On the back of the Unmet Needs Report and the South Australian Government’s response to ask the Commonwealth to meet funding the demand, we were disappointed to see the 2024 Federal Budget fall short in supporting the 19,000 South Australians living with complex mental health needs.

What we have seen is an investment of  $111m in mental health per year for the next 8 years totalling a spend of $888m. This will be spent across Australia. Meanwhile South Australia’s Unmet Needs Report stated we need $125m a year to close our gap alone.

What the Federal budget has delivered equates to a 1% boost in mental health funding annually across the country.  Considering that mental health presentations are the most common general practice presentations, and the overall annual budget for health is $112 billion, this is a very small piece of the pie.

What will be funded?

Head to Health service centres will be rebranded as Medicare Mental Health Centres and will receive a boost of $29m over four years. This is an upgrade of the national network with an additional 61 Medicare Mental health Centres being opened by June 2026. This funding will also see a clinical upgrade to the established Head to Health network with free access to a GP, psychologist and psychiatrist at every centre. 

Primary Health Networks will also receive a boost of $71.1m over four years to fund nurses, social workers and counsellors in between GP visits for people with complex mental health needs.

And $588.5 million has been allocated for a new digital platform for people with less intense mental health support needs. This will not be up and running until January 2026. The Budget papers state the need for this service as “Some people will benefit from talking to someone who is trained to have those important conversations over the course of days, weeks or months. Others will just want a bit of coaching or advice, and to be given the tools and resources they need to work through things at their own pace and in their own time.”

Mental Health Australia strongly advocated for this digital platform and we are pleased to see it included.

Peer Workforce

We are very heartened to see an additional $7.1 million will go towards the professional development of the peer workforce. This will include a National Census of the lived experience (peer) workforce, providing one off seed funding to establish a national professional association for peer workers, and exploring a new psychology assistant role.  

Suicide Prevention

In addition to this the Federal Government has targeted suicide prevention programs which includes $29.7 million to fund a headspace Early Career Program and co-designing a fit-for-purpose model of care for young Australians.   There will also be $21 million for Primary Health Networks to continue the Targeted Regional Initiative for Suicide Prevention and $10 million to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation to boost mental health supports for First Nations People.  

MATES in construction have also received a $3 million boost to their Fly-in-Fly out and  Drive-in- Drive suicide prevention program.

Transfer of the National Mental Health Commission 

The National Mental Health Commission and the National Suicide Prevention Office, together referred to as ‘the Commission’, will be reformed. The reform responds to the findings from the independent investigation into the Commission in 2023, which found that the Commission had ‘outgrown its existing systems, practices and capabilities’. 

As an interim step, the Commission will transfer into the Department of Health and Aged Care as a non-statutory office on or before 1st October 2024.