Reflecting on a year of impact – our progress in 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on a year of significant progress in mental health in Australia. Of course, we have a long way to go – with almost half of us experiencing a mental health condition at some point in our lives, increases in the rate of mental health conditions among young people, and too many people having poor experiences of care or missing out on support altogether – we clearly have a long journey ahead of us. However, it’s important to pause along the way, and reflect on what has changed, and what we need to focus on next.
At Mental Health Australia we continue to play a vital role in uniting the voices of the mental health sector and advocating for policies that improve mental health – as set out in our new organisational strategy, which we launched in August. We have secured some important policy changes in 2024, which progress our collective mission to improve mental health. These include:
- In the 2024-25 Budget, the Australian Government adopted 10 out of 18 Mental Health Australia policy recommendations that were included in our pre-budget submission. This included a $588.5 million investment over eight years to establish a national low intensity digital mental health service, so that people can get support for their mental health earlier.
- Four of Mental Health Australia’s six recommendations to the Senate Inquiry on the NDIS Amendment Bill were reflected in recent government changes, and our advocacy regarding the NDIS Rules resulted in the inclusion of specific psychosocial support references. This means that people with a psychosocial disability and their family, carers and supporters will be better reflected in the NDIS going forward.
- Mental Health Australia’s Statement of Priorities for the Health and Mental Health Ministers in August this year, which was co-signed by 80 of our members, resulted in two out of three priorities being delivered. This led to the public release of the Analysis of Unmet Need for Psychosocial Supports outside the NDIS, and a commitment to regular Ministerial meetings to progress reform – providing a critical forum to achieve change in the future.
These changes would not have been possible without the deep commitment and support of our members. I’ve been excited to welcome 19 new organisations to Mental Health Australia this year, taking our total membership to 147 organisations. This strengthens our influence with government and expands our sector representation.
Throughout the year, we have continued to build the capacity and capability of the mental health sector. Through the Embrace Framework for Mental Health in Multicultural Australia, which is a free, national online resource, we have supported mental health and suicide prevention services to evaluate and enhance their cultural responsiveness to better meet the needs of multicultural communities. With continued conflicts both globally and at home, the need for more inclusive approaches to mental health has never been greater.
We have also continued to amplify the voices and expertise of people with lived experience through our role in auspicing the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum and facilitating the National Register of Mental Health Consumer and Carer Representatives, and the Embrace Lived Experience Group.
Of course, we have seen significant progress in the evolution of lived experience leadership in Australia this year, with the announcements of the new national mental health lived experience peak bodies – one for consumers, and one for family, carers and kin – and are proud to count both the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance and Mental Health Carers Australia as Mental Health Australia members. We look forward to continuing to support their work over the years ahead.
With 2025 just around the corner, so too is the next Federal election. We are firmly committed to putting mental health on the election agenda for all parties and candidates, so that we can build a future where we fundamentally change the trajectory of mental health in Australia. This will be a core focus for us next year.
This will be our last newsletter for 2024 – we will be back in your inboxes on 29 January 2025. Thank you for your support throughout the year. I hope you have a restful break over the holiday period.
Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia | 
