Australia’s mining sector runs on a unique remote roster, and a specialised clinic is adapting mental health support to keep this essential workforce strong.
The fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) roster is one of the undisputed engines of the Australian mining industry. It drives national production and provides an effective structure for a workforce operating hundreds of kilometres from home.
Yet for the thousands of people navigating a FIFO swing, fitting health and wellness services into their lives is a logistical puzzle, with standard community support programs typically operating on a Monday-to-Friday schedule.
Workers can also sometimes require more than traditional health and wellness services, dealing with court-imposed matters. These legal situations often require verified documentation, which is usually attained via months-long weekly counselling session commitments. But for mining haul truck operator or site supervisor, for example, attending a 16-week behaviour change course is especially difficult.
Christine Strong identified this service gap during a meeting with a regulatory provider, who said it was logistically difficult to treat resources sector workers because of their unpredictable availability.
Recognising that the industry required a much more agile approach, the Cairns-based counsellor and accredited mental health social worker decided to adapt her delivery to the workers’ calendar.
“[A regulatory provider] said to us, we can’t work with the FIFO workers because their program is 16 weeks and it goes from one to 16 and you have to attend every week,” Strong said. “My offsider and I looked at each other and said, ‘Well, we absolutely should help here’.”
Strong brings a strong clinical background to this challenge, holding a Master of Social Work, a Master of Social Science in addiction studies, and a Graduate Certificate in Facilitating Men’s Behaviour Change Programs.
Operating her clinic, Strong Supervision and Counselling, under the motto “You talk, we listen”, she has seamlessly decoupled therapy from the weekly calendar to create a customised approach for FIFO workers, blending in-person and online meetings.
A significant portion of Strong’s work focuses on the psychological friction of re-entry, the critical window when a worker returns home after an extended time on-site. She said the resettlement period is particularly fraught when children are involved.
The dynamic often leads to immediate confusion about household roles and responsibilities. A returning parent often wants nothing more than to rest, while the parent who has been managing the household full-time might be looking for immediate relief.
“Dad comes home, and all Dad wants to do is go to bed or put his feet up, where Mum has had the kids full-time, and she is saying, ‘Right, your turn, Dad,’” Strong said.
Strong said couples should plan this handover when both parties are rested, rather than attempting to negotiate duties in the heat of the moment. Attempting to communicate during the initial stress of arrival is rarely effective.
“It is about communicating,” she said. “But it is communicating when you are as calm and relaxed as you can be. Often, people will try to have that conversation in that moment, and that is never going to work.”
Beyond the immediate family dynamic, maintaining a sense of connection is vital to combating the isolation inherent in remote work. Strong said workers should use social activities to genuinely connect with peers and family, warning against the common pitfall of using alcohol to relieve the pressure of the swing.
While many mining companies offer employee assistance programs (EAP) for general wellbeing, Strong views her practice as a specialised complement, particularly for workers navigating domestic violence matters or family court. Her clinical background spans drug and alcohol services, domestic violence support, and mental health roles across prison and community settings, allowing her to handle complex cases that standard corporate programs cannot.
The critical distinction of Strong’s service is the provision of documentation. While an EAP offers confidential support, it does not provide the paperwork required for legal proceedings.
Strong’s clinic provides essential court documentation, including support letters, relapse-prevention strategies and safety plans.
These tools provide magistrates with tangible evidence of a worker’s commitment to positive change, which can be a crucial factor in achieving favourable legal outcomes.
“I am not trying to take people away from EAP, not by any means,” Strong said. “But if you go through EAP, you don’t get paperwork. So that is our specific point of difference: if you are going to court, come and see us because we can begin the process with you regarding paperwork.”
The value of this flexible, legally robust support is evident in the experience of ‘John’, a senior trainer who navigated a decade-long legal battle for custody of his children. Managing an on-site team while fighting a complex legal case required a unique support structure.
By seeing Strong on his days off, sometimes with months between appointments, he maintained his positive mental health and kept his life centred.
“I would see him on his days off. And sometimes wouldn’t see him for months at a time, but he always came back,” Strong said.
This feature appeared in the autumn edition of the Mining Magazine.
