Medibank continues partnership with Ending Loneliness Together with a focus on social connection and prevention

Medibank has renewed its partnership with peak body Ending Loneliness Together as part of its long-term approach to helping address loneliness in Australia.

Together, they will be focused on raising national awareness of the impacts of loneliness and supporting meaningful social connections of young Australians.

The collaboration supports Medibank’s $50 million commitment to improve mental health and social wellbeing outcomes of Australians and its 10-year commitment to addressing loneliness.

Medibank Hub Lead – Talent Engagement, Diversity, Inclusion & Sustainability Andrew Retschko said: “Loneliness is a significant social determinant of mental health and we know that connection is a powerful protective factor.

“More Australians than ever are experiencing loneliness and particularly young people. Stigma remains a major barrier for people to get the support they need, alongside uncertainty about what to do or where to turn.

“It’s why we are committed to being a leading voice in normalising these conversations and supporting community initiatives that promote the importance of creating meaningful connections,” he said.

Mr Retschko explained that by taking a preventative health approach, Medibank aimed to play a part to reduce the risk of chronic loneliness, which is a leading factor in poorer physical and mental health outcomes over time.

“There’s no silver bullet, but collaboration is key to bending the curve of the trend of loneliness in Australia,” he said.

“No one organisation can solve loneliness alone. It requires a collective effort of organisations across sectors working together to make a difference.

“The community of organisations and researchers that Ending Loneliness Together brings together is necessary to make a coordinated and meaningful change to loneliness in Australia. It’s why this partnership is really important to us and we are pleased to extend our commitment to Ending Loneliness Together,” he said.

Associate Professor Michelle Lim, CEO and Scientific Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, said: "We are pleased to work with Medibank on the issue of loneliness. We know we need a collective effort to address this health, social and community problem in Australia. This partnership will accelerate our national efforts to address this public health priority.”

Initial partnership activity includes:

Supporting 2025 Loneliness Awareness Week – 4-10 August

Medibank is proud to be a supporting partner to Ending Loneliness Together’s 2025 Loneliness Awareness Week campaign. This year’s campaign, Moments Matter, is focused on young people 16-25 years, Australia’s most vulnerable loneliness cohort. To learn more about this year’s campaign and how you can get involved, visit lonelinessawarenessweek.com.au .

Principle Partner of Ending Loneliness Together’s 2025 Annual Conference

Hosted in Melbourne, the 2025 Conference will bring together leading experts across research and evaluation, government, lived experience, community, health, mental health, youth, corporate, technology and priority populations to inspire conversations about research translation and best practices in addressing loneliness and social isolation. With Medibank’s support, the conference will extend to a 2-day event in 2025.

Social wellbeing measure to be trialled as part of corporate health checks

Medibank is enhancing its corporate health check program by introducing a new measure focused on social wellbeing. Medibank is partnering with Ending Loneliness Together to provide social health literacy training to its corporate health check practitioners. This training aims to strengthen their ability to assess and address loneliness and social health during checks. Approximately 20 practitioners will undertake the training to build their capacity in this important area.

Live Better August social connection challenge

To coincide with Loneliness Awareness Week, Medibank will offer a social connection challenge through its Live Better rewards health and wellbeing program, focused on building customers’ social connections.