Ensuring quality, accountability and innovation in mental health services

Up to Budget 2011-2012

Table of contents

There is significant opportunity to increase accountability and transparency in the current mental health system to better link the investments made by governments to measurable improvements in outcomes for people with a mental illness. People have also said that they want a mechanism for improving the mental health services they receive by telling us what works, what doesn’t and where the gaps are.

The Australian Government will establish Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission that will be positioned in the Prime Minister’s portfolio and publicly against agreed indicators of performance across relevant service sectors and embed Australian Government leadership into mental health policy and services.

The establishment of the Commission will be complemented by focused applied research in priority areas nominated by the Government, the continuation of funding for national surveys and datasets, and the implementation of a new mental health consumer body to ensure a strong and consolidated consumer voice which will contribute to more responsive and accountable policy and program directions within
the sector.

Budget Measure: Establishment of a National Mental Health Commission - $12.2 million over the next five years

For a number of years, key advocates in Australia have sought the establishment of a national mental health commission to operate as an independent body able to advise government on service effectiveness and to identify gaps in providing services.

The Government will establish Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission, signalling a new approach to mental health leadership and reform in this country. The Commission will promote best practice and measure the performance of the mental health system, including through the production of an Annual National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, which will highlight the gaps in the system. This will strengthen public accountability and transparency by monitoring whether services deliver lasting outcomes for people experiencing a mental illness.

The Commission will also provide cross-sectoral leadership in mental health, including for consumer and carer activities, and give policy advice to Government.

It will be established within the Prime Minister’s portfolio as an executive agency, and provide the Annual Report, through the Prime Minister, to Parliament. This is testament to the importance of the Commission’s role, and the fact that it must monitor the full range of services needed by people with mental illness – whether that be health or non-health related.

This initiative underlines the Government’s commitment to planning more effectively for the future mental health needs of the community, and creating greater accountability and transparency in the mental health system.

Budget Measure: Continuation of Leadership in Mental Health Reform: information and evidence to support national mental health reform and accountability - $56.8 million over the next five years, at no net cost to the Budget

Access to, and development of, mental health information at a national level is critical to making decisions, informing policy, shaping services and guiding service reform across all governments. This measure is at the heart of the Australian Government’s national leadership role in mental health. It funds essential national data and reform activities, such as the development of a National Service Planning Framework, which will, if adopted, help ensure more consistent availability of services across all levels of government. This initiative is also critical to the success of the new National Mental Health Commission.

Funding will also be provided to create a new national mental health consumer representative body, which has been long awaited by the sector. To enable essential evidence building, infrastructure and advocacy arrangements to continue, the Government will continue funding for the Leadership in Mental Health Reform program.

Budget Measure: Strategic investment in mental health research priorities through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) - $26.2 million over the next five years, at no net cost to the Budget

Coordinating research and translating it into actual services are vital to improving the quality of mental health services nationally and to improve outcomes for the one in five Australians with mental illness. Currently there is no strategic research capacity in the mental health sector to address critical policy and investment issues. The NHMRC is committed to the development of evidence for better treatment and
health services in mental health. It has named mental health as a strategic priority for the coming years and has been working actively to embed mental health research into its activities and to consult with the sector.

Consistent with its strategic plan and responsive to the Government’s priorities, NHMRC will dedicate $26.2 million over a five year period (a minimum of $5 million per year) from the Medical Research Endowment account for such activities. This will not preclude applications for mental health related research projects to the NHMRC’s normal competitive process.

It is important for all Australians to have access to information on how their health system is performing. The Annual National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention will be a positive addition to the present suite of annual mental health reports: the National Mental Health Report; the AIHW Mental Health Services in Australia report; the mental health chapter of the Report on Government Services; and the Annual report on progress of the Council of Australian Governments National Action Plan on Mental Health (2006-2011). The National Mental Health Commission, coupled with ongoing development of performance indicators, national mental health data collection and strategic research will direct the Australian Government’s agenda for mental health reform and inform future investment in mental health.

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