Connection through conversation
“This years’ Annual Impact Report provides me with the opportunity to stop and reflect on all that the staff and volunteers at PANDA achieved.”
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Message from Julie Borninkhof, PANDA CEO
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Message from Ben Lannan, PANDA Board Chair
Vision and purpose
Our vision and purpose
PANDA’s vision is a world where perinatal mental health is understood and valued. Where the health care system meets the needs of all people and where stigma and barriers to seeking help no longer exist.
We want people to know how and where they can access support and empower themselves to be the best they can be in the perinatal period and beyond.
Through the voices of people who have lived experience, their family, carers and supporters, we inform governments, planners, providers, employers and the wider community to understand and support people experiencing perinatal mental health issues.
PANDA Strategic Plan 2023-2026
PANDA’s strategic pillars - how we achieve our vision
- Lead with lived experience
- Engage a valued workforce
- Deliver leading services
- Provide quality information and education
Read PANDA’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026
Our goal to 2026, is for PANDA to be the leading perinatal mental health organisation for the community.
Snapshot
A snapshot of our impact
During 2023-2024, we have seen:
- a 7% increase in callers to PANDA from last year.
- 13% more touch points with families (phone, email and SMS) up to nearly 65,000.
- phone calls make up 52% of these touch points, showing the diversity in the digital ways people wish to connect with us.
- dads making up 7% of callers, 1.5% lower than last year.
- 6% of callers identify at Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander compared with 2% in 2023.
- partners, other family and GPs, alongside PANDA, making up the most common people in someone’s “Community of Care”.
- a significant jump in callers from Queensland from 15% to 23%.
- Adjusting to change is the biggest presenting issue our callers are experiencing.
- This is followed by lowered mood (for example sadness or depression), and aroused mood (for example panic or anxiety).
PANDA's 40th
40 years of helping families in Australia
PANDA held an event to celebrate its contribution to the growth of mental health care in the perinatal period in the last 40 years. It was a privilege to hear from Ann Lanigan, Rachel Callan, the Hon Emma McBride MP, Ben Lannan, and Nicole Precel.
Ann's story
Ann Lanigan, PANDA co-founder
PANDA began following my own experience of postnatal depression.
Immediately after the birth of our third child in 1982, I became euphoric. But within a few days I became very teary for no reason. I was unable to sleep or eat and to say I was restless was a massive understatement. I roamed the hospital, day and night.
In the 1980's, mothers remained in hospital for 5-7 days so eventually, a psychiatrist consulted with me in the hospital.
His diagnosis was postnatal depression. He told me: “You are like a caged lion, once you go home you will be fine”.
Janet's story
Janet, PANDA co-founder
In September 1979 I gave birth to twin boys - Benjamin and Daniel, after having gone into labour expecting one baby – my first. On admission to hospital the night before, a midwife came in to examine me and with a puzzled look on her face, announced that she was going to speak to the Doctor.
The next day I was taken to the delivery room where the staff immediately sent me off for an X-ray – (no ultrasound back then). The radiographer put up his X-ray and asked how my knitting was going.
There it was in front of me, two heads and two bodies.
Thank you to our partners
Thank you to our partners
Thank you to our funders:
- Federal Department of Health
- QLD Department of Health
- Victorian Department of Education and Training
- Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
- NSW Ministry of Health
- University of Newcastle - SMS4Dads
- Parent Infant Research Institute - PDeC
Thank you to our corporate partners:
- Baby Bunting
- Priceline Sisterhood Foundation
- Mustela
Thank you to our long-term project partners:
- ImpactCo
- Ethnolink
- Kidyounot
- Enrite
- BDO
- BJSS
Thank you to our advisors:
- Maggie Toko
Thank you to our donors and volunteers.
Leading with lived experience
Lived experience is at the centre of PANDA, and our operations. We will ensure everything we do is informed by people who have personal experience of mental health issues. The person, family, carers and supporters will be central to all we do.
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Community Engagement & Participation
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Contribution of lived experience on the Helpline
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PANDA’s Lived Experience Workforce Framework
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Community Champion and Clinical Champion program
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Birth Trauma Inquiry submission and work alongside ABTA
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Lived experience governance and advisory group
David's story
David’s story: Parenting as a neurodivergent dad
For me, the biggest challenge was getting used to having my routines and my self-expectations reshaped by a little person. I tend to over-focus on minor details and lose sight of the big picture, and so it was important to keep reminding myself that being a good parent wouldn’t require me to be a perfect parent.
Although parenting requires a level of flexibility that some autistic people find challenging, learning to be a good parent does not mean having to mask autistic traits, especially at home around your child or children. Children that engage with authentic adults will have a better chance of growing up to be authentic adults.
Engage a valued workforce
We will attract, develop, retain and reward our staff and volunteers so they feel valued and can actively contribute, because we care about their impact and wellbeing.
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Launch of PANDA Values and Values awards
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PANDA Recruitment and Retention Framework
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PANDA Engagement Survey 2023
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Team collaboration conference 2024
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HRIS system launch
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Supported our people
Deliver leading services
We will strengthen and broaden partnerships, whilst delivering further supports and care pathways, ensuring they are accessible, equitable and high quality.
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External review to evaluate and improve Helpline services
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Launch of PANDA’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan
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Growth of PANDA’s work with First Nations communities
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Launch of Pregnant in Prison pilot program in NSW
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Periwell Goes Live: National Perinatal Helpline Database Transitions to Salesforce
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Preparation for Digital Mental Health Standards Accreditation
Rebecca, Community Champion
Rebecca, Community Champion
Rebecca (Bec) is a valued member of the Community Champions program and made a huge impact in 2023-2024.
Bec contributed to the development and launch of PANDA’s first Reconciliation Action Plan, formalising PANDA’s commitment to reconciliation and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Rebecca also shared her perinatal story for Perinatal Mental Health Week on PANDA’s website.
Provide quality information and education
We will provide practical, evidence-based education and resources to support health and care providers and community to best support families. We will raise awareness of perinatal mental health and reduce the barriers to help seeking.
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Perinatal Mental Health Week
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PANDA Podcast Season 2 – Survive & Thrive
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PANDA’s Suicide Prevention work recognised
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Launch of Dot, PANDA’s mental health chatbot
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Collaborative content projects
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Growth of PANDA’s multi-channel translated resources
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Launch of new free self-paced education courses
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Digital platforms, new resources and print distribution of information
Emma, PANDA Community Champion
Emma, PANDA Community Champion
Emma was a key part of the Community Champions program in 2023-2024, using her voice to raise awareness about perinatal mental health.
Emma provided her lived experience insight in a focus group about the development of the PANDA Chatbot (which she was later recruited as a volunteer to assist in the project) and shared her story on the second season of PANDA’s podcast as well as in an online article.
Investing in digital, data and systems
Innovation, insights, and systems.
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A focus on digital security
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PANDA’s Digital Roadmap
Research and evaluation
Evidence, quality and impact.
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Active participation and engagement with researchers
Priya's story
Priya’s story: Managing bipolar and psychosis in the perinatal period
I knew there was something wrong with me. I would just sit and write in a diary. I didn’t want to be around my children. I couldn’t bear any noise. My son wanted to be with me all the time, and I just wanted to be alone. After two or three days I started hallucinating.
It took 8 years from my first psychotic episode to feel normal again. I went on and off medication several times during that period and it took time to find the right medication.
Now, life feels just like it was before my diagnosis, only I am more in sync with my inner knowing and have emerged stronger and more capable of managing my emotions and state.
Sustainability
Sustainability
Financial, environmental and ethical.
As a purpose driven, not-for-profit organisation, financial, environment and ethical sustainability guide and are embedded in all operational and strategic activity and approaches. This has driven our infrastructure investment, our remote operating model and our funding diversification, resulting in significant savings (financial and environmental) in 2022-23.
Work commenced development of a new finance management model with BDO, building on our systems application and integrating across finance and HR to future proof our operations and growth.
Funding
Where our funding comes from
PANDA has been supported by community and government funding for 40 years. We could not do what we do without this ongoing commitment.
In 2023 - 2024, we were funded by:
Government:
- Federal Department of Health
- QLD Department of Health
- Victorian Department of Education and Training
- Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
- NSW Ministry of Health
Service agreements:
- University of Newcastle - SMS4Dads
- Parent Infant Research Institute - PDeC
Corporate partners:
- Baby Bunting
- Priceline Sisterhood Foundation
Fundraising:
- Corporate donors
- Individual donors
Income
