Services will be eligible to be partially covered by Medicare, but patients will also have to rely on private health insurance or out-of-pocket costs – common in mental health care.
Healy, the former head of NAB’s business bank who went on to co-found Judo Bank in 2020, was motivated to move into the mental health space after his 24-year-old son George died in 2021.
George had struggled with depression, and without successful treatment, had moved to the United States to study as a change of scenery. There, at a party, he took a drug laced with fentanyl, and later died in his sleep.
“I saw a system with my son that was difficult to navigate, and when you did, it was underwhelming,” Healy said. “As a business executive … I saw mental health problems in the workplace, and tragedies, and always felt the business community and society did not care enough about what causes, or how to manage, these problems.”
The tragedy pushed Healy into devising Malu, though he had already developed an interest in health, having enrolled in a neuroscience and psychology masters from King’s College London. After George’s death, Healy’s plans for Malu took shape, a process which included a six-week study tour of mental health hospitals and clinics in Europe to discover.
In the Netherlands, Healy arranged to take psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – as he tried to better understand how it was being used for treatment-resistant depression.
Loading
Psilocybin treatment remains controversial and niche, with Healy saying it can cost more than $20,000 to access. He wants Malu to help change that, and challenge the traditional approach to medication that has seen one in seven Australians actively taking antidepressants, prescribed by a doctor, in 2025.
“The health sector can tend to be quite conservative and traditional when assessing new therapies, but I think we have to have an open mind. I see psilocybin as having a role to play.
“It’s wrong to close our mind to something that could help people who are really struggling, and they should have the right to access that treatment at a cost that is not prohibitive,” Healy said.
Despite his long career in banking, Healy hopes Malu will define his legacy. “When I pass away, I’d like my tombstone not to say ‘here lies Joseph the banker’, but ‘here lies Joseph the mental health entrepreneur’.”
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
