Mental Health First Aid Refresher Courses
The importance of continual learning
If you’ve completed a Mental Health First Aid® (MHFA®) course then you’re in good company. Close to 1 million Australians have now undertaken some form of Mental Health First Aid training and our current network of MHFAiders™ extends to every state and territory. Their training and knowledge is a vital contribution to the mental health and suicide safety of our communities.
Staying informed and practicing our skills is important for anything we want to do well at. Continual learning enables us to maintain our knowledge, build on our skills, and boost our confidence. As an MHFAider this means that completing an MHFA Refresher Course to keep your training and accreditation up to date.
Is it time for you to refresh your skills? Criteria:
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You completed any full 2-Day MHFA course within the last 3 years
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You completed your course face-to-face, blended or online
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You completed the accreditation assessment to become an MHFAider
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You want your skills and accreditation to stay current, practical, and recognised.
MHFA Refresher Courses
MHFA Refresher Courses are available to individuals who have completed a previous Mental Health First Aid training course (face-to-face, blended or online), to update their knowledge and build on the skills they have acquired. They are an essential part of maintaining accreditation as an MHFAider in Australia.
Refresher courses need to be completed within 3 years of completing an MHFAider accreditation. The accreditation is the short online assessment process completed by our participants at the end of each course. It allows you to formalise your skills as an MHFAider.
Didn’t complete the accreditation assessment at the end of your course? Don’t worry – the online assessment can be accessed any time within the 3 years since completion. Take the assessment via the link in your account dashboard here.
When you complete a refresher, not only do you benefit from reinforced knowledge and skills, with the latest available, best-practice delivery and insights, you will also be accredited for another 3 years.
“This course provided a refresher to my current mental health knowledge and how to assist people around me especially in this Covid-19 situation in New South Wales. The course was a short and concise 2 half-day sessions and Ann, the facilitator was engaging and resourceful”
Mabel, Performance Coordinator
Why is the refresher course important?
- Continual Learning – continual learning is a cornerstone of quality education and training.
- Knowledge retention – studies show that elements of learned knowledge can decrease over time but can be reinforced for greater long-term retention.
- Accreditation – completing a refresher is a requirement to maintaining a formally recognised MHFAider Accreditation. It will extend your accreditation for a further 3 years.
- Safety – ensuring people have up to date knowledge and skills is essential for the safety of participants, communities, and the people they support.
- Skill building – refresher content builds on existing knowledge base and skillset with revision and the opportunity to enhance understanding and hone skills.
- Real world application – refreshers boosts participant confidence to apply what has been learned in the real world.
- Professional development – refresher training provides a contribution to Professional Development (CPD) – often recognised or required by employers.
- Valued by employers – current and accredited MHFA training is valued by employers and employees as a respected and useful resource.
- Efficient and effective – It is more efficient (time and cost) and effective to refresh your training than letting accreditation lapse and starting again.
- Currency – the world and our environments are ever changing – refresher training allows for current topical discussions and examples utilising our sound evidence base and the latest available delivery techniques.
- We need you! – MHFA believes in maintaining positive, active engagement with our MHFAiders as a valued part of our network.
Refresher courses now available:
Refresher courses are currently available in the following formats:
Face-to-face:
- 4-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid Refresher Course
- 4-hour Youth Mental Health First Aid Refresher Course
- 4-hour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid Refresher Course
Online:
- 5-hour Standard Mental Health First Aid Refresher Course
- 5-hour Youth Mental Health First Aid Refresher Course
Please note. Since 2021 (due to COVID-19 and for the convenience of our participants) many refresher courses are being delivered online.
Which course you should take:
The course available to you will depend on the currency of your accreditation and the course you initially undertook.
Login to your MHFA account here to check your accreditation expiry date via the certificate link in your account dashboard and access your Certificate of Accreditation. Please provide this certificate to the Instructor delivering the Refresher course so they can check your eligibility to attend.
| The course you took | Refresher Course you should take |
| Standard or Older Person | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard |
| Blended or Blended Online Workplace | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard |
| Blended or Blended Online Community | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard |
| Blended Online Financial Services Professionals | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard |
| Blended for the Legal Profession | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard |
| Blended or Blended Online Pharmacy | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard |
| Blended or Blended Online Tertiary | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Standard or Youth |
| Youth | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Youth |
| Blended or Blended Online Youth | 4-hour face-to face or 5-hour online Youth |
| AMHFA | 4-hour face-to-face AMHFA |
| Blended Online AMHFA Community | 4-hour face-to-face AMHFA |
10 tips for making refresher training count:
- Check when your initial training was completed – make sure it was within the last 3 years and enrol for a MHFA Refresher Course before your current accreditation lapses..
- Make sure you completed the MHFA course accreditation assessment to become a recognised MHFAider. If you didn’t, but you completed training within the last 3 years you can still do it – Take the assessment via the link in your account dashboard here. (Login required)
- Check which course applies to you based on your initial training. The table above can help. If you are not sure, contact our training team on [insert preferred contacts].
- Consider setting yourself a calendar reminder for when your refresher is due – ensure you allow enough time to enrol and attend.
- Keep an eye out for reminder updates from us – this means we need your latest contact details. Sometimes people move workplaces or change email addresses and reminders can be missed. If you need to update your contact details: email mhfa@mhfa.com.au
- Consider the timing and environment that will be best for undertaking your refresher training. You need the right time and space to make the most of your learning without interruptions.
- If you are responsible for maintaining professional development or accreditations in your workplace, community organisation or school, then consider including MHFA Refresher courses in your regular training cycle.
- Remember to include your MHFA training and accreditation where it helps you be recognised for your valuable skills and knowledge e.g. on your resume/CV, with your or with your employer as professional development.
- Subscribe to our newsletter and social media channels to get useful and important information specifically tailored for our MHFAider network.
- If it’s time, Enrol in refresher training today!
Explore your Refresher Course options
Click below to learn more about our full range of refresher courses.
