Introduction

For more than 30 years, Caraniche has delivered critical mental and behavioural health services across Australia, from prisons and probation to corporate wellbeing and community therapy services. By 2022, the organisation had reached a tipping point. Legacy systems were limiting growth, manual processes were draining staff capacity, and innovation felt increasingly out of reach.

Caraniche partnered with Tacklit, a purpose-built technology platform for mental health services. What followed was not just a systems upgrade, but a transformation in how the organisation worked, scaled, and served clients.

The Caraniche Challenge (and Opportunity)

Caraniche is a Melbourne-based mental health organisation that operates across a wide range of service areas, including:

• Social justice programs for offenders in both community and custodial settings, focusing on mental health, trauma, and substance use

• Workplace services through Employee Assistance Programs and psychosocial risk management, particularly in emergency services and education

• Behavioural health services delivered digitally, including therapy for addiction and emotional regulation

Caraniche’s clinical model relies on a combination of individual and group therapy, often delivered concurrently and supported by structured CBT programs. This complexity, combined with a diverse client base that includes both tech-literate professionals and digitally excluded individuals, placed significant demands on operations, systems, and clinical teams.

By 2022, Caraniche employed over 200 staff, and its operating model was constrained by a series of interconnected challenges. CEO Jacinta Pollard described the situation as "a little bit of a house of cards."

There were significant operational challenges: 

• Severe clinician workforce shortages in Australia, leading to service bottlenecks and long waitlists

• Administrative inefficiencies, particularly in managing large group programs using cumbersome manual processes

• Limited service access under a face-to-face model, especially for clients in regional or remote areas

The difficulties were compounded by large technology limitations: 

• A legacy system that had been extensively customised but was no longer fit for purpose

• A growing number of disconnected, bolt-on applications that made workflows fragile and unmanageable

• Significant effort required to extract and report data for government contracts

• An unstable digital foundation that made it impossible to explore innovation, including AI

Caraniche needed a solution that could unify its operations, support frontline staff, improve the client experience, and establish a platform for growth and innovation.

Caraniche and Tacklit Partner to Drive Digital Transformation

Caraniche chose Tacklit as a strategic partner, not just a vendor. Together, they approached the transformation through five key principles:

1. Start with deep collaboration

The engagement began with a series of workshops involving leadership, clinicians, administrative staff, and support workers. These sessions helped surface real-world pain points and align the platform to both operational and clinical needs.

2. Pilot with precision

The first implementation focused on a single program: Kickstart, a mandated, structured group intervention for young offenders. The content was already well established, allowing the team to concentrate on the digitisation process without having to simultaneously redesign the cli nical model.

3. Build momentum with early wins

To support clients with low digital literacy, Caraniche introduced breakout support during early sessions. This not only reduced barriers to access but created an opportunity for clients to develop digital confidence. The early success generated internal demand, with other teams asking when they would be able to move online.

4. Focus on improvement, not replication

At times, teams attempted to recreate outdated workflows in the new platform. Leadership helped re-centre the focus on strategic goals, encouraging teams to use the transformation as an opportunity to work more effectively rather than simply automate existing inefficiencies.

5. Prepare for responsible AI adoption

Once Tacklit’s integrated platform was in place, the team launched a pilot of AI-assisted clinical note-taking. Clinicians could record verbal reflections post-session, which were transcribed and structured using Tacklit’s secure AI tools. All data was de-identified, and Caraniche retained full governance and control. The success of this initial pilot provides a blueprint for adopting AI across other operational areas and activities. 

Significant Impact Achieved

Caraniche achieved significant benefits to date from its digital transformation: 

Unified, scalable infrastructure

Caraniche now operates from a single secure platform that supports the full client journey, including assessment, scheduling, telehealth, progress tracking, and outcomes measurement. "It’s all sitting in one place," noted Pollard. "We’re not bolting things on. It makes it feel much more manageable."

Improved access and autonomy

The digital-first service model has increased access for clients in regional areas and provided greater flexibility and choice through self-booking and remote delivery.

More time for clinicians

The AI note-taking capability delivered a 30 percent reduction in time spent on documentation, freeing clinicians to focus on care delivery and reducing administrative burden.

Substantial cost savings

By consolidating its technology stack, Caraniche reduced internal tech support costs by approximately $500,000 per year, returning the investment in Tacklit implementation in less than a year, and generating savings ongoing which can be invested in other operational areas.

A shift in culture

The transformation sparked a change in mindset across the organisation. “Suddenly the staff are asking for things, trusting the technology and wanting to innovate” said Pollard. “It generates a whole new way of thinking about what you do and how you do it.”

Conclusion

Caraniche’s transformation demonstrates what is possible when strategic vision is matched with the right platform partner. The shift to Tacklit was not just about replacing technology, but about building the foundations for more scalable, flexible, and client-centred care.

As Jacinta Pollard reflected:

“After many years of costly investment in systems, customisation and bolt-ons that never delivered what we needed, we discovered Tacklit. The team at Tacklit understands clinical service delivery. They have built an evolving platform that has solved our pain points and gives us access to tech innovation that we could never do ourselves.”

Through a collaborative, phased approach grounded in clinical insight and operational pragmatism, Caraniche has significantly improved service delivery while reducing overheads and lifting staff engagement. With Tacklit, it has moved beyond short-term fixes to establish a robust foundation for ongoing improvement and future innovation.

You can watch Jacinta Pollard discussing her experience with Chris Griffiths, Tacklit’s CEO, in our recent one hour webinar, here.