This tribute is adapted from the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN), honoring the life and extraordinary contributions of Professor Michael Hazelton to mental health nursing. Professor Hazelton passed away on September 21, 2025, leaving behind a remarkable legacy in mental health nursing education, research, and advocacy.
A Life Devoted to Mental Health Nursing
As President of Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN), it is with great sadness that we share the news that Professor Mike Hazelton has died (Sunday 21st September 2025) after living with metastatic melanoma for almost four years. Mike was twice a Past President of ACMHN, first (1994-1998), and more recently (2020–2023). His significant legacy arises from his broad national and international leadership, scholarship, and advocacy for our mental health nursing profession. He was a Life Member and Fellow of the ACMHN.
Personal Remembrances
Over the last few months Past President Professor Peter Santangelo and I had visited Mike and Ellen in Mike’s hospital room. On one occasion, he played his guitar, and we had a joyful singalong together; he was a rock and roller and jazz musician among his many talents. More recently, sick of hospital cuisine, he asked me to order pizza delivered to his room, and we enjoyed it together. Some very special times together, and treasured memories. He was always keen to hear news of ACMHN and how the College is progressing. He was always full of generosity of spirit, support and encouragement for me as I follow in his shoes.
Professional Journey and Achievements
Mike commenced his nursing career at Parramatta Hospital in 1974 and completed a Psychiatric Nursing Certificate at North Ryde Psychiatric Hospital in 1977. He achieved a BA (1984), MA (1988), and PhD in sociology from Macquarie University (1997). That sociological lens—attentive to power, citizenship, and human rights—became a defining feature of his lifelong contribution to mental health nursing.
Over five decades Mike served in roles spanning clinical care, education, and executive leadership. His academic appointments included professorial roles at University of Tasmania; Curtin University; and, from 2001, Professor of Mental Health Nursing at the University of Newcastle (UoN), a post he held until his retirement in 2020. He then continued as Honorary Professor (2020–2023). He was Dean of Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at University of Newcastle from 2006 to 2013, shaping curricula, mentoring staff, and strengthening research capacity.
Educational Legacy
There, he designed and launched the first Master of Mental Health Nursing program, with a legacy today of over 1000 students undertaking this program today. Even in retirement such was his dedication, he continued to teach into the program, and as a result, 1000’s of mental health nurses today have benefited from his tutorage.
In retirement, he served ACMHN as the immediate Past President, during the turbulent COVID-19 years, and also continued to supervise several PhD students through his Honorary Professorship at UoN, and also as Adjunct Professor at RMIT University.
Research and Publications
Mike’s contribution to mental health nursing was exceptional. He edited the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Mental Health Nursing as it transitioned to our ACMHN affiliated International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (IJMHN) (1998–2004), stewarding the journal through pivotal years of growth. The IJMHN is now the highest impact mental health nursing journal in the world.
Mike was a prolific researcher with a large volume of publications. His early work interrogated discourse, reform, and citizenship in mental health policy; subsequent studies addressed community mental health models, professional development education in dialectical behaviour therapy for borderline personality disorder, patient-related violence in emergency departments, mental health literacy, human rights, addressing forensic seclusion, and innovations in education and technology. He co-edited and co-authored major Australian psychiatric-mental health nursing texts. His publication record spans more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and multiple book chapters, complemented by national reports that influenced education and workforce reform.
Mentorship and International Impact
Mike supervised to completion at least 30 doctoral candidates across Australia and abroad. His students and colleagues remember a kind mentor who combined intellectual expertise with warmth, pragmatism, humility, and unwavering advocacy for consumers, families, and the mental health nursing workforce. Internationally, he held visiting and honorary appointments—including Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds, Honorary Chairman of the Halla/Newcastle Centre for Problem-Based Learning in the Republic of Korea, and Honorary Fellow of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Foundation of Ghana—reflecting his commitment to global dialogue and capability building.
Honours and Recognition
Mike’s professional honours included multiple national research awards from the ACMHN, Life Membership of ACMHN (the College’s highest honour), and numerous invitations to deliver keynotes and orations. Whether speaking on the right to treatment and the right treatment, on changing the narrative around borderline personality disorder, or on the humanisation of healthcare, he brought evidence, compassion, and ethical clarity to complex debates.
Legacy and Values
Those who worked with Mike will remember his steady leadership, incisive critique, and deep humanity. He championed recovery-oriented care, consumer and carer partnership, and the centrality of citizenship and human rights in mental health services. He believed that mental health nursing scholarship should serve practice and that practice should honour the person—beliefs he enacted in classrooms, committees, wards, and conference auditoriums around the world.
Final Remembrance
Mike is mourned by his wife, Ellen, family, friends, former students, colleagues, and the many ACMHN members and service users whose practice and lives were touched by his work. The mental health nursing community marks his passing with gratitude for a life devoted to advancing knowledge, improving care, and strengthening the profession he loved.
He was an accomplished, kind, generous and humble mental health nurse, who lived life well and to the full. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy continue to inspire courageous, compassionate mental health nursing.
In Closing
We extend our deepest condolences to Ellen and Professor Hazelton’s family during this difficult time. His contributions to mental health nursing will continue to impact generations of nurses and the patients they serve.
💬 Share Your Memories
We invite readers to share their own memories and reflections of Professor Michael Hazelton in the comments below, as we collectively honor this remarkable leader in mental health nursing.
Source: Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) – Professor Rhonda Wilson PhD CMHN FACMHN, President ACMHN, 24 September 2025
