This Week

Happy New Year

To paraphrase Pauline Hanson, "If you are reading this message you know that I have come back from holidays!".

I am excited to be back after quite a break which took me through the wilds of Tasmania (before the fires) and largely off line.  On the face of it there has not been significant change over the Christmas break, but I am pleased to be returning to a year that promises to be more about implementation than review.

A number of issues have been gathered together over the break, and are presented below.

It is an election year, so the political dynamic will be important this year too.  Mental Health Australia looks forward to serving its members and friends, and progressing the implementation of reforms that we hope will lead to better outcomes for those who experience mental illness and those who care for them.

As I have done in previous years at the start of the year, if you find these updates valuable, could I ask you to forward them to someone else who might find them of benefit?  Our communications networks are very important to us and we would look forward to hearing from new people and organisations working in the mental health sector and beyond.  We welcome new subscribers to this update, and new contributors to our shared pool of wisdom.

New PHN Mental Health Network

Following the announcement of the expanded role for PHNs in mental health, the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) has established a new Mental Health Network and Mental Health Australia will be working with them very closely. The purpose of the Network is to provide avenues for PHNs and other organisations working in mental health to share information and expertise through quarterly face to face meetings, regular email communication and an online forum. Mental Health Australia is working with AHHA to make sure a broad range of organisations working in mental health are aware of the Network and have an opportunity to join and participate.

The first meeting of the Mental Health Network in Brisbane, on 8 March 2016.  This will be a great opportunity to engage with PHNs to discuss their new role in the mental health system. While the first meeting is being hosted by the Brisbane North PHN, the agenda will ensure that national and cross-sectoral issues are canvassed, with subsequent meetings to be hosted by other PHNs around Australia. More information about the Network and how to join is available from the AHHA website.

MHiMA Project - consultation opportunity

Over the course of the year I have agreed with the NCCCWG that we will use this newsletter to provide periodic updates about the MHiMA project, and will do so in future updates.

In the meantime, Mental Health Australia is seeking your views on future directions for the Mental Health in Multicultural Australia (MHiMA) Project.

As you are aware, we are managing the MHiMA Project until the end of June 2016. One of our key tasks is to provide the Department of Health with recommendations for possible future directions for the Project. Your feedback will assist us to develop these recommendations, which are due in March 2016.

A consultation paper has been released for public feedback and can be found on our website. The paper presents information on the MHiMA Project, including recent Project activities and questions to assist with your feedback. 

We are seeking the views of as many people as possible, and encourage you to disseminate the consultation paper through your networks. We would especially encourage people from CALD backgrounds who are either living with or caring for someone with mental illness, or who have expertise in working with CALD populations to comment.  We also encourage anyone with an interest in multicultural mental health and wellbeing to provide feedback on this issue and the MHiMA Project.

Please send your feedback with the subject line MHiMA Project consultation to info@mhaustralia.org by 12pm AEDT 12 February 2016. You can use the response form provided, or send your thoughts in an email. The questions on the response form are a guide only, if you have additional feedback you wish to provide please do so either on the form or via email. You do not need to answer all of the questions on the response form.

Insurance discrimination - Ella Ingram

As you would recall, late last year the Human Rights Division of the Victoria Civil and Administrative Tribunal delivered its findings regarding the case of Ella Ingram vs QBE Insurance. The Tribunal found in favour of Ms Ingram, awarding her financial compensation. This was a huge milestone in challenging discrimination on the basis of mental illness. In further good news for Ella, last week QBE confirmed their acceptance of the VCAT decision and will not appeal and have paid their damages.

Ms Ingram took out travel insurance with QBE in 2011 ahead of school trip to the USA. However, in the months leading up to the scheduled trip she experienced depression for the first time in her life. Following treatment and advice from family and medical practitioners, she was not able to travel as planned and sought to claim the cost of her trip against her travel insurance. QBE rejected this claim on the basis of a blanket exclusion for mental health in the policy she purchased.

Congratulations again to Ella.

NDIA releases ILC commissioning framework for consultation

An integral part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the ‘Information, Linkages and Capacity Building’  (ILC) framework.  ILC is supposed to support all people with a disability, their carers and family (whether or not they are eligible for the NDIS), support mainstream services and strengthen the community to become more disability-friendly.  In December 2015, the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) released the draft ILC Commissioning Framework, and announced that there would be a consultation process early in 2016. The draft Commissioning Framework can be accessed here.

Overall, the Framework recognises that there is still a lot of work to be done in the mental health area, particularly given the reforms recently announced by the government, in response to the National Mental Health Commission’s review. The Framework states:

the Agency does not consider there is sufficient clarity [in broader mental health policy] to be able to detail the exact role of ILC and the ways in which it will interact with the broader mental health system in this Consultation Draft. The Agency will continue to work closely with the Australian Government as these reforms progress.

We welcome the priority the Framework places on “delivery by people with disability for people with disability,” as well as on outcomes based commissioning. This will be dependent on ensuring that the outcomes and indicators are appropriate; and providing sufficient support to the NGO sector to undertake the measurement. It is pleasing that The Framework says that the NDIA wants to “focus on what might be done to help the sector successfully transition to an outcomes-based method of sourcing”. We are hoping that this could lead to funding for service providers to upgrade their IT and data collection capacity.

Mental Health Australia will be preparing a submission in response to the draft Commissioning Framework. We would welcome your input to Daniel Casey on (02) 6285 0845 or Daniel.casey@mhaustralia.org  before the end of February.

More details on the draft Commissioning Framework will be included in our next NDIS update. You can subscribe to the updates here.

New carer gateway launched

Developed specifically for carers, the new Carer Gateway will help carers access practical information and advice and connect with services in their local area. As the first step in delivering the Integrated Plan for Carer Support Services, Carer Gateway will make it easier for carers to find the services that are right for them.

Carer Gateway includes a website, phone service and service finder to assist carers to locate their nearest support services. Click on the link below to visit the website

Parliamentary news

Principles to determine the responsibilities of the NDIS and other systems

In late 2015 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) released a new set of principles to determine the responsibilities of the NDIS and other systems along with arrangements to operationalise them. The full set of principles can be downloaded from the COAG website.

Reminders

OECD report on mental health and work released

This report on Australia is the ninth and last in a series of reports looking at how the broader education, health, social and labour market policy challenges identified in Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health and Work (OECD, 2012) are being tackled in a number of OECD countries. Download the full report from the OECD website.

7th National Health Reform Summit

Tickets are available for the 7th National Health Reform Summit, being held in Canberra on 9 February 2016. The Summit will focus on two service areas where very substantial improvement is still required: mental health; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. The Summit will also provide the opportunity for participants to influence the priority issues for AHCRA’s policy and advocacy work in 2016. Full details are available from the website.

Free Peer to Peer training resources released

SRN are delighted to introduce Peer2Peer; a new, free peer support training resource. Peer2Peer was developed as a result of a European Union funded partnership project to train people with lived experience of mental health problems to support others in their recovery. Peer2Peer has been designed to be flexible and adaptable to a range of learning and development needs. The course can be delivered as a whole or you can select specific sessions to focus on. Full details are available from the website.

Business confidence of the disability sector report released

NDS has released the Business Confidence of the Disability Services Sector Report 2015 which includes analysis and commentary about business sentiment, and builds on the highlights captured in the NDS State of the Disability Sector Report 2015.

The Business Confidence of the Disability Services Sector Report 2015 is the second in the series to be carried out by BMG Research and published by the NDS Centre for Applied Disability Research. It provides insights into the performance and expectations of 426 NDS member organisations that are preparing for the roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Download the full report from the website.

Mental illness and bereavement workshops

Our friends at SANE Australia are convening a series of workshops that explore how mental health professionals and organisations can better support the families and friends of people who have died by suicide. Full details on the workshops including dates and venues can be found at the website.

Chronic Disease and Mental Health Symposium

Chronic disease and mental health pose an enormous burden on the health of Australians. This symposium will bring together specialist nurses to explore opportunities to take the lead in providing collaborative, integrated chronic disease and mental health management. The symposium is being held in Sydney on 26 Feburary, visit the website for full details.

Call for Papers - The Australian and New Zealand Addiction Conference

Do not miss out on the opportunity to present at The Australian & New Zealand Addiction Conference being held on the Gold Coast, 18 - 20 May 2016.

The Conference themed Alcohol – Other Drugs – Behavioural Addictions, Prevention, Treatment and Recovery is dedicated to sharing skills and understanding in the treatment of all addictive disorders, including alcohol and other drugs, behavioural addictions, and the emerging field of online compulsive behaviour in both adults and children. To submit your abstract please visit the conference website.

Mental health and co-existing physical health conditions

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the results of a national health survey into mental health and co-existing physical health conditions. In 2014-15 there were 4.0 million Australians (17.5%) who reported having a mental or behavioural condition. Results also showed that 15.8% of all Australians (3.6 million people) reported co-existing long-term mental and behavioural and physical health conditions. This included: 13.3% of the population who had at least one mental and behavioural condition and two or more physical health conditions; and 2.5% who had at least one mental and behavioural condition and only one co-existing physical health condition. 

Warm regards,
Frank
Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer

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