Mental health is no longer a silent issue in Australian workplaces. According to new research from Peninsula Australia, the country has seen the highest global increase in mental health-related absences, with 33% of employers reporting a rise in sickness leave due to mental health challenges over the past year.
The findings, drawn from a survey of Peninsula’s 79,000 small to medium-sized businesses clients globally, including 30,500 clients across Australia and New Zealand, highlight a growing awareness of mental health in the workplace. Over half of Australian employers (51%) have noticed more staff struggling with mental health, yet formal support systems remain inconsistent.
Despite the rising need, 72% of employers do not offer dedicated mental health days and have no plans to introduce them. Only 39% have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and just one in six provide mental health leave beyond standard entitlements.
Kayleigh Frost, Associate Director of Operations at Wisdom Wellbeing ANZ, Peninsula’s EAP services provider, says the data reflects what frontline support teams are seeing. “Calls to our EAP have surged by 222%, and structured counselling referrals are up 128%. Mental health now accounts for nearly a third of all calls,” she said.
Women aged 30–39 are the most frequent callers, with healthcare, construction, professional services, and manufacturing workers leading EAP usage – sectors vital to Australia’s economy.
Frost also pointed to a troubling culture of silence: 76% of employers aren’t confident their staff feel safe speaking up about mental health. “Support must be more than a checkbox. It needs to be accessible, meaningful, and sustained,” she added.
Encouragingly, 68% of Australian employers now offer some form of mental health support, and Australia is ahead of its global peers in plans to invest in training, EAP access, and flexible work options. But the gap between awareness and action remains.
With poor mental health costing Australian businesses an estimated $11.5 billion annually, the message is clear: mental health support isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a business imperative.
Click here to read the full press release. Click here to read the full whitepaper and see how mental health support in Australian workplace compares to other countries.