ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: October is Mental Health Month, and today we mark headspace Day, a national day where we recognise the outstanding work of headspace centres right across the country providing help and support to hundreds and thousands of young people. We know that more young people are seeking support, which is why I’m pleased to announce that our government is investing an additional more than $70 million to be able to help respond to that growing demand, to make sure that headspace services can meet the needs of young people closer to home sooner. This additional funding will mean more staff, updated clinical environments that are welcoming and modern spaces for the young people of today.
Our government values the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians, which is why at the recent election we made a historic $1.1 billion commitment to mental health and wellbeing. Part of that commitment is expanding and then strengthening the headspace network. For the first time, we will introduce a new model of care, headspace Plus, in 30 locations across the country to be able to meet the growing needs for young people in the cities, in the regions and in more remote parts of Australia. We will also be investing $500 million to introduce new youth specialist care centres to meet the growing complexity the needs of young people today. This is $200 million to expand and strengthen the headspace network in more than 58 locations, and $500 to introduce for the first time youth specialist care services to meet the growing needs.
We know that the needs of young people today are very different from when headspace was founded more than 20 years ago. I’ve had the opportunity in this role to visit headspace centres right across the country. Last week, we opened the new Chatswood headspace in a very diverse and multicultural part of Sydney. Earlier in the week I was at headspace Dubbo, announcing the new 10 remote locations from the headspace centre in Dubbo in some of the more remote communities servicing First Nations people. And recently I had the chance to be at headspace Mutitjulu on the eastern side of Uluru, seeing headspace outreach to the most remote young people across our country.
Today, I want to personally thank the staff of headspace centres right across the country, the people who are dedicating their working lives to helping and supporting young people in our community. I also want to acknowledge those with lived experience who have generously shared their own personal experiences to make sure that headspace today meets the needs of young people, and in particular those young people of our youth reference groups, who at every headspace centre at every location in the country are providing their own lived experience to make sure that headspace meets the needs of young people today. I am proud to be a part of a government that has made the most historic investment in mental health, in suicide prevention, in wellbeing of all Australians, but particularly our young people.