We need collective action from governments to improve mental healthNext week, Australia’s health and mental health ministers will meet for the first time since August 2024. This is a crucial opportunity for the Australian, state and territory governments to come together and secure national agreement on key priorities – including both psychosocial supports and child and youth mental health. Last week, Mental Health Australia and state and territory mental health peaks penned an open joint letter to Health and Mental Health Ministers, calling for decisive joint action at their upcoming meeting to address the gap in psychosocial support outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Our letter urges Health and Mental Health Ministers to: - recommend National Cabinet agree to a funding envelope for a 50:50 cost share arrangement to increase investment in psychosocial supports over a five-year period; and
- commit to a public consultation process to design future psychosocial support arrangements.
These are critical next steps for governments to respond to the Analysis of unmet need for psychosocial supports outside of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which found that 493,600 Australians living with moderate or severe mental illness do not have access to the psychosocial supports they need. Ministers have also agreed to discuss child and youth mental health at their meeting. With children and young people in Australia experiencing mental ill-health at never-before-seen levels, it is critical that Australian governments come together to change this trajectory. Mental Health Australia has provided ministers a Statement on National Child and Youth Mental Health Priorities, which we developed in consultation with our members. Our statement outlines the next steps ministers can take to improve child and youth mental health. This includes: - ensuring universal delivery of a coordinated and comprehensive approach to mental health in education;
- expanding the network of Kids Hubs;
- boosting digital mental health supports for children and young people;
- incentivising existing workforces to undertake training in child and family mental health;
- agreeing to harmonise age ranges for all youth mental health services nationally; and
- committing to develop national targets to reduce wait times for infant, child and youth mental health services.
To fundamentally fix the gap in psychosocial supports and improve child and youth mental health, it’s important that the Australian, state and territory governments all come together to progress reform. The solutions we need are inherently interjurisdictional, and our sector stands ready to work with governments to improve mental health across the country. Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia | 
