Time to embrace a decade of mental health reform

Mental Health Australia is calling for all governments to embrace a decade of mental health reform following the leak of a summary of the National Mental Health Commission’s Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services.

“Now is the time for the Federal Government to work with state and territory governments, people living with mental illness and their carers, service providers, and NGOs to build the mental health system Australia expects,” Mental Health Australia CEO, Frank Quinlan said.

“We welcome the Minister’s initial response that, ‘any recommendations will need to continue to be scrutinised in consultation with the mental health sector and other levels of government.’ We now call on the Minister to release the full report as soon as possible so that consultation can begin.

“It’s going to take a decade of dedicated action to achieve our shared goals for a high-functioning system. We need a ten-year, cross party commitment to reform, that goes well beyond short term election and budget cycles.

“The summary of the National Mental Health Commission’s report lays out key directions for reform and we look forward to turning those aspirations into reality.” 

Reform will only be successful if all the relevant players are included in the process.  Governments at all levels must:

  • set targets for system performance
  • agree on who is responsible for what, including who funds different parts of the system
  • listen to the voices of those with a lived experience of mental illness and their carers, and 
  • hold all in the system accountable by reporting accurately on how the system is performing

Mental Health Australia’s vision is for mentally healthy people, and mentally healthy communities.

#mhreview

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