CaNCaLD Women’s Project
Join our women’s project team to improve mental wellbeing for your community!
We are looking for women in south west Sydney to join our co-design project team – to help make mental wellbeing supports easier to find, use, and trust.
If you’re a woman from south west Sydney who is
- Passionate about supporting the mental wellbeing of other women, or
- From a migrant, refugee or asylum- seeker background, or
- Have personal experience around mental wellbeing
Consider joining our team, where your ideas and experience will help shape changes that matter.
We will work together from July 31st, 2026 to May 2027. There will also be an option to keep working on this project until May 2028.
What we offer
As a member of the project team, you will be provided with:
- A supportive, respectful, and inclusive space
- Opportunities to connect with other women in your community and develop skills in co-design
- $50 per hour for your time (in the form of vouchers)
- Interpreting and accessibility support
- Free childcare for face to face workshops
- Dedicated staff support you along the way
What you’ll do as part of the project team
In a series of workshops, meetings and activities, you will:
- Share your experiences and ideas in a safe, supportive environment
- Work with like-minded women to identify challenges and opportunities for mental wellbeing for your communities
- Help design practical, culturally appropriate solutions
- Develop resources and creative material to share with your communities
- Possibly work in small groups to try out ideas in communities or organisations
Who can join?
We are looking for women (cisgender or trans) who:
- Are aged 18 and above
- Live and/or work in south west Sydney
- Are passionate about improving mental wellbeing
- Identify as a migrant, refugee, or asylum seeker and/or have an interest or professional role in supporting the mental wellbeing of migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker women
- May have had personal experience of mental wellbeing challenges or supporting someone with mental wellbeing challenges
- Feel comfortable sharing ideas and learning from others
- Are an active member of your community or organisation. You don’t need an official title, or to be employed in a leadership position. You might be a natural organiser- someone who others look to for support, information, or help in getting things done.
What you need to know
Migration, and leaving one’s home country for safety, can bring challenges to women as they build new social networks and adapt to life in a new country. While services to support mental well-being are available, they are not always easy to access.
The Care Navigation for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaNCaLD) Women’s project brings together women to discuss, create and test ideas to make mental wellbeing supports easier to find and use.
The project team will focus on improving mental wellbeing, for migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker women in south west Sydney.
The project team will work together from July 2026 – May 2027, with options to stay involved from June 2027 – May 2028.
Come join our team where your ideas, lived experience, and insights will help shape changes that matter for your community!
The project team will meet over a series of workshops, meetings and activities. For more detail, see the image below. 
Our project team will be made up of 12-15 women from south west Sydney with different personal, professional and cultural backgrounds.
Our workshops will be supported by project staff members and a facilitator.
- Your participation in the project team is entirely voluntary.
- You can withdraw from the project at any time.
- All team members can be named contributors to the project. But, if you prefer, we will not link your name or identity to the project.
- Personal stories and experiences that are shared during team workshops and meetings will be kept confidential.
The project is led by University of Sydney’s Policy Lab and Fair Foundations, with support from the Ramsay Hospital Research Foundation, until June 2028.
The Project is delivered in partnership with:
- South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD)
- NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS)
- Fairfield Women’s Health Service
- Ramsay Health Care
Want to join?
We’d love to hear from you. To express your interest in joining the project team, fill in this form by 8 July 2026.
If you have any questions, or would like to connect with one of our project team members, please contact Jinwen at 0411 748 373 or jinwen.chen@fairfoundations.org.au