Publication

The Mental Health Australia 2014-15 Annual Report, and the Mental Health Australia Financial Report were tabled at our Annual General Meeting on 21 October 2015.

In late November 2014 Mental Health Australia conducted a survey of non-government organisations in the mental health sector about the impact of uncertainties over funding from the Australian Government. A summary of the survey findings is provided below. The survey results demonstrate the very real impact that funding uncertainty is currently having on organisations and underscores the urgent need for government to clarify funding arrangements as soon as possible.

Following consultation with its members and stakeholders, Mental Health Australia has released its Seven Point Plan for Action on Mental Health. The Seven Point Plan identifies the key actions required to improve national mental health outcomes, and will inform Mental Health Australia’s advocacy as the National Mental Health Commission completes its Review of Mental Health Services and Programs on behalf of the Australian Government.

Over the last 12 months the MHCA ’s collaborative work with the mental health sector has highlighted the significant concerns consistently raised by mental health consumers, carers and service providers about the design and implementation of the NDIS , and the implications these may have for service access, quality and financial sustainability. These concerns are described in more detail in our position paper. In response to these concerns, and through our ongoing advocacy to government and the National Disability Insurance Agency ( NDIA ), the MHCA was asked by the NDIA to develop a proposal for a new approach to trialling and implementing the NDIS to better meet the needs of mental health consumers and carers.