Healthy Tasmania

Healthy Tasmania We fill the gaps! We create whatever is needed to build connections between people who need help and people who provide help. We run programs. We manage events.

We started Healthy Tasmania to help people live the best life they can. We want to help Tasmanians improve their health, strengthen their life skills, to live in communities that are thriving economically and socially and be as passionate about Tasmania as we are. Healthy Tasmania works with community partners to build capacity, improve equity and inclusion, and promote pride of place; our motivation is to make communities thrive. We design, build and deliver projects to improve the life skills of Tasmanians. We write policy. We organise people. We find money. We’ll do the work, we’ll manage the process, we’ll fix your headaches, we’ll make you look good and we’ll share positive stories broadly to get your brand the recognition it deserves. Get in touch to find out how we will make it happen.

Here’s to long days, short emails and plenty of Tassie sunshine.May your holidays be bright, your gatherings easy, and y...
22/12/2025

Here’s to long days, short emails and plenty of Tassie sunshine.

May your holidays be bright, your gatherings easy, and your snacks plentiful. A big festive 'cheers' from the Healthy Tasmania crew.

It’s an oldie but a goodie. Our communities are diverse and deeply local. Taking a moment to understand their stories be...
17/12/2025

It’s an oldie but a goodie. Our communities are diverse and deeply local. Taking a moment to understand their stories before offering solutions is what turns well-meaning ideas into work that works for them. Evidence-informed, locally adapted.

Here at Healthy Tasmania, we are part of Change for Health, a coalition of health organisations in Tasmania advocating f...
16/12/2025

Here at Healthy Tasmania, we are part of Change for Health, a coalition of health organisations in Tasmania advocating for an independent model for preventive health in our island state.

So it’s alarming to read this news and what it means for ongoing efforts in preventive health in Australia.

We know that Government has an important role as the policymaker, funder and enabler for preventive health. It should create the conditions, offer the funding, and help connect effort across agencies. We need government to empower and act as the important enabler. That’s how we build something sustainable.

But a dedicated health body, with its own board, focused solely on prevention allows a response to what’s happening on the ground, not bound by policy timelines, and it allows players to be more agile outside of government – in community, we’re face-to-face, we can act in real-time. A statutory authority with a clear preventive health mandate, supported by law can focus on the long game – not just election cycles. It allows the preventive health strategy to stay adaptable and until now, has been protected from shifting government priorities.

Fostering greater public and political support for community-based health initiatives leads to better recognition of community services industry in policy, strategy and funding and addresses funding inequities to support smaller, grassroots organisations that are often overlooked but play a crucial role in health outcomes.

People should expect to experience better health and wellbeing outcomes because our government, communities, and people, understand the inherent value in helping people stay well, through preventive action.

Our MD, Lucy, recently went back to where it all started - Uni. But she wasn't there to study - she was there to PICK UP...
08/12/2025

Our MD, Lucy, recently went back to where it all started - Uni. But she wasn't there to study - she was there to PICK UP AN AWARD!!

Our very own Lucy Byrne was awarded the Alumni Award for Professional Achievement from Victoria University, 25 years after finishing her undergraduate degree.

Lucy's reflection says it all: "If you'd asked 17-year-old me whether I'd ever win an Alumni Award, I would have absolutely laughed at you. I was never very academic, but I have always been pretty determined."

While we might question the academic bit (she does have a Master's degree!), we won't argue with the determined bit. Lucy has always been determined to find a better way to support communities and organisations to be the best they can be.

Pictured with Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker and Lifetime Achievement Award winner Robert Borzillo.

This is Penny's mash-up of quotes about confidence. Whether she's working with leaders, teams or community members, it's...
04/12/2025

This is Penny's mash-up of quotes about confidence. Whether she's working with leaders, teams or community members, it's one of the things she gets asked about most.

Unfortunately, it's not something we're born with, or blessed with, nor can it be bought. Which is terribly disappointing! Her take is that confidence comes from repetition. It's a bit like strength and conditioning training - you don't wait to feel strong to lift the weights, you lift the weights to feel strong.

It’s also a quote taken directly from her brand new book! Yep, Penny has written a book… well, two books actually. Pfft. Classic Penny move.

It’s called 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘱 🫳🎤. Read it one way, and it’s all about how you can 𝘉𝘦 𝘢 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 on podcasts, panels, the media and also in meetings and important moments where you need to speak up. Flip the book over, and you’re on the other side of the mic, reading about how to 𝘉𝘦 𝘢 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘵 in all those same situations.

She tells stories, she shares strategies, she goes into the science, and she's got it ready just in time for Christmas! You can buy a copy (or 7) here: https://www.pennyterry.com/books

Ahh, that time Lucy and Hayden joined the North Melbourne Football Club....... with Healthy Tasmania as partners in deli...
04/11/2025

Ahh, that time Lucy and Hayden joined the North Melbourne Football Club....... with Healthy Tasmania as partners in delivering their Huddle Program in Devonport - and of course nailed the classic crossed-arms footy pose.

We loved the program then, and love the memory now.

Ooo yes, we’re feeling this one right now.We’ve often talked about our community wide programs as our babies - built wit...
02/11/2025

Ooo yes, we’re feeling this one right now.

We’ve often talked about our community wide programs as our babies - built with love, care and plenty of learning along the way.

Now, it’s time for them to spread their wings.

They’re in great hands with local councils and communities who’ll keep shaping, adapting and growing what’s been started.

Roots given. Wings earned. Off they go.

What a time we’ve had on the front line!From the very first Active Launceston and Healthy Hobart  session, we’ve been th...
29/10/2025

What a time we’ve had on the front line!

From the very first Active Launceston and Healthy Hobart session, we’ve been there - helping Tasmanians move more, connect more, and feel better.

We assessed the need, developed the partnerships, found the funding, developed and delivered, evaluated and shared... oh... so many stories. Together, these two programs have a total attendance rate of almost 55 000 through community-driven, council-supported initiatives that continue to change lives.

As we’ve been going through the archives, one thing’s clear, we’ve had fun! Eighteen years of Active Launceston and nine years of Healthy Hobart have shown just how powerful a well-supported community program can be.

We’ve made the hard decision that now is the right time to step away from the day-to-day management and transfer the ongoing stewardship to the local councils. This was always the long-term plan for them to be embedded and sustainable, and we’re so so proud to see the legacy living on.

Every time these programs pop up on our socials or in our local park or hall, we’ll be cheering loudly from the sidelines or joining in - whether it’s a boot scoot, bike ride or boot camp.

While we’re stepping back from daily delivery, we're leaning in to help communities set up their own programs though our Healthy and Connected Communities framework™ and make sure they get it right from the start.

Programs like George Town, that we established in partnership with council 6 years ago, continues to go from strength to strength, proving that when community health is owned locally, the ripple effects are powerful.

They’re also urgent.

The future of health in Tasmania depends on what happens long before someone walks into a hospital. We’ll only ease the pressure on the acute system when we make preventative health a priority. This⬇⬇ is how we do it: make it easy, make it community-centred, make it part of Tasmanian life.

In a small state like Tassie, we know what’s possible - healthier, more connected communities. If your community wants to kickstart its own community-wide initiative, let’s chat. We’d love to help you make it stick.

Being accurate matters - that’s why we need good data, collected well and baked in from the start.But data alone won’t c...
24/10/2025

Being accurate matters - that’s why we need good data, collected well and baked in from the start.

But data alone won’t cut it. Resonance is what turns information into influence. And the only way to make sure our impact data resonates is to get in tune with the people who need to understand it.

That means taking the time to know them - asking better questions, reflecting on what’s happening in their world.

Do that, and you don’t have to cross your fingers hoping they’ll read the numbers right. You already know how to make your impact matter… to them.

One of our all time fav photos! That moment at a Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania Conference when one of our community part...
20/10/2025

One of our all time fav photos! That moment at a Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania Conference when one of our community participants, Casper, stepped into be our promo guy! Love your work Casper!

You might already have a spreadsheet filled with numbers, percentages and graphs. Maybe what’s missing is one more colum...
17/10/2025

You might already have a spreadsheet filled with numbers, percentages and graphs. Maybe what’s missing is one more column - the column for stories.

It's your stories that brings those numbers to life. While data shows the scale, a story makes it matter. When you bring the two together, your impact becomes visible, memorable and impossible to ignore.

Just found this ripper in the archives - could've have been our Album Cover....
14/10/2025

Just found this ripper in the archives - could've have been our Album Cover....

Address

Launceston, TAS

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61409937421

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Our Story

Healthy Tasmania was founded by us, sisters Lucy Byrne and Penny Terry who grew up in a rural community in Tasmania.

We call ourselves ‘community organisers’. We specialise in getting people working together to make good changes happen.

We work a little like the builders product ‘no more gaps’. While there are a lot of services available to help people and a lot of people who need those services, there is often a gap in the middle. We operate in the gap, working on a wide range of projects to make that connection happen; ultimately improving the individual, social and economic health of our communities.

We train, we create, we advise, we mentor, we strategise, and we speak. We show people and organisations how to feel valued and get others to value them, through effective storytelling.