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Mental Health Australia has renewed its call for a decade of mental health reform, commencing immediately, following the release of the 2015 Federal Budget. “If we are to fix our ailing mental health system, we need a long-term, systematic approach to reform that reaches beyond annual budgets, partisan politics and short-term electoral cycles,” Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan said.

Mental Health Australia is concerned that low income Australians are under pressure from housing affordability stress resulting in negative impacts on mental health, following the release of Anglicare Australia’s Rental Affordability Snapshot . “Poor housing and housing stress, together with other life stresses, reduces psychological wellbeing and exacerbates mental illness,” CEO of Mental Health Australia Frank Quinlan said.

Today, Mental Health Australia has renewed its call for a long-term program of systemic reform, starting with the release of the National Mental Health Commission’s Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services, and the addition of mental health as an agenda item for COAG . “… We need a ten-year commitment from all governments to fund and implement a careful reform process for all Australians. Reform that involves listening to those who know the system best,” Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan said today.

Mental Health Australia has welcomed today’s news that Commonwealth supported community mental health organisations will be funded for another twelve months, worth almost $300 million. “This is fantastic news for Australians with mental illness and the people who care for them, and will also give some welcome reassurance to workers as they head off for their Easter break,” Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan said. “We will examine the announcement in detail and make further comment on its implications for people who experience mental illness and those who care for them.”