CEO Update: Coming together for change
27 June 2025
CEO Message
Coming together for change
On Wednesday the Mental Health Australia team and I hosted more than 180 members for our first Policy Forum of 2025. We came together in Canberra and online, to reflect on national mental health reform and advocacy priorities.
I was delighted to welcome the Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, the Hon. Mark Butler MP, to share his insights with our members. Minister Butler outlined some key priorities for this next term of government, including building on the foundations laid in the previous term of government; delivering the significant election commitments that were pledged, that focus on scaling up access to free mental health supports; and working with state and territory governments to both respond to the increasing levels of distress among young people, and fill the gap in supports for people with psychosocial disability.
I also welcomed Productivity Commissioners Angela Jackson and Selwyn Button to our Forum, who provided a much-anticipated overview of the newly released interim report from their review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. The commissioners highlighted the significant opportunities to improve the foundations of the system through the next Agreement. This includes developing a national mental health strategy, to ensure there is a clear long-term vision to guide reform efforts; improving governance and accountability structures; and clarifying roles and responsibilities across the system. I’ll have more to say on the Productivity Commission’s findings and recommendations shortly.
Throughout the day, we heard from government, sector and lived experience leaders. Common themes across these conversations included the important role of the sector in working together, and with government, to drive change; getting the balance right of investing in long-term reform, while also meeting the immediate needs of the community in the short-term; filling critical gaps in our system architecture, such as strengthening data, reporting and accountability mechanisms; and the need to take a whole-of-government approach to improve mental health.
During the forum, we also reflected on the significant changes underway in lived experience leadership. We acknowledged the remarkable contributions of both the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum and the National Register of Mental Health Consumers and Carers – which both close on 30 June. We heard from the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance, Mental Health Carers Australia and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived Experience Centre – who will be leading national lived experience advocacy going forward – on the importance of centring the expertise of people with lived experience and their families, carers and kin, and walking together to achieve change.
Through our discussions with members, it was clear that while there are many changes that are needed to fundamentally transform mental health in Australia – and change takes time – we’ll get there by listening to one another, working in partnership, and leveraging the incredible expertise across the community, sector and within government. Together, we’ll be able to create more significant and longer lasting change, than any of us could do alone.
Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia
Position statement: A mental health system that puts human rights first
The National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) has published its final piece of work, a position statement entitled We call for a mental health system that puts human rights first. An empowering call for bold leadership, real investment in rights-based approaches, and a commitment to ending practices in the mental health system that harm. Let’s move from rhetoric to resolution.
Learn more at the button below.
Webinar: What is cultural responsiveness and why is it important for mental health care in multicultural Australia?
Mental health service providers and individual practitioners seeking insights to work with clients from refugee and multicultural backgrounds are invited to join this upcoming webinar. Hear lived experience insights on the importance of cultural responsiveness in safe and effective mental health care, build your foundational understanding of cultural competence and cultural responsiveness and understand the key principles and practical implications of cultural responsiveness.
Date: Monday 30th June 2025
Time: 1:00-2:00pm AEST
Location: Online via Zoom
Register now to learn more about cultural competence as a core part of quality mental health care. For further information, please contact the Embrace team at Mental Health Australia at multicultural@mhaustralia.org.
Mental Health News
Press conference transcript: Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, 25th June
The Hon. Mark Butler MP discussed mental health and the Productivity Commission's Interim Report on the Review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. Minister Butler said the commissioners presented their broad findings to health and mental health ministers last week, and their points are points the sector and community have made as well, that there is significant unmet need in the community among people who have severe, usually permanent psychosocial disability.
Media release: Western Australia National Disability Insurance Scheme secured
The Albanese and Cook Governments are delivering for West Australians living with a
disability by signing the state’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Full Scheme Bilateral Agreement. There are over 62,000 NDIS participants in WA who receive life-changing supports. Under the agreement, WA is committed to paying fixed contributions from the commencement of the full scheme arrangement on 1 July 2025, securing long-term funding arrangements. Governance will be strengthened through the establishment of a WA Community Advisory Council for the NDIS to advise on improving participants’ NDIS experience.
Report: National Disability Insurance Agency's management of claimant compliance with NDIS claim requirements
The National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) management of claimant compliance with NDIS claim requirements is partly effective. Prior to 2024, the NDIS lacked basic prevention controls for fraud and non-compliance. The NDIA is undertaking work to "crack down on fraud and non-compliant payments", with tranche two of its Crack Down on Fraud program expected to be implemented by December 2025.
Media release: National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement "not fit for purpose"
The Productivity Commission (PC) has found the National Mental Health and Suicide
Prevention Agreement is fundamentally flawed. The interim report of the PC’s review of the
agreement finds that achieving reform in the mental health and suicide prevention system will require a new approach in the next agreement. Governments signed the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement in 2022 with the objectives of strengthening collaboration and improving the outcomes for people with lived and living experience of mental ill health and suicide. But the interim report finds it has made little progress towards these objectives. The PC is now calling for submissions to inform the final report of the Review, which will be handed to Government in October 2025.
Media release: Allegra Spender backs Productivity Commission call for mental health system reform
“I welcome today’s Interim Report from the Productivity Commission’s Review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. The report offers a damning assessment of a mental health system that is fragmented, under-resourced, and failing too many people. As the Commission concludes, the National Agreement is fundamentally flawed and has delivered no real improvements in care since it was signed."
Media release: Peak body welcomes Productivity Commission recommendations to strengthen national suicide prevention efforts
The national peak body for suicide prevention has welcomed the interim report from the Productivity Commission into the future of the National Agreement on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, which outlines key recommendations that strongly align with the feedback provided by the peak body and its members. Suicide Prevention Australia has praised the Commission’s recommendation that a new agreement be developed — one that is guided by the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, embedded with lived experience, and reflects the need for a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention.
Media release: Australia's mental health plan "not fit for purpose", urgent reform needed
Australians for Mental Health is calling for urgent and significant reform following a damning assessment found the national plan to improve mental health and prevent suicide is “not fit for purpose”.
(See media release attached.)
Media release: Mental health reform must start with people, not bureaucracy
Chief Executive of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association Limited, Tony Farley, said the Productivity Commission’s interim report of its review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention was a "critical wake-up call" for the Commonwealth, States and Territories. "Maintaining the status quo while expecting different outcomes reflects a system stuck in its ways, holding back progress and damaging trust – Australians deserve better," said Mr Farley.
Media release: Proposed NDIS travel allowance cuts a blow to providers and people with a disability
The proposed changes to travel allowances for allied health providers under the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits 2025–26 raise serious concerns for rural, regional and remote communities, severely impacting the delivery of essential support services.
Media release: Allied health peak bodies call for immediate halt and review of National Disability Insurance Scheme price cuts
Peak bodies including Dietitians Australia, Speech Pathology Australia, Occupational Therapy Australia and the Australian Psychological Society are calling on the Federal Government and the National Disability Insurance Agency to immediately halt and review the NDIS pricing decision which poses a direct threat to essential supports and choice for people with disability.
Media release: Creeping rates of poor mental health show depressed, anxious state is "new normal" for half of Australian women
A new report showing high levels of depression (52%), anxiety (44%), body image issues (39%) and insomnia (30%) has prompted a call from public health advocates and researchers for more gender-targeted services to set a better standard of mental health care for Australian women. Spanning four years of data gathered by the Liptember Foundation, Beyond the Surface: Investigating the Mental Health Realities for Australian Women in 2025 reveals low self-esteem (50%), financial pressures (45%), low self-worth (42%) and sleep deprivation (40%) are the leading triggers for these mental health problems in women aged 18 to 70.
Media release: Peak body please for more investment to address a mental health system in crisis (NSW)
The Mental Health Coordinating Council said the NSW Government has once again failed to deliver the critical investment needed for community-managed mental health services, leaving people with complex mental health challenges without the care and support they need. Improving mental health outcomes across NSW hinges on targeted, increased investment from both State and Commonwealth governments to address critical service gaps.
Media release: NSW Budget – modest mental health funding welcome – but nowhere near enough to stem the crisis (NSW)
The NSW Government has announced a modest investment in mental health in the 2025-26 State Budget. This investment will meet neither current or future demands on the mental health service system nor address the reasonable expectations from the people of NSW.
Media release: Boosting high-quality mental health care for young Tasmanians (TAS)
Young Tasmanians in the North West needing to access mental health supports will have more options, closer to home, under a re-elected Tasmanian Liberal Government. A Liberal Government will nearly double the capacity of the successful Youth Hospital in the Home on the North West, enabling more Tasmanians aged 16 to 25 to receive hospital-level care in the familiarity and comfort of their own homes.
Media release: Faster access to medication, shorter wait times for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder patients (TAS)
Faster, fairer and more accessible support for Tasmanians with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will be delivered under a re-elected Tasmanian Liberal Government.
Media release: SA GPs to diagnose and treat ADHD (SA)
Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Chris Picton says the Malinauskas Labor Government is introducing life-changing reforms to make it more accessible and cheaper for South Australians to receive a diagnosis and treatment for ADHD. Backed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Government’s reforms will allow GPs to diagnose and treat ADHD in children and adults, significantly reducing costs and lengthy wait times associated with having to go through a paediatrician or psychiatrist.
Media release: Specialists say SA Government's push to expand ADHD treatment must be carefully designed to get it right (SA)
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) stands ready to collaborate and advise the South Australian Government on models of expanded care for ADHD assessment. It is keen to continue early discussions with the SA Government, and to collaborate with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) to develop the education, training and support needed to equip SA GPs appropriately.
Media release: Mental health support services for South Australia's drought-affected communities (SA)
The Malinauskas State Government outlined the details of its $2.5 million comprehensive mental health support strategy for South Australian communities impacted by the drought.
Media release: Families, regional Western Australians focus of mental health boost (WA)
The Cook Labor Government will support Western Australia's growing population with $107.6 million in mental health support for young children, adults and families as part of the 2025-26 State Budget. That funding includes $39.5 million to deliver free public access to Ngala's Residential Parenting Service, providing mental health early intervention and prevention support to families going through a challenging time following the birth of a child.
Media release: Supporting young minds in a time of crisis (WA)
The Cook Government has awarded nearly $600,000 to Curtin University to pilot a new mental health program in regional and remote communities, designed to support young people who have experienced the impact of natural disasters.
Media release: ACT Government delivers funding boost for community health organisations (ACT)
More than $2.4 million in targeted funding will support ACT community organisations to continue delivering critical health and wellbeing services across the Territory. A wide range of services and supports will benefit from the funding, including chronic illness care,
mental health, perinatal support, trauma counselling, and after-hours medical care.
Mental Health Opportunities and Resources
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing survey on the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Workforce Association
A survey to inform the development of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Peer Workforce Association is now open.
Feedback is invited from mental health and suicide prevention peer workers, including peer workers from other sectors, on the scope of the Association's activity, and eligibility criteria for the entity that will be selected to establish it. Responses will inform the drafting of the grant opportunity to establish the new Association so that it is best placed to meet sector need. Responses will be kept confidential.
The survey is open until Monday 21st July 2025.
Australian Government tender opportunity: Delivery of the National Early Intervention Service, a Digital Mental Health Service
The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has released a Request for Tender for Request for Tender for the delivery of the National Early Intervention Service, a Digital Mental Health Service. The department is seeking responses by 2:00pm, 21st July 2025.
Help shape Australia's response to grief
Griefline is preparing to launch a national survey on grief in Australia on 1st July and invitesindividuals and organisations to register their interest in taking part.
The survey is part of Griefline’s 2025 awareness campaign, Let’s Talk About Grief, and aims to build a clearer picture of how grief is experienced across the country, whether following the death of someone close, in anticipation of loss, or after another significant life change. Anyone who has experienced grief or those whose personal or professional lives have been shaped by it can take part.
The survey opens 1st July 2025. Register your interest in taking part at the button below.
Ten years of honouring mental health leadership: 2025 Australian Mental Health Prize nominations now open
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the highly regarded Australian Mental Health Prize. Established by UNSW Sydney, the prize honours Australians who have made outstanding contributions to mental health across four categories: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, Lived Experience, Professional, and Community Hero.
Nominations close 23rd July 2025. Learn more at the button below.
Featured Members
Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA)
PACFA is a leading national peak body and professional association for counsellors and psychotherapists in Australia. PACFA’s mission is to represent the profession to communities and government, and to develop the evidence-base for counselling and psychotherapy.
Eating Disorders Queensland
Eating Disorders Queensland is a statewide, community-based not-for-profit organisation. We provide community support and treatment services for individuals and families living with and recovering from eating disorders, their carers and loved ones. By the sharing of recovery wisdom we aim to involve people with a lived experience, carers and family members and loved ones. We promote positive body image and prevention of eating disorders. Therapeutic interventions for individuals living with eating disorders and carer coaching/ support families/key support and friends are also offered.
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