The mental health and wellbeing of students in tertiary education has become a growing concern globally, with increasing evidence pointing to rising levels of psychological distress among university students (Auerbach et al., 2016; Stallman, 2010). Simultaneously, tertiary educators are increasingly expected to serve as first responders to student mental health issues, often without adequate training or institutional support (Gulliver et al. 2018; Hughes et al., 2018; Margrove et al., 2014). Amidst this dual burden which has significant implications for student learning outcomes, the ongoing challenges of teaching and interacting with diverse student populations (Dutton & Sotardi, 2023), increasing work and productivity demands due to marketisation, and rapid technologisation of higher education have also increased work-related stress, burnout, and mental health difficulties (Fontinha et al., 2019; Johnson et al., 2019), thereby impacting the wellbeing and professional sustainability of tertiary educators.

A recent study in Australia on educator readiness to support student mental health across the education sector show that over 50% of educators report moderate to severe symptoms of depression, with nearly half experiencing significant anxiety (Dabrowski et al., 2025). These figures are mirrored in international contexts, where the massification of higher education, increased casualisation of the academic workforce, and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated stress and burnout among tertiary educators (Kinman & Wray, 2020; Morrish, 2019). Despite the proliferation of institutional wellbeing policies and student support services (Kamarunzaman et al., 2020), there remains a critical gap between policy rhetoric and the lived experiences of educators on the ground.

This session is situated within a growing body of literature that highlights tertiary educator mental health, the emotional labour of academic work (Kinman & Wray, 2020), and the need for systemic interventions that address both staff and student wellbeing. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) socio-ecological theoretical framework, this session presents research that conceptualises educator readiness as a function of both individual capacity and systemic context.

This session draws on qualitative data from a larger mixed method study investigating educator readiness to support student mental health (Dabrowski et al, 2025). Data were drawn from a purposive sample of 7 semi-structured interviews with academic staff and student support professionals across Australian universities and private higher education providers. A thematic analysis was undertaken to explore how personal, interpersonal, organisational, and policy-level factors interact to shape tertiary educators’ ability to respond to student mental health needs.

This session highlights the complex interplay between individual and institution, and the role that institutions and systemic structures can play to build tertiary educator readiness and capacity to support student mental health. Key findings of this research show that the extent of educator worry and anxiety, coupled with disparate support structures and the growing complexity of student needs, impact on educators' ability to support student mental health. As a result, there is little evidence to suggest that tertiary educators are ready to support student mental health, despite increasing expectations upon them to do so.

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