Submission To NSW Loneliness Inquiry

The Foundation for Social Health is a newly established not-for-profit dedicated to tackling loneliness and social isolation. Our vision is for a connected Australia, with a focus on reducing loneliness by improving social bonds, and ensuring our approach is supported by rigorous research and evidence.

Loneliness and social isolation are both individual acute medical conditions and population health issues. The Foundation for Social Health aims to address loneliness and social isolation by tackling the problem at the population level by improving social bonds.

Loneliness as a population health matter

Estimates of loneliness and social isolation suggest that around 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the adult Australian population feel lonely. Extrapolating this to NSW based on the adult population of NSW would mean that around 1.3 million to 1.9 million adults in NSW feel at least a moderate level of loneliness.

The available data makes it difficult to identify specific populations most at risk of loneliness and social isolation because the way the data is currently captured and analysed will not always make certain groups visible.

The existing data identifies the following groups as reporting higher levels of loneliness than other groups:

• Young people aged 18-24, with loneliness significantly worsening among this age group post-COVID compared with other cohorts in this age group prior to the pandemic
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• People living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
• People who were single or divorced
• Women with children aged 0-4

People with strong social bonds typically experience less loneliness, and the groups identified above would potentially be less likely to have strong social bonds. These groups are typically experiencing significant life changes: perhaps leaving school and starting work and/or university, growing a family with small children, adapting to a new culture with a different language, or the end of a relationship. Each of these life stages would require the changing of existing social bonds and the potential to form new social bonds, but the period of adaptation is particularly challenging for individuals.

The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) data shows that loneliness in Australia is changing from something that older people experience, to something that younger people experience, and that this shift has occurred at the same period at the increased prevalence of smart phones and social media use. While the age group 65 and older had been the loneliest Australians between 2001 and 2009, this is now the age group experiencing the least amount of loneliness, with the age group 15 to 24 growing substantially in their rates of loneliness.

The change in levels of loneliness started occurring around 2008 and 2009, which coincides with the growth of social media. Younger people may now experience lighter-touch communication methods like messaging and social media platforms, rather than meeting with friends and family face-to-face and forming deep social bonds.

The Foundation for Social Health has also commissioned research (as yet unreleased) from Ipsos and Redbridge both supporting the hypothesis that experiences of social media use differs substantially between younger people and older people, with younger adults reporting that social media causes negative self-image and older adults aged 60 and older reporting that they have not had negative experiences of social media.

Addressing Unmet Needs Through Population-Level Loneliness Interventions

The Productivity Commission’s 2020 inquiry into mental health estimated that mental illness and suicide cost the Australian economy between $200 billion and $220 billion per year, or roughly $600 million daily. Much of this is linked to untreated mental health issues requiring acute care, long-term disability support, and emergency services. Addressing loneliness at a population level is essential to easing these unmet needs and reducing strain on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the healthcare system.

Initiatives to reduce loneliness and social isolation

Loneliness is both an acute mental health problem experienced by individuals, and apopulation health issue requiring population health treatments.

The fact that loneliness is increasing for some groups, or remaining static over the broader population, is evidence that this is a population-level issue requiring broad initiatives that are capable of being delivered at scale, rather than solely targeted or individual care plans designed to treat loneliness as an acute health matter. It is also an indication that current initiatives on their own have been insufficient to reduce loneliness in Australia.

The Productivity Commission Mental Health inquiry, which reported in November 2020, provided an opportunity to identify successful interventions to reduce loneliness and make recommendations about programs and policies. The report did not make any formal findings or recommendations specific to reducing loneliness and social isolation. The report did identify that community resources are important for connecting people, including organisations and places such as sporting clubs, community facilities, public libraries, music groups and arts and cultural events4. However, it did not recommend any specific funding to increase or improve these resources.

Ending Loneliness Together and HILDA both identified strong social bonds, or strong social capital, as being highly correlated with lower levels of loneliness. They have both also identified that merely being a member of a group, or attending events that others are at, is not sufficient to reduce loneliness.

A significant aspect of mental health care, especially when addressing loneliness, involves building and relying on connections with friends, family, and the broader community. There isa well-recognised link between loneliness, social connection, and wellbeing; consequently, interventions often aim to enhance contact, social participation, feeling cared for, personal development and social support.

The UK Government in 2018 released A connected society: a strategy for tackling loneliness with requirements for annual reporting on progress against the plan. The UK Government released three annual reports on progress against the related action plan, with the most recent report released in February 2022, creating difficulty in assessing whether the programs funded have had long-term benefits in addressing loneliness. As part of this work, the UK appointed a minister with responsibility for loneliness; however, this position has since been abolished in subsequent ministerial reshuffles and there is no longer a minister in the UK with responsibility for loneliness as a dedicated portfolio area.

One enduring initiative from the UK was the ability for general practitioners and others to undertake ‘social prescribing’ where individuals with chronic loneliness were connected with a facilitator who work with the individual to develop a personalised plan and connect the individual with relevant community groups.

These social prescribing programs are estimated to have reduced GP consultations by 15-28%, and emergency room admissions by up to 20%.7 Similar population-wide approaches in Australia could prevent loneliness-related health issues, helping NSW manage the rising costs associated with unmet mental health needs, emergency care, and disability services.

This appears to still be available and may be a useful tool for individuals facing loneliness, particularly when combined with a suite of other initiatives.

Pilot Program – ACT

In November 2024, the Foundation for Social Health, in partnership with Rebus Theatre,Community Mental Health Australia, and the Social Centre for Innovation, is launching a landmark program to reduce loneliness through inclusive community engagement, starting in the ACT with potential for national expansion. This initiative focuses on hard-to-reach groups, including young people, new mothers, veterans, and specific male cohorts at high risk of loneliness, such as younger men (16-39), the unemployed or underemployed, and individuals from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

This project combines traditional civic engagement techniques, like town halls and door-knocking, with digital outreach and the unique power of Playback Theatre—a form of participatory storytelling with a proven impact on mental health. Playback Theatre sessions, led by Rebus Theatre’s experts, will provide a safe and expressive space for individuals to share their stories, fostering empathy and connection that traditional approaches alone often cannot achieve.

Our multi-faceted engagement strategy includes:

• Roundtables for in-depth, focused discussions,
• ‍Town Halls to encourage open, community-wide dialogue,
• ‍Playback Theatre Sessions for interactive storytelling that builds understanding and empathy,‍
• Specific Group Engagements to reach overlooked or marginalised groups, and
• Digital Engagement to connect with those facing barriers to in-person participation.

We are also forming an Advisory Group of individuals with lived experiences, subject matter experts, and academics to ensure that the voices of marginalised communities are represented and integrated into the program’s direction.

With a strong track record in facilitating meaningful, inclusive conversations, our team has crafted a unique approach that combines creative arts and diverse engagement methods to strengthen social bonds and address loneliness. This blend of approaches not only makes this project a pioneering effort in mental health and social connection but also provides a replicable model for building resilient, connected communities.

Recommendations

Our recommendations are targeted towards strengthening social bonds to tackle loneliness and social isolation, and treating loneliness and social isolation as a population health issue that requires a public health response in addition to any individual measures.

Recommendation 1: Fund programs dedicated to strengthening social bonds. These programs should initially be funded in a pilot stage with evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of the programs in delivering agreed outcomes of strengthened social bonds. If the proof of concept is sound the program can then be scaled up to be delivered to a larger cohort.

• The capacity of the organisation to deliver the successful programs at scale should be part of the assessment criteria at each evaluation stage, including the assessment of the initial application for funding to deliver a pilot program, and should also form part of the data and evidence base regarding the success of the program.
• The programs could be modifications of existing programs targeting populations exhibiting higher rates of loneliness and social isolation, for example, expanding mothers’ groups to have dedicated groups for parents of second or subsequent children, or groups to support people from specific cultural backgrounds.

Recommendation 2: Assess NSW policies and programs for their ability to strengthen social bonds by including a NSW Outcomes measurement specifically focused on social bonds, with accompanying indicators and metrics, in the NSW wellbeing budgeting framework.

• As this is an issue that is potentially affecting millions of adults (as well as potentially hundreds of thousands of teenagers) in NSW, it will be valuable research for the NSW Government to be able to track loneliness trends in the state by region and over time.
• The inclusion of an outcomes measurement is also critical to tracking the effectiveness of programs and policies designed to influence the population of NSW and ensuring the people of NSW are receiving the most effective treatments to address loneliness.

‍Recommendation 3: Introduce both social prescribing and complementary peer support networks for people experiencing significant life changes, such as pregnancy and childbirth, divorce, bereavement, or relocation.

Recommendation 4: Deliver a statewide public information campaign regarding the need to see friends and family face-to-face.

• The evidence is clear that a substantial number of younger adults are conducting most of their social interactions online, potentially at the expense of enjoying the face-to-face company of their friends, increasing loneliness and social isolation.
• A dedicated public information campaign encouraging people to see their friends in person or to speak on the phone, rather than relying on messaging platforms or social media, could assist in reminding people of the importance of high quality social interactions to boost mental health.

We would be delighted to speak at any public hearing, including on the design and progress of our pilot program and our dedication to restoring social bonds.