The tables below provide an indicative list of Australian Government funding announcements aimed at enhancing mental health services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019-20 bushfires.
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15 May 2020
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$7.3 million for data research and modelling on the mental health impacts of COVID19 and suicide prevention research.
$29.5 million to reach vulnerable groups such as older Australians, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, carers of people with mental illness, and Indigenous communities.
$0.9 million for connected mental health services.
$10.4 million for a national mental health communications campaign.
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$48.1 million
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19 May 2021
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$24 million to support Kids Helpline operations over the next four years, and a further $2.8 million to meet the immediate demand caused by the pandemic.
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$26.8 million
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24 June 2021
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$1.35 million grant to the Australian National University for their project, Co-creating safe space, which will examine the effectiveness of ‘safe space’ models in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW) as alternatives to presenting to a hospital emergency department.
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$1.35 million
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24 June 2021
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$1.28 million grant to the University of Western Australia (WA) for their project, Expand WA, which will seek to improve aftercare services among young people aged 10 to 17 who present to hospital with self-harm or suicidal crisis.
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$1.28 million
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13 July 2021
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$3.5 million to headspace for additional youth support, with a particular focus on support for year 11 and 12 students, with funding to be matched by the NSW Government.
$1.5 million to Lifeline to boost crisis counselling and increase community engagement.
$1.5 million to Sonder to enhance mental health support for those in mandatory isolation, with funding to be matched by the NSW Government.
$4 million to Primary Health Networks (PHNs): $2 million to boost commissioned mental health services, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and $2 million to provide targeted support and to work with CALD communities and leaders in impacted areas.
$500,000 for a communications campaign to increase awareness of available mental health services and support, aimed at CALD communities.
$500,000 to Beyond Blue for services and to increase community engagement with NSW residents.
$300,000 to Kids Helpline to extend online wellbeing sessions into secondary schools.
$300,000 to the Butterfly Foundation to provide additional support for young people with, or at risk of, an eating disorder and their carers.
$150,000 to the Gidget Foundation to boost services for parents suffering from perinatal depression and anxiety.
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$12.25 million
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18 July 2021
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To support young Australians in Victoria, ensuring they can access mental health support if and when they need it during lockdown.
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$3 million
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8 August 2021
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To establish 10 Head to Health pop up mental health support sites for areas currently facing extended COVID-19 restrictions in and around Greater Sydney and to extend the operation of at least 12 clinics in Victoria until 30 June 2022.
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$17.7 million
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9 August 2021
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$3 million towards a surge workforce of clinicians in headspace services across Victoria.
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$3 million
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16 August 2021
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$27.3 million to implement culturally-sensitive, co-designed aftercare services, for individuals following a suicide attempt or suicidal crisis. These will be delivered across Australia at a regional level, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations will be preferred service providers.
$23.8 million to establish regional suicide prevention networks across each state and territory.
$16.6 million will be provided to establish and evaluate a new culturally appropriate 24/7 crisis line, delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This will be a partnership between to Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia and Lifeline.
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$79 million
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16 September 2021
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$15 million over three years to the National Wellbeing Alliance Pty Ltd to deliver mental health first aid training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
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$15 million
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21 September 2021
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$1.6 million to establish a Head to Health Pop-Up mental health clinic in the ACT and fast track the rollout of a phone Intake, Assessment and Referral support service.
$400,000 to enhance eating disorder services in the ACT, including funding to boost clinical services at headspace and the Head to Health hub to provide additional support for young people with, or at risk of, an eating disorder and targeted e-therapy support.
$320,000 to headspace for additional youth support, to assist headspace services with the surge in demand experienced during the lockdown.
$150,000 to CatholicCare to support the Stepping Stones program for children aged 12 and under who have suffered trauma.
$100,000 to Meridian ACT to boost support services for LGBTIQ+ people.
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$2.5 million
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Community Connectedness and Recovery grants
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Primary Health Networks are administering Community Connectedness and recovery grants of up to $10,000 to fund grass-roots level activities to help mental health and healing activities after the bushfires.
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$2.7 million
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Immediate counselling
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Free distress and trauma counselling sessions are available for individuals and families and emergency services personnel affected by bushfires.
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$10.5 million
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Bushfire Trauma Response Coordinator
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Bushfire Trauma Response Coordinators are a single point of contact for individuals and communities to ensure the right mental health supports are offered in the right place at the right time.
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$3.2 million
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Expansion of mental health services
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Primary Health Networks in bushfire affected regions were funded to commission additional mental health services to ensure services were available to meet increased demand.
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$4.2 million
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Community Wellbeing and Participation
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This funding provides additional funding to Primary Health Networks, to boost localised support for bushfire affected individuals to ensure their emotional and mental wellbeing.
*This was additional funding announced on 11 May 2020
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$13.5 million*
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Boost to National School Chaplaincy Program
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This measure boosted funding provided by the Australian Government to state and territory governments under the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) in bushfire affected schools.
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$2 million
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Be You Bushfire Response program
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Additional funding to Beyond Blue to provide mental health support to children and young people through the Be You program in schools and early childhood services in bushfire-affected communities.
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$8 million
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National Disaster Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework
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The National Mental Health Commission is leading the development of the national framework to guide a coordinated approach to support mental health and wellbeing in the context of natural disasters.
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$0.5 million
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Training in trauma informed care and psychological first aid
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Training in trauma informed care and psychological first aid for frontline emergency services staff, GPs [general practitioners], pharmacists and psychologists. Training is evidence based and delivered by specialist organisations (Phoenix Australia, Australian Psychological Society and Pharmaceutical Society of Australia) with expertise in trauma informed care.
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$2.0 million
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Bushfire Recovery Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)
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Bushfire affected individuals, families and emergency personnel will be eligible to receive Medicare Rebates for up to 10 psychological therapy sessions through eligible GPs, psychologists, social workers or occupational therapists. Ongoing psychological support, including telehealth.
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$29.6 million
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Supports for emergency services workers and their families
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To ensure workers and their families are receiving the necessary support to prevent and treat the effects of trauma, both now and after the immediate fire threat has passed, the Government is funding specialist organisations, the Black Dog Institute and Fortem Australia, to provide PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] support services to emergency services workers (and their immediate families).
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$15.9 million
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Additional funding for headspace*
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Provided additional funding for headspace centres in fire impacted areas.
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$7.4 million
(Department of Health funding, not NBRF [National Bushfire Recovery Fund])
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Lifeline 13HELP and Kids Helpline
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Funding provided to support Lifeline Australia to establish a dedicated helpline (13HELP) for individuals impacted by the bushfires, and boost the capacity of the Kids Helpline service.
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$2 million
(Department of Health funding, not NBRF)
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