In response to Sunday's terrorist attack the Albanese Government is investing $42.6 million in immediate mental health supports to meet the needs of those impacted.
This package of supports includes dedicated funding to support the Jewish community, the broader Bondi community, first responders, children and young people.
Targeted mental supports for the Jewish community ($14.2 million) will be made available through organisations with established links to communities nationally. A further $4.5 million will be provided to Primary Health Networks in the Sydney region and broader areas with significant Jewish communities, who've been impacted to provide additional psychological therapies.
The Government will establish a temporary Medicare Mental Health Centre within the Bondi area, with a specific focus on trauma support. Work to set up this Medicare Mental Health Centre is currently underway with operations expected to commence in early 2026.
To support first responders, including lifeguards and other community members who witnessed the attack, $5.6 million will be delivered to the Black Dog Institute's National Emergency Worker Support Service. The Service provides an online mental health assessment and triage service and free psychological sessions at the Black Dog Institute's Depression Clinic or the University of new South Wales Traumatic Stress Clinic for people with more severe symptoms.
Lifeline, Beyond Blue, eheadspace, yourtown's Kid Helpline and 13YARN will share in $7.6 million to scale-up capacity and provide additional crisis support.
For targeted support to young Australians affected by this attack, $3 million will be provided to extend the hours of headspace Bondi and support headspace mental health training and education sessions to school staff, students, parents and carers in schools across Australia.
The Witness to War Multilingual Support Line will receive $3.6 million to support Australians who are affected by war related conflict.
We will work with the NSW Government, mental health experts, clinicians and the community to ensure these additional supports are rolled-out in ways that will best meet the needs of the community.
