National Mental Health Reform 2011-12
Highlights
Table of contents
Improving outcomes for people with severe and debilitating mental illness $571.3 million over five years
For too long individuals with severely debilitating, persistent mental illness with complex and multiagency needs – and their families and carers – have had to deal with fragmented and uncoordinated systems, not knowing where or how to get help for all their needs.Many of these individuals and their families and carers will, for the first time, have one point of contact for all of their care needs, meaning less frustration and anxiety for families who live in constant fear of a call from the emergency department when things go wrong, or despair when they can’t navigate the maze of government and non-government services on their own.
This ‘no wrong door’ approach will mean that eligible people in selected regions will now be able to access a comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment of their health and non-health needs, leading to a tailor-made care plan. Flexible funding will also be provided to fill gaps in clinical and non-clinical support for these consumers, to meet their individual needs.
This measure will be implemented through community based organisations that have the skills and connections to assume these functions. Medicare Locals and other nongovernment organisations are expected to participate. Eligible consumers, their families and carers will now have one place to turn to for advice, support and information. Auspicing organisations will seek to work closely with states and territories services – both clinical and non-clinical.
This measure delivers significant benefits for the most vulnerable group of Australians with mental illness by providing them with access to a wider range of care options designed specifically for their individual needs.
Increased service capacity, namely in housing, social support and clinical care, will complement these important structural changes, with the allocated funding increasing to $571.3 million over five years. Amongst other things, this Budget will provide:
- Integrated assessment and additional services for approximately 24,000 individuals across Australia who have severely disabling, persistent mental illness and complex care needs.
- More support services through the Support for Day to Day Living Program for people with severe mental illness, to assist around an additional 18,000 people over five years.
- An additional 425 new community mental health workers called ‘personal helpers and mentors’ to work one on one with an additional 3,400 people with severe mental illness. They will join the 1,000 workers already providing intensive, practical support in Personal Helpers and Mentors services across the country.
- Additional funding for mental health
Better targeting primary mental health care services $220.3 million over five years
Primary mental health care is the main avenue of treatment for the majority of Australians with mental illness. The Government will provide a major boost to primary mental health services, by targeting additional resources to groups that are hard to reach and currently underserviced, such as people in rural and regional Australia and low income areas, Indigenous Australians, men, young people under 25 and other disadvantaged groups.Medicare Locals will receive funding to enable the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) program to better reach these groups who continue to miss out on Medicare funded services. Expansion of ATAPS will support over 180,000 people over five years, comprising 50,000 children and families, 18,000 Indigenous Australians and 116,000 other individuals in hard to reach groups.
The Government is also creating new treatment pathways with investment to develop online and telephone support into a single national e-mental health portal and an eclinic, promoting self-directed and clinician assisted treatment. Increased referral and improved access to evidence based e-mental health psychological interventions will assist 45,000 people over five years.
Evidence based online and telephone based psychological therapy is a proven and cost-effective way of treating people with mental illnesses, particularly those with mild to moderate illness, and will particularly benefit those who have difficulty accessing face to face services (including rural and regional Australians and individuals wishing to keep some form of anonymity).
The mental health of children and young people $491.7 million over five years
These are initiatives that will strengthen the Government’s focus on the mental health of children as well as young people, including the role of partnerships between family services and health in prevention and early intervention. This Budget allocates $326.2 million over the Forward Estimates period, growing to $491.7 million over the next five years, to expand and establish new youth focussed mental health services, and improve responsiveness to childhood risk factors when interventions are most effective.Amongst other things, this Budget will provide:
- More funding to achieve complete national coverage of the headspace model. In five years there will be a total of 90 sites, with the capacity to assist 72,000 young people a year.
- More funding, and seek matching contributions from the States and Territories, to provide up to 12 Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centres (EPPIC). In addition to the 4 additional centres committed to in the 2010 Budget, this will deliver up to 16 new EPPICs around the country.
- An additional 40 Family Mental Health Support Services to provide integrated prevention and early intervention services to over 30,000 children and young people at risk of mental illness, and their families, over five years.
Increasing economic and social participation for people with mental illness $2.4 million over five years, supported by $50 million for personal helpers and mentors, plus substantial new investment in the Building Australia’s Future Workforce package
Having a job is good for mental health and well being and aids recovery even for people with the most severe mental health conditions. However, people with mental illness often require a more intensive level of support to obtain and stabilise their employment. The Australian Government will improve the ability of employment service providers to identify and assist people with mental illness to gain employment.Staff will be provided with the skills to develop effective employment strategies for the recruitment of job seekers with mental illness. There will also be better arrangements to support employers of people with a mental illness through the JobAccess information and advice service.
Over five years, $50 million of the additional funding for personal helpers and mentors in this package will be allocated to specifically support people with a mental illness on
the Disability Support Pension, or other income support payments, who are working with employment services.
In addition, major new initiatives to improve assistance for job seekers, including those with mental illness, are included in the Building Australia’s Future Workforce Package and reforms to employment services from 2012. These include the expansion of funding for training and flexible supports for job seekers as well as new, expanded wage subsidy programs for job seekers with a disability, and measures to encourage
Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients back into work, where they have some work capacity.
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National Partnership Agreement on Mental Health $201.3 million over five years
The Australian Government is committed to working with states and territories on addressing mental health service gaps. Through a proposed National Partnership Agreement the Government will take a national leadership role and encourage states and territories to address known gaps, building on the Government’s commitment to prevent homelessness and address mental health. A national funding pool will be established and states and territories will be invited to bid through a competitive process to focus on the priority areas of accommodation support and presentation, admission and discharge planning in emergency departments.Improving capacity and links between services in the state and Australian Government systems will ensure a comprehensive response to the needs of people with severe and persistent mental illness, and help them to stay well and lead functional lives.
Ensuring quality, accountability and innovation in mental health services $12.2 million over five years
The establishment of a new National Mental Health Commission will provide leadership and drive a more transparent and accountable mental health system in both the health and non-health spheres. The Commission will provide an Annual Report, through the Prime Minister, to Parliament. The core function of the Commission will be to independently monitor, assess, oversee and report on how the system is performing, including the production of the Annual National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention – delivering on a Government election commitment.The Commission will draw on ongoing and extensive national data collections funded by the Department of Health and Ageing as well as $26.2 million of dedicated mental health research funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council. The Commission will advise on the use of best practice, and report on Australian Government and state system performance against service expectations.
In addition, a long awaited new national mental health consumer body will distil the voices of consumers and embed their experiences within policymaking and program development and implementation.
A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE APPROACH
The Government is providing $1.5 billion over five years in investments through this package. When combined with our 2010-11 Budget and election commitments, which deliver $624.0 million in funding for services over the same five year period, this represents a total commitment of $2.2 billion over five years for mental health services.In line with the Government’s fiscal rules and strategy, all of these investments are offset by genuine savings. These include a redirection of $580.5 million from the Better Access program to the measures outlined above, achieved through:
- reducing the Medicare rebate for GP mental health care plans, to better match the
- time usually taken for the completion of a plan, while maintaining an incentive for GPs to complete Mental Health Skills Training; and
- capping the total number of allied psychological consultations available each year under the program at 10 rather than 12, reflecting the fact that the Better Access program is aimed at providing treatment to those whose needs are not most acute.
All these investments and program reforms aim to give Australians who suffer from poor mental health quick access to appropriate support and the best chance to recover, stabilise and stay well in the community.
The Government’s comprehensive strategy is founded on the evidence of what works, and follows extensive consultations with the mental health sector and the community. These investments in more services, better targeted services, and better coordinated services, will make a real, practical difference to the lives of Australians with mental illness.