Young people lead the conversation on mental health alongside Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex
April 16, 2026
Today, we brought together young people from regional and rural communities to lead a national conversation on youth mental health - joined by Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as listeners and supporters.
As part of a two-day, in-person workshop - Regional & Rural Youth Voices: Shaping the Future of Mental Health - young people from across Australia came together to share their experiences, connect with one another, and help shape solutions for a more equitable mental health system.
At a time when not all young Australians are experiencing the mental health system equally, this event created space for those most impacted to share their experiences directly, and to co-design solutions for change.
Across Australia, young people are experiencing a growing mental health crisis - but for those living in regional, rural and remote communities, the challenges are greater and the support is harder to access.
Over the past two days, this workshop has placed those voices front and centre.
Young people travelled from across the country to share their lived experiences, speak candidly about the barriers they’ve faced, and offer insights into what needs to change to better support their mental health and wellbeing.
Since 2011, we’ve worked alongside young people to transform lived experience into a powerful tool for change. Through storytelling and peer-to-peer education, young people are helping to reduce stigma, increase help-seeking, and build stronger, more supportive communities.
But as this week’s conversations have reinforced, where you live can still determine how - and if - you access support.
For many young people in regional communities, support can be difficult to reach, delayed, or simply unavailable. These barriers mean too many young people are left without help until they reach crisis point.
“I would have found it hugely beneficial to have had greater access to lived experience support, general mental health education, and increased awareness of mental health from those adults around me who may have been able to potentially step in and check in earlier before things became harder.” shared batyr storyteller, Mackenzie.
We were honoured to welcome Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who joined the event to listen and learn from the young people leading these conversations.
Their presence helped bring global attention to the importance of youth mental health, and to the urgent need to address the inequities facing young people outside major cities.
While the workshop created space for connection and conversation, its impact extends far beyond these two days.
The insights and perspectives shared by young people will directly inform recommendations to government and decision-makers - calling for greater investment in prevention, earlier support, and a system that works for all young Australians, regardless of where they live.
“Right now, too many young people are experiencing a postcode lottery when it comes to mental health support, with access often shaped more by where they live than what they need.” said batyr CEO Patrick Darcy.
“Organisations like batyr work really hard to deliver preventative mental health education into these communities. Having Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend the workshop helps bring our integral work into the spotlight, and ensure young people’s voices are shaping the mental health system around them.”
If there was one thing made clear today, it’s this: young people are not just part of the conversation - they are leading it.
Their honesty, courage and insight are critical to shaping a mental health system that responds earlier, reaches further, and supports better. Because where you live shouldn’t determine your access to mental health support, and if we wait until a young person is in crisis, we’ve already waited too long.
A big thank you to our friends at Live4Life and Swinburne for helping us bring this event to life. Live visual storytelling by Shapeshifters Creative.
You can read more about how location is shaping young people’s mental health here, as well as the cost of ignoring prevention here.
batyr is available for comment. Please get in touch with us at [email protected].