if you are a member).

Yes! Upon completing your course’s mandatory assessment component, you can download a Certificate of Attainment that includes your name, the course title, the course duration (in hours), and other relevant details. If you have completed a Credential course, you will also be awarded with an MHA Digital Badge.

No. However, you need to ensure that you save answers as you progress through the assessments. Simply use the appropriate button at each assessment question. Saving each answer ensures your information is saved for the next time you access it.

Yes. You are welcome to enrol in and complete as many membership courses as you would like, during the same period. You can also archive any courses you have enrolled in but decided you no longer wish to complete it.

You may print the reading materials and assessments to read them offline, and then complete the assessment online. If the course you are doing has video content, you will need to organise time online to watch it. Please remember that due to copyright restrictions you cannot distribute printed materials to anyone.

To successfully complete any MHA course, you must obtain a minimum of 80% correct answers on the overall result.

You can review (for reference, your incorrect answers will be marked when you return to the assessment page after having submitted your assessment), save your progress and re-submit your answers at any time if you haven't attained the minimum 80% pass rate for a course.

Once you have attained the 80% mark, you will still have access to the course content (you can review/refresh your learning at any time) but you will not be able to re-submit your assessment questions. Correct answers for courses you have completed are available for review via the assessment section.

Yes. If you choose the monthly payment option when registering your membership, a minimum 12-month term will apply. This will be clearly indicated in the registration form and Terms & Conditions of your membership, prior to your registration.

We process auto-renewals for monthly and annual memberships to streamline the payment process for members. If your annual membership renewal is due, we will send you email reminders 1 month and 1 week before we process your renewal.

Unless a cancellation request has been provided in writing (e.g. email), your monthly or annual membership continue to be renewed automatically upon expiry of your next monthly or annual billing cycle. This requirement will be clearly outlined in your membership’s Terms & Conditions.

Our video content is webstreamed through a HTML5 video player. This technology allows you to watch videos using a range of different devices and browsers. If are unable to play a video, please email us, describing what is happening, and we will provide you with more specific feedback.

If you can play the video, however you are experiencing issues with the flow of the content (e.g. the presentation is not playing continuously, or it is taking a long time to load), then we recommend you contact your internet service provider to verify whether there are temporary problems with your internet connection and speed. If you live in a remote area with a slow internet connection, please email us for further instructions.

If you can’t remember your email address, contact us and we will confirm it for you. If you can’t remember your password, go to our Login page and click the Forgot Password link to re-set your password.

Mental Health Academy's billing system has a daily routine for processing due membership fee payments. When a payment is processed and declined (this can occur as a result of an expired credit card, insufficient funds, an authorisation issue with the bank, or various other reasons), our system automatically sends out an email notification to you, letting you know we've had a problem. If you have received a notification, please login to your membership profile and check if your payment details are up to date (including the expiry date). You can do this via the ‘Payment Details’ section of your Learning Portal (under ‘Account Settings’). We will re-process your payment a few times following the initial declined payment - if we continue to experience difficulties, we’ll let you know.

Our website and systems are constantly reviewed, tested and upgraded to ensure we are up-to-date with the latest industry standards for data security. To ensure your payment details are safe, we process all our payments via a payment gateway called Stripe. Stripe is one of the world's leading payment processing services, and a certified PCI Service Provider Level 1. This means they meet the highest security standards available in the payments industry. All credit card information collected and processed via our forms is handled by Stripe, ensuring your details are secure at all times.

When your account is suspended, you can still login to your member dashboard, update your details, and use some of your membership tools. However, course content will be unavailable until your overdue payment is processed and approved. To renew your access, simply click the Renew button located in your member dashboard and follow the prompt instructions.

Generally, we do not refund paid fees on the basis of “not using the account.” To draw a comparison, Mental Health Academy memberships are very similar to a Gym membership – your payment gives you the right to access available resources whether or not you decide to. It is your sole responsibility to monitor your access to your membership resources, including courses.

If your membership has been cancelled or is currently suspended, you will not be able to access course content or enrol in new courses. You will still be able to access tax invoices, Certificates for courses you have completed, and your course assessment history.

Tax invoices for any payments you have made as an MHA user are available online and can be accessed at any time via the ‘Tax Invoices’ link under the ‘Account Settings’ section of your member dashboard (or Learning Portal).