Phillipa Thomas
Phillipa Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer of Mental Health Victoria, the state’s independent peak body for mental health, where she leads the organisation’s policy agenda, sector coordination, and advocacy on behalf of Victoria’s mental health system.
Phillipa is an experienced mental health clinician with postgraduate training in adolescent and developmental mental health and extensive practice across emergency mental health, crisis and disaster response, and trauma and grief. Her Master’s research examined the intersection of mental health and the law, and she has subsequently led and contributed to research and system inquiries focused on Emergency Department presentations linked to homelessness, acute suicidality, psychiatric intensive care, and sexual safety within bed-based services.
Prior to joining Mental Health Victoria, Phillipa served as an Executive Director in the Victorian Department of Health, where she was responsible for major mental health and drug law reform initiatives, system design, and implementation. Across her career, she has built a reputation for rigorous policy thinking, collaborative system leadership, and a commitment to improving outcomes for people, families, and communities.
Power in Partnership
Join us for two days of interactive and energising learning at Health Justice 2025.
Hear from international and local speakers on how power shows up in our work, and what it takes to power authentic engagement. Discover the latest in research, join the CollabLab, and find hope in energising conversations about how we can change our systems for a better future.
Date: 3 & 4 December, 2025
Location: University of Technology Sydney
Whether you’re working in legal, health, community services, government, policy, research or funding, you’ll find plenty of sessions to get inspired by at Health Justice 2025. With limited places to ensure a highly participatory event, get your tickets now and secure your seat.
In a world of growing complexity and uncertainty the importance of robust and innovative social, health and legal services cannot be understated. Innovation is, by its nature, challenging, meaning that gatherings like this one are all the more important.
The conference is a fantastic opportunity to really get to meet colleagues, friends, and other practitioners and professionals across both the legal profession as well as health. These events are so important because they really start the conversation around what our respective professions need in the future, and what our community needs.
