The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquired into the Exposure Draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012. This joint submission by MHCA and beyondblue draws attention to the negative experiences of people with a mental illness who try to access insurance and proposes amendments to the Bill to ensure that insurers who are granted an exemption from anti-discrimination law are held accountable.

The second consultation draft has significantly clarified the framework’s purpose and provides greater clarity around recovery models and the translation of recovery principles into action by mental health services.

The MHCA strongly supports initiatives to further the interests of Australia’s most vulnerable people. There are few groups more marginalised than people with mental illness who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Draft Homelessness Bill is an attempt to develop legislative mechanisms for addressing these needs, but without commitment at all levels and jurisdictions of government, little will change. It will therefore be disappointing if the commitment of the Australian Government is not reflected in the Homelessness Bill 2012.

In this submission the MHCA congratulates the Mental Health Standing Committee for its recognition of the role of recovery as critical to the implementation of better mental health services, and makes a series of suggestions context of our desire to drive lasting change in the delivery of recovery based services to mental health consumers and carers. These suggestions centre around ensuring a focus on people with lived experience and maximising the impact of the Framework through a range of educational and sector development mechanisms.