1 May. One in Five.

Today, I am asking you to sit with 20%. Not as a number. As people. That is 1 in 5 Australians who experienced mental ill-health in the past 12 months, an estimated 4.3 million people.

Over a lifetime, more than 40% of us will experience a mental disorder.

The cost of doing too little is enormous. Mental illness costs Australia up to $220 billion every year. Yet only a small share of health funding goes to mental health, and even less to research.

At One in Five, we believe research is the most useful kind of hope. Research has transformed cancer, cardiovascular disease and HIV. Mental health has not had its decade yet, and it deserves one. Around three-quarters of mental health conditions develop before age 25, which means early, evidence-based intervention can change the trajectory of a life. Australian researchers are already world-class. They just need more fuel.

So today, on the date that writes our name, we are planting a flag. 1 May 2027 will be the first national 1/5 Day. It will be a moment to pause, reflect and visibly invest in mental health research, and to make better mental health a problem we are collectively choosing to pay for.

If this resonates with you, here are three simple ways to be part of it:

• Save the date: 1 May 2027

• Share this post to build awareness and momentum

• Donate to research or join Circle of Hope, our community of monthly donors funding life-saving mental health research

To the one in five, and the four in five who love them, thank you for being here.

Lou Wardlaw

Founder and Chair