Submission

Medicines play an important part in the maintenance and treatment of mental illness and the MHCA has a keen interest in the governance structures which oversee the conduct of the Australian innovative pharmaceutical sector. In this submission the MHCA promotes consumer and carer engagement as effective strategies to include in the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct.

The MHCA focus for this submission is on Cabinet’s proposal to become the decision-making body for approving all Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme listings. The MHCA makes a number of recommendations to ensure that a high level of equity, accountability and transparency is maintained in Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee processes.

The MHCA strongly supports the development of a social insurance scheme for disability long term care and support in Australia and congratulates the Productivity Commission and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs for tackling such an important and timely task. Effective long term disability support is necessary to meet Australia’s obligations under the United Nation’s Convention on Rights for Persons with a Disability and, most importantly, to rectify the grave and unnecessary injustices faced daily by people with a disability in Australia.

This paper summarises the positions taken by the MHCA and its members in relation to the proposed National Health and Hospitals Network reforms in relation to the mental health sector. These issues are proposed to underpin a whole of sector advocacy position.