Incoming AIS deputy director Matti Clements hopes her appointment will help set a new standard for mental health awareness in sport by breaking down barriers at every level of management and high performance.
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Clements will start in her role next week after she was unveiled as the leader of a new AIS wellbeing and engagement team to focus on preparing athletes for life after sport.
Her position as the team leader and a deputy director is part of the new-look AIS, under the guidance of director Peter Conde.
Clements, a former AIS psychologist, has spent the past seven years working across Australia's professional codes to help athletes and officials understand what was previously a taboo subject.
"My vision is that this space [mental wellbeing of athletes] is seen as important as any other area in high-performance sport," Clements said.
"It needs a seat at the table in the high-performance environment and I think that's clearly indicated by this role.
"It can't be something that sits down the bottom of the servicing model. It has to be just as important as everything else we know is really important.
"The AIS has to be the leader in that. The appointment of a deputy director in athlete wellbeing demonstrates the AIS is going to be a leader in this space.
"We're going to be right at the front ... we need to do that in order to ask other sports to do the same. There are already some good things going on, my job is to highlight that and bring it all together."
Several athletes opened up about their post-career battles last year, revealing intimate details about their struggles after they retired from their chosen sports.
Clements has worked closely with the AFL, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association, Tennis Australia and the St George Illawarra Dragons in her role as a director of Mental Edge Consulting.
Her new athlete wellbeing and engagement team at the AIS will work to implement programs to identify triggers to help athletes make a smooth transition from sport to the workforce at the end of their careers.
They will also put in place programs to ensure they are better prepared for a range of situations, rather than limiting athlete opportunities to tertiary studies while they are training.
"Our athletes are our No. 1 commodity in sport, so we need to make sure we all have the skills to support them," Clements said.
"Mental health is definitely one important aspect of this portfolio, but it's not the only one. We need to give athletes opportunities to investigate what they might like to do when their careers finish.
"This role was too good to turn down. It's an opportunity to do things really well in this space."
