Lauren Cook
Mental health reform is a key component of the Australian
Government’s ‘long term health plan’.[1]
In previous years, the Australian Government has been criticised
for mental health being ‘chronically underfunded’,[2]
with some stakeholders claiming that the mental health budget is ‘really half
of what it should get’.[3] Stakeholders have also criticised
previous funding allocations, suggesting that the Government should ‘reorient
investment towards early intervention and prevention’.[4]
The Government has committed an additional $338.1 million
in the Budget for mental health, with a particular focus on suicide prevention,
supporting older Australians, and mental health research.[5]
This investment is nearly double the commitments to mental health made in the
2017–18 Budget.[6]
It is unlikely that the measures outlined below will require
legislation.
Suicide prevention
The Government has committed $72.6 million in the
Budget for suicide prevention initiatives. This includes $37.6 million over
four years to beyondblue and Primary Health Networks to improve
follow-up care for people discharged from hospital following a suicide attempt,[7]
$33.8 million over four years to Lifeline Australia to enhance its
telephone crisis services, and $1.2 million in 2018–19 to SANE Australia
to deliver a targeted suicide awareness campaign.
Prior to the Budget, stakeholders advised the Government to
invest in intensive follow up treatment after suicide attempts. In its pre-budget
submission, Mental Health Australia stated that a previous suicide attempt was
the most reliable predictor of a subsequent death by suicide, with half of the
people discharged from hospital after a suicide attempt not attending follow-up
treatment.[8]
This funding has been welcomed by stakeholders, with the
Chair of beyondblue, Julia Gillard, commending the Minister for Health
for his ‘commitment to reducing Australia’s suicide rate’.[9]
Older Australians
As part of the Government’s ‘More Choices for a Long Life’ package,
the Government has committed a total of $102.5 million over four years
from 2018–19 to improve access to psychological services for older Australians.
This includes $82.5 million in funding for mental health services for
people in residential aged care facilities, and $20.0 million for the
development of a program to target the mental health of older Australians in
the community, particularly those at risk from isolation.
In 2012, just over half of all permanent aged care residents
had symptoms of depression.[10] Further, in 2016, men
over 85 had the highest rate of suicide in Australia.[11]
Despite this, older Australians in residential care are not eligible for
Medicare subsidised psychological treatment through the GP Mental Health
Treatment Plan.[12] While it appears that the
measure was introduced to address this gap, it is unclear whether changes will be
made to the eligibility criteria for the GP Mental Health Treatment Plan, or if
the measure will address this gap in other ways.
Stakeholders have overwhelmingly supported this measure, as
older Australians in residential aged care facilities have previously ‘not had
adequate access to mental health care, and been left unsupported when dealing
with conditions like depression and dementia’.[13]
Mental health research
The Government announced a distribution of $125.0 million
from the Medical Research Future Fund over 10 years from 2017–18 for Million
Minds Mental Health Research Mission (the Million Minds Mission).
The Million Minds Mission will look at prevention, new diagnoses, and
new treatment for mental health to support priorities under the Fifth Mental Health
and Suicide Prevention Plan, with a particular focus on clinical trials.[14]
Stakeholders have supported the investment in health and
medical research in the Budget, with Mental Health Australia commending the
‘welcome shift to investment on a 10 year horizon’.[15]
Other mental health measures
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Government has committed $84.1 million to the Royal
Flying Doctor Service, to improve the delivery and availability of dental,
mental health and emergency services to Australia’s rural and remote
communities. This includes a new Mental Health Outreach Clinic, which will
provide professional mental health services from 1 January 2019.[16]
This funding has been welcomed by stakeholders, with the CEO of the National
Mental Health Commission commending it for being a ‘much needed boost’.[17]
National Mental Health Commission
The Government announced an additional $12.4 million
over four years from 2018–19 for the National Mental Health Commission to oversee
mental health reform and implement the Fifth National Mental health and
Suicide Prevention Plan.[18] This funding was
welcomed by stakeholders, particularly Mental Health Australia, which identified
funding the implementation of the Fifth National Mental health and Suicide
Prevention Plan as a key priority in its pre-Budget submission.[19]
Youth mental health
On 8 January 2018, the Minister for Health announced $110.0 million
in additional investment in child and youth mental health. This included up to
$46.0 million to beyondblue for its integrated school-based Mental
Health in Education initiative, $30.0 million to the headspace National
Youth Mental Health Foundation to provide support to Primary Health Networks in
commissioning headspace services, $16.0 million to Emerging
Minds for the National Workforce Support in Child Mental Health initiative,
and $13.5 million for the operation of the National Centre of Excellence
in Youth Mental Health.[20] However, there did not
appear to be any references to this package in the Budget.
[1].
Australian Government, Portfolio
budget statements 2018–19: budget related paper no. 1.9: Health Portfolio,
p. 21.
[2].
S Rosenberg, ‘Mental
health funding in the 2017 budget is too little, unfair and lacks a coherent
strategy’, The Conversation, 11 May 2017.
[3].
K Gregory, ‘Australia
lagging on funding for mental health services, says Mental Illness Fellowship’,
ABC News, 11 May 2015.
[4].
Mental Health Australia (MHA), Mental
health sector unites to highlight shortcomings in Fifth National Mental Health
Plan, media release, 20 December 2016.
[5].
Australian Government, Portfolio
budget statements 2018–19: budget related paper no. 1.9: Health Portfolio,
p. 16.
[6].
Australian Government, Portfolio
budget statements 2017–18: budget related paper no. 1.10: Health Portfolio,
pp. 17–18.
[7].
$27.1 million of this commitment is for Primary Health Networks for
the commission of services, and is contingent on co-contributions from state
and territory governments. The budget figures in this brief have been taken
from the following document unless otherwise sourced : Australian Government, Budget
measures: budget paper no. 2: 2018–19, pp. 106–126.
[8].
MHA, Mental
Health Australia 2018/19 pre-budget submission, MHA, 7 March 2018,
p. 12.
[9].
beyondblue, beyondblue
welcomes suicide prevention funding announcement, media release, 8 May 2018.
[10].
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Australia’s
welfare 2015, AIHW, Canberra, 2015, p. 278.
[11].
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Causes
of Death, Australia, 2016, cat. no. 3303.0, ABS, Canberra, 2017.
[12].
Senate Community Affairs Committee, Answers to Questions on Notice,
Health Portfolio, Additional Estimates 2016-17, 1 March 2017, Question SQ17-000283.
[13].
Australian Psychological Society, Budget:
investments in mental health and aged care welcome, media
release, 9 May 2018; Australian College of Nursing, Australian
Government health budget 2018–19, media release, 8 May 2018; MHA,
Mental
Health Australia welcomes new mental health investments, media
release, 9 May 2018.
[14].
G Hunt (Minister for Health), Transcript
of interview with Laura Jayes on Sky News Live, media release, 6 March 2018.
[15].
MHA, Mental
Health Australia welcomes new mental health investments, op.
cit.
[16].
M McCormack (Deputy Prime Minister) and J McVeigh (Minister for Regional
Development, Territories and Local Government), Regional
Australia—A stronger economy delivering stronger regions 2018–19, ministerial
budget statement, 2018, p. 92.
[17].
National Mental Health Commission, Federal
budget makes the mental health of our nation a top priority, media
release, 9 May 2018.
[18].
Australian Government, Portfolio
budget statements 2018–19: budget related paper no. 1.9: Health Portfolio,
p. 22.
[19].
MHA, Mental
Health Australia 2018/19 pre-budget submission, op. cit., p. 7.
[20].
G Hunt (Minister for Health) and B McKenzie (Minister for Rural Health), $110
million additional investment in child and youth mental health, media
release, 8 January 2018.
All online articles accessed May 2018.
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.
© Commonwealth of Australia
Creative Commons
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and to the extent that copyright subsists in a third party, this publication, its logo and front page design are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence.
In essence, you are free to copy and communicate this work in its current form for all non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to the author and abide by the other licence terms. The work cannot be adapted or modified in any way. Content from this publication should be attributed in the following way: Author(s), Title of publication, Series Name and No, Publisher, Date.
To the extent that copyright subsists in third party quotes it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
Inquiries regarding the licence and any use of the publication are welcome to webmanager@aph.gov.au.
This work has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
Any concerns or complaints should be directed to the Parliamentary Librarian. Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications with Senators and Members and their staff. To access this service, clients may contact the author or the Library‘s Central Enquiry Point for referral.