The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Minister for Health and Aged Care
One in four young Australians are affected by a mental illness every year. Many young people have also been substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, making it more important than ever to ensure access to youth mental health services.
headspace provides free or low cost youth-friendly support in four key areas-mental health, related physical health, substance misuse, and social and vocational support. It offers a safe, welcoming place where young people can get non-judgmental professional help and peer support, so they can tackle their challenges in a way that is right for them.
The additional funding will help headspace services that are experiencing high demand across the country to:
- expand services, improving access to high quality, youth friendly mental health support
- refurbish, expand or relocate headspace facilities to increase service capacity and make them more welcoming
- deliver new strategies such as triage and a walk-in single session approach, workforce training, and access to more group activities.
40 headspaces services located in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory will benefit from grants of up to $1.8 million each.
The grants are part of the Government's $152 million investment in the headspace Demand Management and Enhancement Program, to reduce wait times and make capital improvements.
In addition, our Government has allocated $278.6 million in the 2021-22 Budget, as part of our record investment of $2.3 billion National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, to further expand and enhance the national headspace network. Ten new headspace centres will be developed and five headspace satellites will be upgraded to full headspace centres, bringing the total number of headspace services across Australia to 164.
The headspace services which will receive funding through this grant opportunity are:
State/Territory |
headspace Service |
New South Wales |
Bathurst, Brookvale, Chatswood, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Grafton, Hurstville, Katoomba, Orange, Penrith. |
Victoria |
Ballarat, Bendigo, Bentleigh, Collingwood, Dandenong, Frankston, Glenroy, Mildura, Narre Warren, Shepparton, Sunshine, Swan Hill, Warrnambool. |
Queensland |
Caboolture, Cairns, Toowoomba, Taringa, Woolloongabba. |
South Australia |
Adelaide, Berri, Edinburgh North, Marion, Mount Barker, Onkaparinga, Port Adelaide, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Victor Harbor. |
Western Australia |
Albany |
Northern Territory |
Darwin |
These investments will ensure better social and health outcomes for young Australians, giving them the opportunity to reach their full potential in life.
The funding reinforces our Government's strong commitment achieving better mental health for all Australians, and will complement the existing investment of $6.5 billion in mental health services in 2021-22.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through headspace, Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14), or the Government's digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
