JESS TEESDALE, MEMBER FOR BASS: Thank you everyone so much for coming out here today. We are so very, very privileged to have behind us, we've got Minister Palmer and Assistant Minister McBride.
We know that our CLCs here are such an incredible part of our communities. We've seen these families who are coming in who are enjoying this space, and now we're lucky enough to have this fully wraparound support service available for all of these families. So, we'll have a bit more of a chat about what that will look like and what that's made available working with all levels of government to make sure that these families get exactly what they need and want. So, thank you.
JO PALMER, TASMANIA MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH: Beautiful. Thank you very much, Jess. Look, thank you. It is wonderful to have you here today and so many people watching us do our media event. We'll try to do a good job for you.
Look, it is fantastic for us to have partnered with the Federal Government in this $12.6 million investment into our Medicare facilities here for Mental Health Kids Hubs. So this is one of three that we have in Tasmania now. We have one in each region of the state. The one in Hobart in Bridgewater has been open for 12 months now. We have one in Burnie on the northwest coast, which has been open for six months. And here we are in Mayfield with our facility, which has also been offering the Kids Hub for the last six months. And we know how well it's been received because in that very short period of time, we've already seen over 1300 appointments for our youngest Tasmanians.
We know how important early intervention is when it comes to mental health challenges, to behavioural challenges, and indeed emotional challenges. So for us to be able to partner with the Federal Government and to see our Kids Hubs rolled out in our Child and Family Learning Centres in our three regions is actually really special. We know our Child and Family Learning Centres are a really safe space for our families. They're a safe space for our children. So already, you're breaking down the clinical barriers that families might feel or indeed a child might feel in coming to get that support. And what's really important here is that this is a free service. So this is a service for children from 12 years and under, where they can come in, when we see that they are struggling at those early years and we're able to have those interventions, and we know that that sets them up for the rest of their educational life.
So wonderful to be here today with Jess, with Dr Fong, and also great to have Emma McBride join us here in Tasmania. So I'll hand over to her for a few comments. Thank you.
ASSISTANT MINISTER EMMA MCBRIDE: Thank you very much, Minister. I am delighted to be back here today.
In April 2024, Minister Guy Barnett and I announced this collaboration between the Commonwealth and the Tasmanian government as part of our 17 Kids Hubs nationally, to have three right here in Tasmania, and to know that the community has welcomed this service, to hear already one of our- to know that this is a place that is a welcoming place, that is a safe place for children and families, and to be able to work in strong collaboration with the Tasmanian Government to make sure that every young person gets the support and care that they need closer to home and for free. In Australia today, one in seven young people aged 4 to 17 is likely to experience a mental health challenge in any given year. We know that distress amongst young people has doubled over the last 20 years, and we know that early intervention matters, that the sooner that we can provide support, wraparound support for parents, children, and caregivers, the much better outcomes for those young children in school, in the playground, in the wider community. And I'm so proud that this is part of a more than $80 million investment nationally under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement to make sure that every young Australian gets the support and care that they deserve close to home and for free.
I mean, to hear, as the Minister has said, that already 1000, more than 1000 occasions of care have been provided from multidisciplinary teams tailored to the individual need of that child and that family, we know the difference that it's making already and the difference it will continue to make in the future. Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs are part of our investment in Medicare, putting mental health at the heart of Medicare and services in the centre of communities and making sure that all children and families have the support they need close to home, quality wraparound care, and for free. As a former mental health worker myself who worked in acute inpatient services for many years, I know the difference that it makes to have that quality care. And I want to thank and recognise, including Dr Fong, all of the clinicians who are part of this service, OT, speech pathologists, psychologists providing that wraparound care to make sure that every child and family gets that tailored support individualised to their needs so that those young children can thrive.
I might now hand over to Damian to speak a little bit more about the service.
DAMIAN FONG, CHILD AND YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE: Thank you, Minister. I would like to start by acknowledging the Palawa people, who are the traditional owners on the land on which we gather today, and to pay respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging.
The Medicare Mental Health Kids Hub is an important initiative for enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of children and their families. In Tasmania, the hub is managed by the Child and Youth Mental Health Service in collaboration with a number of other services. I'd like to express my appreciation for all who have assisted us in getting this service up and running. Firstly, I'd like to thank the Tasmanian and Australian governments for their support through the bilateral Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement. I'd also like to thank our partners at the Department of Education, children and young people at the Child and Health Parenting Service and the Child and Family Learning Centres. Their important work in this area adds to our own efforts to provide services for the community.
The evidence is very clear. Raising resilient children is one of the most important things we can do as a society. Research suggests that intervening early in life and responding early to signs of vulnerability is extremely effective in reducing the impact of adversity on a child's mental and emotional development. We know how important the early years are for mental health and wellbeing, and we know that sometimes it takes more than a village to achieve the best outcomes for children so that service- and that services can play an important role to assist families. Unfortunately, parents and caregivers do sometimes experience barriers in finding the appropriate service. The Medicare Mental Health Kids Hub initiative is innovative and a unique addition to the landscape, which ensures that the right help is available at the right time in the right place for families.
The service aims to reduce barriers by providing better access to support young children and works with caregivers who have concerns about their child’s emotional, social and development, and their wellbeing. Through this initiative, families and other caregivers do not need to wait until problems reach a level where the intervention becomes more difficult. These services are being delivered at these wonderful Child and Family Learning Centres that we meet on today across the state, providing a great setting for families to access services. And for children of school age, we are working closely with the Department of Education to provide intervention inside school settings.
The services are provided by expert staff, as the Minister mentioned. Skilled allied health staff and psychologists and nursing staff are employed within the three settings that we have in Tasmania. Already the three hubs in the different regions across the state have seen strong demand for services from families and caregivers and children experiencing difficulties.. Our teams have achieved early success through both individual and group programs using evidence-based interventions. These interventions are very important in addressing these issues where they escalate into more difficult problems for children as they develop and grow. Thank you for your time.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, can we just grab your name and spelling and your title please?
FONG: Sure. Dr Damian Fong, I am the acting director for child and youth mental health services in Tasmania.
MCBRIDE: And doing a brilliant job.
[Laughter]
JOURNALIST: Yeah, what feedback have you got from families around the hubs so far?
FONG: Certainly when I’ve met with the teams that are providing the services, some of our wonderful staff here, there’s been lots of positive feedback about the accessibility of the services. For most children and parents that I work with, accessing services is the most difficult thing. It’s quite difficult if you have a child who needs support, taking them out of school or taking time out of work to go to an appointment. These services here in the CFLCs that we’re in today and in school settings such as across the road make it very easy for parents to access the support that they need, and so that’s been an incredibly positive, I think, element of the program that’s been designed.
I think the second thing is that we are providing evidence-based interventions in our programs here. And those are strong- I guess, strong methods to assist families with the difficulties that they’ve come with.
JOURNALIST: And do you think the hubs filled a gap, like, in the current landscape?
FONG: I think special services for children at different age ranges is a very important component of the model. We can see how wonderful this setting is, and we can see young children playing outside, and it’s a warm and inviting space, as the Minister mentioned earlier. Likewise, seeing children in a school setting is home to them. You know, they’re familiar with school, the families are familiar with school. It’s very easy for them to come in, and so I think that’s a huge benefit to this [indistinct].
JOURNALIST: Yeah, that’s great. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Maybe we’ll go to the Federal Minister again – is that all right? And then Minister Palmer as well.
JOURNALIST: How are these- sorry, how are the hubs funded?
MCBRIDE: So the hubs are funded under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, and there’s bilaterals with each state and territory. So we’re funding 17 nationally, three in Tasmania, and that is co-funded with the Tasmanian Government, a $12.6 million investment. One of the benefits that I’ve seen of this national agreement is that we can work in collaboration to improve integration and to see better outcomes for children and families, and that’s what we’ve seen already from what Dr Damian has told us and the experience of children and families in Tasmania.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, fantastic. And, I guess, what are you hearing so far? How are these centres supporting families and the children that have come in here?
MCBRIDE: What is really wonderful to hear is that families are welcomed into a safe place where they feel they belong, taking down those barriers of clinical care and making it accessible. And also for families with cost of living, that it’s free and that they know that they’re going to be able to get care close to home, and really quality care and for free, makes such a big difference to children and families. And I’m so proud as part of the Commonwealth to be rolling out these services across Tasmania. I’m in Bridgewater and in Burnie, where I’ll be visiting later today, to see the real difference its making to breaking down those barriers to bringing care, quality wraparound evidence-based care, into communities when people need it most.
JOURNALIST: Yeah. Organisations warn youth mental health remains critically underfunded. Can we expect a greater contribution in this area in your upcoming budget?
MCBRIDE: What I’m really pleased is that in the last election, we secured a $1.1 billion investment in mental health, and more than $400 million of that was towards children and young people. As I mentioned earlier, distress amongst young people has doubled in the last 20 years. There’s lots of different drivers of that distress, but we know that the investment from the Commonwealth, working in strong collaboration with the states and territories and through centres like the Child and Family Centres, gives the best results and is leading to really good outcomes for children and families. And I can also let you know that when we’re talking about across the lifespan, we’re investing in perinatal services with the Gidget Foundation, including in Launceston. The Launceston headspace for 12 to 25-year-olds will become a headspace Plus, one of the first headspaces redesigned for the more complex and severe needs that young people are presenting with today, and then that’s complimented by our Medicare Mental Health Centres for anyone 18 and over.
So what we’re intending to design and deliver is a system of support and care so that whatever age or stage, whatever your needs are, they’ll be able to be met close to home and for free.
JOURNALIST: And do you have any evidence to support these hubs are taking pressure off other services?
MCBRIDE: What we have heard anecdotally, and the services are now- the ones in Tasmania have been up and running since the middle of 2025. But what we’re seeing is, and this is early data, better results for children and families, better outcomes. Much better integration, much better collaboration, much better use of resources, including clinical teams. And in some places we’re seeing fewer presentations to hospitals and emergency departments, so the evidence is building. The primary objective is to make sure that young children and families get the best support and care that they need, but also other secondary benefits we’re seeing is that it is taking pressure off some other services in some jurisdictions, which is another really promising outcome.