The headspace Plus Model of Care will build on the long-established and trusted headspace model.
Services delivering the headspace Plus Model of Care will provide enhanced multidisciplinary and specialist support for young people, who are:
- experiencing more severe, intersecting or evolving mental health needs
- require more intensive support than is typically available through existing headspace services.
Youth Specialist Care Centres (YSCCs) will build on Early Psychosis Youth Services.
YSCCs will help young people with severe or emerging mental health conditions who have high complexity needs that exceed primary mental health care, and who do not require state-funded acute and specialist tertiary treatment.
This will include specialist, multidisciplinary, longer-term support for psychosis, eating disorders, personality disorder, and severe mood and anxiety disorders.
The models of care provide a framework, detailing how these new services will work, who they’re meant for, and what help they’ll provide.
The models of care do not include detailed operational or implementation matters. These will be worked through separately to allow services to adapt to local circumstances.
The headspace Plus and YSCC models of care were developed by headspace National and Orygen respectively, leveraging their expertise in youth mental health service design and delivery.
The process to develop and finalise the models of care was informed by:
- advice from an Expert Advisory Group that includes a cross-section of key sector stakeholders
- advice from a Jurisdictional Working Group that includes representatives from the Commonwealth, states and territories
- targeted consultations undertaken by headspace National and Orygen
- sector-led advice on youth mental health models of care that was delivered in 2025.
Published models of care
The final models of care for headspace Plus and YSCCs are now available:
We undertook public consultation on the draft models of care through the Consultation Hub between 21 May and 11 June 2026.
Feedback was sought on key components including:
- target population
- minimum service requirements
- flexibility for local implementation
- workforce
- service pathways
- safety and quality
- integration with existing services.
Feedback from the consultation was used to refine the draft models before they were finalised.
Implementation
headspace Plus and YSCCs will roll out in stages. All services are expected to be operational from 2029-30.
The locations of headspace services delivering the headspace Plus Model of Care centres were announced as an election commitment.
Existing Early Psychosis Youth Services (EPYS) will transition to become YSCCs, and an extra 12 new centres will be established.
Locations of new YSCCs have not yet been decided.
What happens next
The published models of care will support PHNs, lead agencies and service partners to plan and deliver headspace Plus and YSCC services as they are implemented in stages.
Contact
If you have questions, please email YouthMentalHealthEC@health.gov.au.
If you or someone you know is having a difficult time, if things just seem too much, reach out for support:
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
- 13YARN on 13 92 76
- headspace on 1800 650 890
- Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
- Medicare Mental Health on 1800 595 212
- Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
- MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
- QLife on 1800 184 527
- Butterfly Foundation on 1800 334 673
