Voice For Consumers In Mental Health Reform
The establishment of a new national mental health consumer organisation has moved a step closer, with the Australian Government focused firmly on ensuring it will be driven by consumers, for consumers.
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7 December 2011
The establishment of a new national mental health consumer organisation has moved a step closer, with the Gillard Government focused firmly on ensuring it will be driven by consumers, for consumers.
Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler today announced the establishment of a new Consumer Reference Group which will assist in setting the directions of the new organisation and setting up mechanisms to involve consumers from the beginning.
The Group will be appointed following a national call for Expressions of Interest in early January 2012.
The Government has already announced that the new mental health consumer organisation will operate under an auspice arrangement to ensure it is established as quickly as possible, and has the best possible chance of sustainable impact and success over the longer term.
“I want this new consumer organisation engaged in national mental health reform as soon as is feasibly possible. It will bring a strong and consolidated consumer voice which will contribute to more responsive and accountable mental health policy and program directions,” Mr Butler said.
“It is important for the new consumer organisation to be established, operational, and engaging with its constituents so it is working in pace with mental health reform activities.”
The new consumer organisation will work closely with Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission, also announced in the Budget.
Mr Butler also released the Final Report of the Scoping Study, Establishment of a New Peak National Mental Health Consumer Organisation (March 2010).
This report informs options for establishing a new mental health consumer organisation and provides a number of key recommendations including:
- that the core purpose of the new organisation will be ‘to bring together a diversity of mental health consumers and mental health consumer organisations and groups enabling them to work collaboratively towards achieving a shared national vision leading to improved quality of life, social justice and inclusion’; and
- that the organisation should be representative of, and accountable to, mental health consumers Australia-wide.
“I look forward to working with the mental health consumer sector towards our shared vision for improved health and quality of life, social justice and inclusion outcomes for people with mental illness,” Mr Butler said.
Further information about the national call for Expressions of Interest will be available in January at the Department of Health and Ageing website.
The Final Report of the Scoping Study and the Government’s response is available at the Department of Health and Ageing website.
For more information, please contact the Minister’s Office on 02 6277 7280
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