The mother of five from Charnwood said this year her focus was on mental health and stamping out the stigma she had witnessed since her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia 11 years ago.

"When I see him and talk with him, his whole world lights up, but when he walks down the street people see the illness and not him," she said.

In the decade since her brother's diagnosis, she said social attitudes had changed for the better, but shocking rates of suffering and suicide across the country meant more needed to be done.

Ms Kikkert is standing as a Liberal candidate in the ACT election, but said her birthday, July 3, was a day to continue a personal tradition she established years before deciding to run.

"It's understandable for people to be sceptical," she said. "But it shouldn't stop us from doing the good things we truly believe in our hearts to be right."

To tick off 36 random acts of kindness, she will head to the Canberra Hospital to visit someone who hasn't yet had visitors, and give crayons and colouring books to children in the wards.

"Simple things such as purchasing someone's hot chocolate or coffee, or handing them some flowers – it all has an impact," she said. "But doing it in public, others see it. They see it and it inspires them to do it too."

Mental health is a top federal election issue, and will no doubt be front of mind hours after the July 2 poll.

Ms Kikkert said there was a shared responsibility to tackle mental healthcare concerns and the devastating impact of illness, particularly on young people.

"The government needs to focus on mental health because it has a large impact on how they fund other services within the community," she said.

"But we need to reach out, and that doesn't require the government; it requires everyone to step up, take action and make a difference."