Newsletters / Bulletins

The politicians are back, parliament sits next week, and already we’ve heard from the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition as they both try to set up the political year. Today we also heard from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare with a headline report which says $8.5 billion was spent nationally on mental health services in 2014/15 – a reported increase of $911 million from 2010/11. As we finalise our pre-budget submission, the AIHW report is a perfect example of why we need the Commonwealth to commit to targets, measures and accountabilities in relation to mental health spending and service delivery..

This update invites mental health service providers to participate in a free webinar designed to help organisations build their ICT literacy and capability and upgrade, or select new systems, in preparation for the NDIS .

In this update, Mental Health Australia announces that Richmond Wellbeing has been engaged to develop and deliver NDIS peer education and train the trainer workshops nationally as a part of Mental Health Australia’s NDIS Sector Development Fund Capacity Building Project. You can also read about: • a review of NDIS pricing for personal care and community participation • an open consultation on NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation • NDIS and mental health as discussed at Mental Health Australia’s Member’s Policy Forum • NDIS Local Area Coordination partners in Victoria • the roll out of the NDIS in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania • the latest transcript from the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS • a NDIS NSW Market Position Statement • a NSW Mental Health Commission video on NDIS and mental health • a recent NDIS Remote Disability Services Provider Forum • the latest NDIS e-Newsletter.

In this update, read about: • consultation opportunities on the NDIS Information, Linkages and Capacity Building Commissioning Framework and the Specialist Disability Accommodation Pricing and Payments Framework • updated principles determining the responsibilities of the NDIS and other service systems • a National Disability Insurance Agency ( NDIA ) Mental Health Sector Reference Group ( NMHSRG ) communique • the recently released NDIS Independent Advisory Council Annual Report • a transcript from a public hearing recently conducted by the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS • the most recent NDIS eNewsletter from the NDIA .