Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE)

Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) is a not-for-profit organisation devoted to reducing the impacts of emotional and mental health problems in the pre and postnatal periods. Dr Nicole Highet is the Founder and Executive Director of COPE. Nicole was the former Deputy CEO and National Perinatal Advisor of Beyond Blue between 2001-2013. Her role in the perinatal area specifically included oversight of the National Research Program, advocacy and the implementation of Australia’s $85M National Perinatal Depression Initiative (NPDI). Other areas of specialisation within the perinatal field include consumer research, national community awareness campaigns, clinical guidelines and resource development, digital screening and research and advocacy to inform and guide policy and best practice. Her leadership and strong commitment to perinatal mental health has resulted in the formal establishment of COPE in 2013. The COPE foundations are underpinned by extensive research and best practice. Building upon this, COPE provides a national, dedicated focus to perinatal mental health, to address the identified issues that we know are currently preventing people from accessing timely and effective, information and care.