ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of mental health nursing in Australia and New Zealand, noting the significant historical, political and cultural affinities between the two countries as well as the differences marked by Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Mental health nursing continues to face significant professional and workforce challenges. In the last 5 years strategic opportunities for professional governance and practice development have been generated by the profession and through mental health policy reforms in both countries. How the profession responds to these challenges will determine the extent to which mental health nursing is able to meet its obligations to people with mental illness and their families, and in promoting mental health and well-being in our two societies.
