Media Releases

Mental Health Australia has called for a complete rethink of the way the welfare system treats people with psychosocial disabilities associated with mental illness. Responding to the Interim Report from the current Review of Australia’s Welfare System, Mental Health Australia has rejected the Review’s proposal that the Disability Support Pension be provided only to people who have ‘a permanent disability with no capacity to work’. “Why would we re-build a system that is based on people continuously proving how sick they are, rather than a system focussed on assisting people to fully realise their potential?” Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan said.

The Mental Health Council of Australia ( MHCA ) has today launched its new name – Mental Health Australia. “Mental Health Australia more accurately reflects our role and function as the national peak for mental health in this country,” Mental Health Australia CEO Frank Quinlan said.

The Mental Health Council of Australia ( MHCA ) has today called for a decade of systemic reform of Australia’s mental health system, as it released its third submission to the National Mental Health Commission’s Review of Mental Health Services and Programs. “For too long Australia has had a substandard mental health ‘system’. Services and systems are poorly integrated, overseen by different parts of government, based on widely differing organising principles, and not working towards a common goal for improved outcomes,” MHCA CEO Frank Quinlan said.

The Mental Health Council of Australia ( MHCA ) has today released a Key Issues Brief containing key facts about people on the Disability Support Pension ( DSP ) to address a range of misconceptions in relation to mental illness. “Contrary to some recent commentary, DSP recipients with mental illness are most likely to be people who want to work, but due to stigma and discrimination, and a range of significant and debilitating conditions, can’t.” MHCA CEO Frank Quinlan said.