“That’s why the individual placement and support program is so important,” he said.

Mrs Brogden said OECD data had shown that Australia had one of the lowest levels of participation in employment for people with moderate to severe mental illness. Comcare looked at human resources managers and hiring managers across a range of Australian organisations and found a low level of understanding of mental health issues. This had led to discrimination or had made it difficult for people with mental illness to enter the workplace.

“It really points to the low level of understanding of what mental health issues are and that people can be well-functioning employees,” she said. “We just don’t have that level of sophistication in our HR functions, it would seem, across the board.

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“The headspace initiative works with some young people who have lost a lot of time at school or training and helps them create a pathway to employment.”

National mental health charity SANE last year found that 78 per cent of people with complex mental health issues experienced some level of stigma or discrimination in relation to employment during the past 12 months.

“We’ve got to really increase the levels of mental health literacy among our employers, particularly amongst our hiring managers and HR function, and we hope that by doing that, knowledge is often the best way to reduce stigma and discrimination. Because you are taking away the fear of the issue and the fear of the unknown,” Mrs Brogden said.

Professor of Gender and Employment Relations Marian Baird said Australian recruiters and human resources managers, with some exceptions, needed to be more attuned to the mental health of existing and prospective employees and “not immediately assume they cannot work”.

People with moderate mental health problems benefited from the structure, self-respect and rewards, social and financial, that a job provided. The pandemic had highlighted the importance of mental health, particularly for young people.

“We found in our research employers were very conscious that the impact of COVID was probably harder and tougher on younger people than older people and part of that reason is because we put so much emphasis on the need to work and the need to get a job,” she said. “That is where their recognition, identity, social purpose and friendships often come from.”

Dr Michelle Blanchard, special adviser for the National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy for the National Mental Health Commission, said she was developing a strategy to address the attitudes of employers and the community and other structural sources of stigma and discrimination.

While community understanding of depression had improved, there was poorer community understanding of other conditions including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

“There is still a lot to do to support people to understand more about how it’s possible to live a really flourishing and contributing life with these conditions and how to provide appropriate support to people so they can participate in the workplace,” she said.