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(Wakerman et al., 2009; Zhao, Thomas, Guthridge & Wakerman, 2014) and the pressures and reactionary nature of delivering remote mental healthcare. 2.17 Formation of Remote Professional Representation In 1982, 130 remote area nurses from across Australia convened in Alice Springs to put remote health issues on the national health agenda. This gathering gave birth to an organisation called the Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia (CRANA), which became the leading national voice for remote health. At the time, the challenges confronting nurses working in remote locations were relatively unknown and poorly understood by their non-remote colleagues in the health professions, government and policymakers. The remote health workforce was thus exposed to great professional vulnerability. This impetus led the organisation to strive for recognition and support for remote area nurses and their broad scope of practice, and the promotion of the issues facing remote service delivery. In 1991, a group of nursing academics launched a new nursing association, the Association for Australian Rural Nurses (AARN), whose mandate was to raise the profile of rural and remote nurses and to influence State, Territory and Federal Governments on issues facing rural and remote communities and their health professionals (Buckley, 1997). Prior to 1991, remote and metropolitan nurses’ interests were represented politically through professional associations such as CRANA, the Royal College of Nursing Australia (RCNA) and New South Wales Country Nurses (NSWCN), which legitimised their claims for credibility (Hegney, 1996). Rural nursing, however, remained invisible until the formation of the AARN in 1991. The AARN provided rural nurses with a political voice