Now in their fourth year of partnership, Zurich and OnePath Life have supported Mr Perfect to expand to more than 40 locations in most states and territories around the country. The funding also enabled Mr Perfect to quickly scale up online services and support, in place of in-person meetups during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Zurich Financial Services Australia’s Head of Brand, Marketing and Corporate Affairs Linda Griffin said Zurich and OnePath Life were committed to improving accessibility of mental wellbeing programs in the community.

“New research into Australia’s mental health emergency by the Centre for Social Impact shows that prevention and early intervention represent our best tools for supporting mental wellbeing^[2],” Ms Griffin said.

“It’s our hope and strong belief that through participation in community programs like Mr Perfect, fewer Australians will reach a point of crisis in their mental health. We’ve seen firsthand through the various mental wellbeing programs we support that community-based programs serve a tremendous role. We are inspired by people like Terry Cornick, Mr Perfect’s founder, for the work they do to lift up their communities and fellow Australians.”

Mr Perfect founder Terry Cornick said awareness of mental health and wellbeing had improved among men in the five years since he started the program.

“When we first started Mr Perfect, even getting men to turn up was a challenge, let alone talk about their mental wellbeing,” Mr Cornick said.

“That’s no longer the case. Our average attendance at BBQs has gone from five to more than 20 and people are more willing to open up. What we’re offering is a soft entry point into mental health awareness and support. It’s our hope that men come to our BBQs, have a meaningful conversation with someone they can relate to, and later reflect on whether they need to consider taking the next step in addressing their own mental health concerns.”

The partnership is in line with Zurich and OnePath Life’s mission to be champions of mental wellbeing in Australia by supporting early intervention and practical behavioural change.

Among the community programs that Zurich supports are: Tackle Your Feelings ^[3], delivering mental health training at community AFL clubs, The Raise Foundation ^[4], a youth mentoring organisation, and Beyond Empathy ^[5], an arts organisation that uses its influence to enrich the lives of indigenous youth.

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[1] https://mrperfect.org.au/
[2] Centre for Social Impact, 2021, Mental Health Deep Dive: https://www.csi.edu.au/research/project/building-back-better-deep-dives/
[3] https://www.tackleyourfeelings.org.au/
[4] https://raise.org.au/
[5] https://www.be.org.au/

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Terry Cornick

OnePath has renewed its 12-month partnership with Mr Perfect, the grassroots men’s mental health network encouraging conversation and connections through informal BBQs across Australia.

Commencing this month, this second 12-month partnership has OnePath and Zurich Financial Services Australia adding their weight behind Mr Perfect to expand the BBQ program to more than 300 BBQs.

Over the past 12 months, the number of BBQs grew from 120 per year to over 200 per year across QLD, NSW, Victoria, Canberra and more recently Hobart in Tasmania.

OnePath Life was acquired by Zurich Financial Services Australia in June 2019, and the Mr Perfect initiative is one of many in the mental health arena that Zurich and OnePath are promoting as part of its MindFIT program, to de-stigmatise mental health issues and to play its part in bringing insurance practices in line with contemporary thinking around mental health.

According to Zurich’s Head of Mental Health and Wellness, Maria Falas, the large customer footprint of both OnePath Life and Zurich presents a significant opportunity to give Mr Perfect an even bigger boost.

“We want to spread greater awareness within our people as well as our broad customer networks including group insurance, retail and direct customers,” said Falas. “OnePath’s approach to mental health and wellness aligns with Zurich’s strategy to be market leading in delivering mental health solutions to customers with a focus on service, customer wellness and prevention.”

Mr. Perfect Founder Terry Cornick said the renewed partnership is both welcome and significant, allowing the network to spread to specific areas such as the Gold Coast and Central Coast where the positive impact of such a simple Australian BBQ has been significant, but also regional towns across NSW, QLD and VIC.

“Rural and regional areas have been on our radar for some time that are clearly in need of support. We are finding people are slowly turning their lives around because they know they can count on a group of guys who will turn up each week to listen, have a BBQ and connect with.”

Both insurers have focussed on external and internally-facing mental health and wellness initiatives since 2017.  This includes other grassroots initiatives such as the Tackle Your Feelings mental health training program for community AFL clubs and coaches, which Zurich runs in partnership with the AFL Coaches Association and AFL Players Association.

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