consumers and carers

The MHCA provided a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Affordable Housing. In our submission we recommended that people with lived experience of mental illness be recognised as a priority group in future housing and homelessness agreements; recommended that the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness be re-funded for a further five years; and endorsed the continuation of current strategies aimed at growing the community housing sector to ensure that there are increased housing options available for people with lived experience of mental illness.

The MHCA has been working with the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum ( NMHCCF ) to develop some information for mental health consumers and carers about the NDIS . Because the NDIS is so new and still in a trial phase, there are still a lot of issues that have not been worked out and we are not sure what they will mean for mental health consumers and carers. Therefore we have published this information in draft form so that we can get your feedback on the sorts of things you would like to see in a fact sheet about the NDIS .

Over the last 12 months the MHCA ’s collaborative work with the mental health sector has highlighted the significant concerns consistently raised by mental health consumers, carers and service providers about the design and implementation of the NDIS , and the implications these may have for service access, quality and financial sustainability. These concerns are described in more detail in our position paper. In response to these concerns, and through our ongoing advocacy to government and the National Disability Insurance Agency ( NDIA ), the MHCA was asked by the NDIA to develop a proposal for a new approach to trialling and implementing the NDIS to better meet the needs of mental health consumers and carers.

The MHCA is keen to hear from consumers and carers about your knowledge and experiences with Australian Government Disability Employment Services via a short online survey. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and people who wish to discuss their experiences with Disability Employment Services with us in greater detail can elect to do so by providing their contact details. Otherwise the survey can be completed anonymously.

The MHCA ’s 2014-15 budget submission proposes a range of no-cost, low-cost and long-standing recommendations that will help build an Australian mental health system that is holistic, integrated and that delivers better support for people with a lived experience of mental illness and their carers.

In this joint submission, the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum and the MHCA discuss human rights and equal recognition before the law for people with mental illness and psychosocial disability. The submission makes a series of recommendations about nationally consistent approaches to legal capacity, supported decision-making, advance care planning, mental health legislation and restrictive practices.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Capacity Building for the Mental Health Sector Project 2013/14 - Capacity building, sector development and links to other information resources

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Capacity Building for the Mental Health Sector Project 2013/14 - Frequently Asked Questions

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal ( AAT ) has been vested with the authority to hear and seek to resolve disputes between applicants for the NDIS , participants in the scheme and the agency.

The following links will take you to the pricing and support documents on the National Disability Insurance Agency website.