Australian Rotary Health

For more than four decades, Australian Rotary Health has invested in research, scholarships and programs that strengthen communities across Australia.

Our work has helped support future nurses, doctors, psychologists, researchers and healthcare leaders. It has helped families access support earlier. And it has helped create new understanding around mental health challenges affecting children, young people and communities.

But our work does not continue automatically. It continues because people choose to support it.

And as we move closer to EOFY, now is the moment to help ensure that momentum does not slow.

Because the next scholarship. The next research project. The next strengthened community. And the next future changed... Depends on the decisions we make today.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support our work to continue → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Some of the most important mental health research focuses on what happens before crisis point.

Research supported through Australian Rotary Health has explored how schools, families and communities can better recognise and respond to signs of psychological distress in young people earlier.

This work matters because earlier understanding creates opportunities for earlier support. And earlier support can change long-term outcomes.

Mental health research is not only about understanding problems. It is about helping create practical pathways to prevention, support and stronger futures.

As EOFY approaches, now is the moment to help ensure this work continues.
Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support our work to continue → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Because of your support, Sarah Ulloa is building a future shaped by resilience, advocacy and care.

Sarah is a 2026 recipient of an Australian Rotary Health Indigenous Health Scholarship. The scholarship is helping her pursue a career in Occupational Therapy and continue her commitment to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.

Sarah is an Occupational Therapy student at Griffith University, balancing the demands of study, placement and family life as a Mum of three.

Her journey has taken her across New South Wales and South East Queensland, living and working in remote, rural and urban communities. Along the way, she developed a deep understanding of how access, opportunity and environment can profoundly shape people's lives and wellbeing.

Sarah's perspective was further strengthened through humanitarian work overseas, where she witnessed firsthand the importance of meaningful, people-centred support and the impact it can have on individuals and communities.

Today, alongside her studies, Sarah tutors and mentors First Nations students - work that reflects her commitment to advocacy, equity and culturally responsive practice.

For Sarah, healthcare is about more than individual outcomes.

It is about understanding people's stories, recognising the barriers they face and helping create systems that support dignity, inclusion and opportunity.

"I am drawn to work that has real impact," Sarah explains, "whether that's supporting individuals directly or contributing to broader, system-level change."

Because of supporters like you, emerging First Nations health professionals are being empowered to bring lived experience, leadership and cultural understanding into Australia's health workforce.

This is the impact of Australian Rotary Health.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support the next generation of Indigenous health leaders → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Did you know…

Half of all mental health challenges begin before the age of 14.

Yet many young people still struggle to access support early enough.

This is why Australian Rotary Health continues to invest in research focused on prevention, early intervention and improving mental health outcomes for children and young people. Because when support happens earlier, futures can look very different.

As EOFY approaches, now is the moment to help ensure this work can continue.
Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support our work to continue → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Because of your support, Amy Monahan is preparing to bring compassionate healthcare to the communities that need it most.

Amy is a recipient of an Australian Rotary Health Rural Nursing Scholarship, proudly supported by Rotary Club of Balwyn. The scholarship is helping her pursue her nursing studies and build a future dedicated to improving healthcare access in rural and regional Australia.

Growing up on a property, Amy always felt drawn to helping others. That instinct to care for people has grown into a rural property, Amy always felt drawn to helping others. That instinct to care for people has grown into a passion for nursing - and a determination to work in rural and remote communities where access to healthcare can be limited and the need can be great.

Throughout her nursing degree, Amy completed placements at Batemans Bay Hospital and Forbes Community Mental Health Facilities. Those experiences confirmed what she already suspected - she felt most at home in smaller communities, where healthcare is deeply personal and relationships matter.

For Amy, rural nursing is not simply a career path.

It is an opportunity to become part of a community, support people through some of life's most difficult moments and help bridge the healthcare gap faced by many regional Australians.

"In smaller towns, nurses often care for multiple generations within the same family and become a trusted part of the community," Amy shared.

She believes every person deserves access to quality healthcare, regardless of where they live.

Because of supporters like you, future rural nurses are being empowered to bring care, connection and hope to communities across Australia.

This is the impact of Australian Rotary Health.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support the next generation of rural health professionals → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

For more than 40 years, Australian Rotary Health has supported researchers, nurses, doctors, psychologists and future healthcare leaders across Australia.

That work has helped strengthen communities in ways that are sometimes highly visible - and sometimes quietly transformational:

• A scholarship that helps someone complete their studies.
• Research that helps families understand mental health earlier.
• Programs that improve access to support.
• And, healthcare professionals returning knowledge, care and leadership back into their communities.

This work has never happened overnight. It has been built steadily through people choosing to support something larger than themselves.

And as we move closer to the end of the financial year, that support continues to matter deeply. Because the next researcher. The next nurse. The next breakthrough. And the next strengthened community…

Will only happen if this work can continue.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support our work to continue → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Some of the most important mental health research asks a simple question: “How do we help people earlier?”

Research supported through Australian Rotary Health has explored new approaches to supporting young people experiencing anxiety and depression through flexible and accessible digital programs.

This work is helping shape new ways for people to access support - particularly young people and families who may otherwise struggle to connect with services.
Importantly, these approaches are helping bring support closer to where people already are.

• At home.
• At school.
• Within communities.

Because the future of mental health support must be accessible, practical and grounded in the realities of everyday life.

As EOFY approaches, your support helps Australian Rotary Health continue funding future-focused research that can improve outcomes for communities across Australia.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support our work to continue → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Because of your support, Myles McKenzie is working to change the future of Indigenous mental health care in regional Australia.

Myles is a proud Barundji Aboriginal man from the Paroo River region, raised in Townsville in North Queensland. Growing up, he saw firsthand the deep mental health inequities experienced across Aboriginal communities - including limited access to culturally safe care and the devastating impact of su***de on young people.

Those experiences sparked a determination to make a difference.

After completing a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Myles is now studying medicine at James Cook University, with the goal of becoming a psychiatrist working alongside Aboriginal communities across regional and remote Queensland.

For Myles, mental health care is not just clinical. It is about culture, trust, connection and ensuring communities feel seen, heard and understood.

“Western approaches often didn’t reach them, but through culture, they began to heal,” Myles shared when reflecting on his experiences with Indigenous men’s groups in his community.

Because of supporters like you, emerging Indigenous health leaders are being empowered to bring culturally informed care, lived understanding and hope back into the communities that need it most.

This is the impact of Australian Rotary Health.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support the next generation of Indigenous health leaders → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/

Today, we honour the life and legacy of 𝐃𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐧, who has passed away at the remarkable age of 101.

Don was more than a dedicated Rotarian.

He was one of the visionaries who helped bring Australian Rotary Health to life.

In the early 1980s, when Ian Scott first proposed the idea of a national Rotary-funded health research foundation, Don was among those who saw the potential of what could be achieved.

As the President of the Rotary Club of Mornington, a key member of the inaugural committee established to guide the project, and later a Foundation Member of Australian Rotary Health, Don played a pivotal role in helping transform an ambitious idea into reality.

More than four decades later, that vision has grown into Australia's largest independent funder of mental health research. Australian Rotary Health has invested tens of millions of dollars into research, scholarships and health initiatives that have improved the lives of countless Australians.

That impact exists because people like Don believed it was possible.

Throughout his life, Don remained a passionate supporter of Australian Rotary Health and Rotary's commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of communities. In recognition of his extraordinary contribution, he was honoured as an Australian Rotary Health Ruby Companion. His legacy will continue to be felt through every researcher, scholar and community touched by the work he helped create.

Because of Don.

Because of his vision. Because of his belief in a better future. Lives have been changed.

On behalf of Australian Rotary Health, we extend our deepest condolences to Don's family, friends, fellow Rotarians and the Rotary Club of Mornington.

Thank you, Don.

Your legacy lives on.

Did you know…

Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of all mental health conditions, yet many young people still struggle to access support early.

Research supported through Australian Rotary Health has explored how early intervention and family-based support can improve outcomes for young people experiencing eating disorders.

This work matters because the earlier families understand what is happening, the greater the opportunity to improve long-term outcomes.

Mental health research does not only help us understand challenges better - it helps communities respond earlier, more confidently and more effectively.

As EOFY approaches, your support helps Australian Rotary Health continue funding research that creates practical impact for families across Australia.

Every donation over $2 is tax deductible.

Support our work to continue → https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/donate-now/