Elfy Scott is an Australian journalist, author, presenter and producer whose career has developed across print journalism, podcasting, video media and long-form writing. Her public work is shaped by lived family experience, academic training in psychology and journalism, and a sustained focus on mental health, climate science and generational inequality in Australia.
Rather than positioning herself as a commentator removed from the issues she covers, Scott’s work is grounded in personal history and careful reporting. Over time, she has become a recognised media voice precisely because she resists oversimplification and centres the systems that shape individual lives.
Early Life and a Diagnosis That Was Not Spoken About
Elfy Scott was about 14 years old when she was told that her mother was living with schizophrenia. The information did not come from an open conversation at home, but from a school counsellor. At that age, she had little understanding of what schizophrenia actually was. What she did understand was defined by fear, darkness and taboo, reflecting how complex mental health conditions were commonly treated in Australian society at the time.
Before the diagnosis was formally named, Scott had already begun to notice that something in her family life felt different. Her mother sometimes spoke to voices that were not there and became intensely preoccupied with fears about home break-ins. These behaviours went beyond what Scott recognised as ordinary eccentricity, yet they were rarely explained or discussed openly.
Putting a name to the diagnosis helped certain pieces fall into place, but it also created new uncertainty. Scott was left asking what schizophrenia really meant, how it affected different people, and why she had never encountered stories from those living with it. The silence surrounding the condition made it feel isolating and frightening, even within her own home.
Growing up in the early 2000s, Scott turned to the internet for answers. Like many teenagers at the time, she spent long hours online, searching Wikipedia pages and poorly sourced websites. What she found was fragmented information and little sense of how people with schizophrenia actually lived. Positive or realistic portrayals were almost entirely absent from mainstream media, newspapers, films and television.
This absence mattered. Without accessible stories, Scott felt alone in her experience. Her friends did not understand what her family was navigating, not because they lacked compassion, but because the language and narratives simply were not there.
Education and the Limits of Formal Explanation
Driven by a desire to understand the mind and complex mental health diagnoses, Scott went on to complete a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences at the University of New South Wales. Her studies provided a structured understanding of mental illness, diagnosis and treatment, but they did not resolve the questions that had first emerged in her teenage years.
Psychology offered clinical frameworks and diagnostic criteria, but it did not capture the lived reality of schizophrenia as it unfolded inside families and communities. The gap between academic explanation and everyday experience remained.
To better bridge that divide, Scott later completed a Master’s degree in Advanced Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney. Journalism allowed her to do what psychology alone could not: listen deeply, ask difficult questions and connect research to human stories. The combination of these two disciplines would come to define her professional approach.
Learning What Schizophrenia Really Looks Like
It was not until Scott began researching her own book that her understanding of schizophrenia shifted in a fundamental way. Through extensive interviews with Australians living with complex mental health conditions, as well as their families and carers, she encountered a range of experiences far broader than any diagnostic manual suggested.
Schizophrenia is commonly defined through frameworks such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which focuses on symptoms including hallucinations, delusions and disorganised speech. But Scott’s research revealed how limited these definitions are in practice. The condition varies widely from person to person, not only in symptoms, but in severity, duration and impact on daily life.
Some people become acutely unwell and require many years of intensive care. Others move in and out of psychotic states and live relatively stable lives in between. Some continue to hear voices daily despite medication and treatment, while others find that medication controls most symptoms for most of their lives.
Scott’s own mother falls into this latter category. Medication has quelled most symptoms for most of her life, allowing her to live well. Over time, Scott came to recognise how fortunate her family’s experience had been. Outcomes are not determined by diagnosis alone. They depend heavily on socioeconomic circumstances, access to healthcare, location and social support.
This understanding sharpened Scott’s critique of Australia’s mental healthcare system. She has been clear that many Australians living with schizophrenia do not have the same support her family had, and that people without privilege continue to fall through systemic gaps. Stigma plays a central role in this failure, discouraging open discussion and reducing political urgency for reform.
Some practitioners now argue that schizophrenia is such a broad and variable diagnosis that it may no longer be useful as a single category. This debate reflects the difficulty of capturing lived experience within rigid clinical labels.
Journalism as a Tool for Public Understanding
Elfy Scott works as an award-winning freelance journalist, contributing reporting, analysis and commentary to major Australian publications. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Age, Crikey, The Feed, BuzzFeed News and VICE.
She is also a regular contributor on Triple j’s Hack and ABC Radio Sydney, where she discusses Australian politics, social policy, mental health and economic pressures facing younger generations. Her journalism often links personal experience to broader structural issues, particularly in healthcare, housing and inequality.
In 2023, Scott served as Executive Editor at Mamamia, where she published long-form journalism and columns and appeared across the network’s major podcasts, including The Quicky, Mamamia Out Loud, Lady Startup Stories and The Spill. The role combined editorial responsibility with daily engagement in national conversation.
Podcasting, Video Media and Broadcasting
Podcasting has been a significant part of Scott’s career. She has hosted and produced Left Right Out, a Spotify-exclusive Australian politics podcast, and The Green Canary, which focuses on environmental and climate issues.
Her work in video journalism was recognised in 2021, when she received a B&T 30 Under 30 award in the producer and journalist category for her work on The Junkee Takeaway. The program aimed to explain current affairs in a way that was accessible to younger audiences without sacrificing accuracy.
As an on-camera presenter, Scott has worked with organisations including ABC, Bank Australia, Red Bull, Google, Snapchat and Greenpeace. Her presenting style prioritises explanation and clarity rather than promotion.
Writing The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About
Scott’s debut book, The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About, was published in early 2023 by Pantera Press. The book examines the silence and stigma surrounding complex mental health conditions in Australia, particularly schizophrenia.
The book is shaped by a central question that has followed Scott since adolescence: what she wishes she had known at 14. Through research and interviews, she challenges the idea that schizophrenia inevitably leads to poor outcomes and highlights the many people who live fulfilling lives when supported properly.
The book also interrogates the role of stigma in shaping public understanding and policy failure. Scott argues that silence allows systemic problems in mental healthcare to persist, particularly for people without strong social or financial support.
Housing, Cost of Living and Generational Inequality
Scott has also written publicly about housing pressure and cost-of-living stress. Renting with a partner, she has described how a significant portion of income goes towards housing, reflecting the broader challenges facing her generation.
These experiences inform her growing focus on generational inequality, a theme that connects housing, employment insecurity, mental health and long-term social stability. Rather than treating these issues as separate, Scott frames them as interconnected systems that shape life outcomes.
Public Speaking, Moderation and Ongoing Work
Alongside her writing and media work, Scott is an experienced host and moderator. She has led major Australian events including the National Summit on Intergenerational Fairness, the Momentum Sustainable Finance Conference and Future Forte 2024. She regularly moderates panels, interviews public figures and participates in public debates.
In 2024, she was awarded Writers Victoria’s Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund, supporting research for her second book, which will focus on generational inequality and hope.
Scott has stated that she remains open to freelance and collaborative work, particularly projects focused on mental health and climate science.
Privacy, Boundaries and Public Life
Elfy Scott speaks openly about family experience where it contributes to public understanding, particularly around mental health. At the same time, she maintains clear boundaries around her private life. Beyond general references to having a partner, she does not publicly disclose personal relationship details, and there is no verified public information regarding wealth or net worth.
This balance reflects her belief that openness should serve understanding, not intrusion.
Conclusion
Elfy Scott’s career has been shaped by what was once left unsaid. From a teenage search for answers to a body of journalism and writing that challenges stigma, her work centres on making complex issues visible rather than frightening.
Through reporting, broadcasting and long-form storytelling, she has contributed to a deeper public conversation in Australia about mental health, inequality and climate, grounded in evidence, empathy and lived experience.
FAQs
Who is Elfy Scott?
Elfy Scott is an Australian journalist, author, presenter and producer. She is known for her work across print media, podcasts and broadcasting, with a focus on mental health, climate science and generational inequality.
What is Elfy Scott known for?
She is best known for her journalism, podcasting and her 2023 book The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About, which examines stigma and silence around complex mental health conditions in Australia.
What is Elfy Scott’s educational background?
Elfy Scott holds a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences from the University of New South Wales and a Master’s degree in Advanced Journalism from the University of Technology Sydney.
What inspired Elfy Scott to write about mental health?
Her work is shaped by personal experience. She learned as a teenager that her mother was living with schizophrenia, which led her to question how little public information and understanding existed around complex mental health conditions.
What is The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About about?
The book explores schizophrenia and other complex mental health conditions in Australia, focusing on lived experience, stigma, recovery and the gaps in the mental healthcare system.
What media outlets has Elfy Scott worked with?
Her journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Age, Crikey, The Feed, BuzzFeed News and VICE, and she regularly appears on Triple j’s Hack and ABC Radio Sydney.
Has Elfy Scott received any awards?
Yes. In 2021, she received a B&T 30 Under 30 award in the producer and journalist category for her work on The Junkee Takeaway.
What is Elfy Scott currently working on?
Elfy Scott is researching her second book, supported by Writers Victoria’s Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund, focusing on generational inequality and hope, while continuing freelance journalism and presenting work.
