Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program

The Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program provides a non-MBS incentive payment to community based general practices, private psychiatrist services and other appropriate organisations (such as Divisions of General Practice) who engage mental health nurses to assist in the provision of coordinated clinical care for people with severe mental disorders.

The Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program is part of the Commonwealth component of the COAG National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-2011.

Close and effective collaboration between mental health nurses, general practitioners and psychiatrists in the delivery of clinical support and services in the community is expected to:

improve levels of care for people with severe mental disorders
reduce the likelihood of unnecessary hospital admissions and readmissions for people with severe mental disorders and
assist in keeping people with severe mental illnesses well, and feeling connected within the community.

Mental health nurses are working in collaboration with private psychiatrists and general practitioners to provide services such as:

periodic reviews of patients' mental states
medication monitoring and management
information on physical healthcare to patients and
integrated services from GPs, psychiatrists and allied health workers (such as psychologists) including arranging access to interventions from other health professionals when these are required.

Services are being provided in a range of settings, such as in clinics or patients' homes, and are to be provided at little or no cost to the patient.

To be engaged under this initiative, mental health nurses must be nationally credentialed by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses from 31 December 2009, with interim arrangements in place prior to this date. Information on credentialing can be found on the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses website.

A payment of $240 (GST inclusive) per session is available to eligible organisations through this initiative.

For services in rural and remote areas of Australia, a loading of 25% is being applied to the sessional payment. Rural and remote services are those located in Very Remote, Remote and Outer Regional areas as defined by the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) remoteness classification.

This program commenced on 1 July 2007. Applications for eligible organisations to participate are available on Medicare Australia's website.