Mental Health Victoria's Acting CEO Larissa Taylor said last night's Federal Budget indicates that mental health and suicide reform are no longer 'first tier' federal government priorities.
Less than a year ago in the 2021-22 Budget, the government made a significant investment in mental health while acknowledging that it was the "first instalment" to address the findings of the Productivity Commission's report. However, the figures in the 2022-2023 Budget reveal that mental health is no longer a priority and many of the Productivity Commission's recommendations remain untouched.
"There is a great deal of missing detail in the budget papers, but what is immediately clear is that it is a missed opportunity," Taylor said.
"While there are welcome investments hinted at in the budget papers, fundamentally the federal government has lost the momentum it established in last year's budget, a mere 10 months ago. The underwhelming scale of its investment fails to match the reform vision of the Victorian system, and Mental Health Victoria is concerned that these measures are simply insufficient to meet the escalating needs of Australians."
The Federal Budget purports to allocate a total of $547 million to mental health and suicide prevention over the next 5 years. This includes a number of urgent and essential investments welcomed by Mental Health Victoria, including:
· Over $40 million allocated to meet the increased demand and support for the mental health of residents in flood affected areas in NSW and Queensland
· $13.6 million over 2 years from 2021-22 to continue funding for the Victorian head-to-help clinics until February 2023 and extend NSW pop-up clinics until December 2022
· Over $40 million to extend targeted regional initiatives to prevent suicide across Australia.
However, much of what is authentically 'new' within the $547 million headline figure is difficult to immediately decipher from the budget papers. A number of initiatives have already been announced by the Federal Government over previous months, and a significant number of long-established mental health programs and initiatives due to have their funding 'rolled over' in 2022.
"What many Australians were desperately counting on last night was a bold vision for placing mental health and wellbeing investment at the heart of Australia's post-COVID-19 recovery," said Taylor.
"A vision that fixes — or at least acknowledges — the escalating workforce crisis across the nation, that explicitly links to the recommendations of the Productivity Commission, that values community centred models of care, and that values and prioritises lived experience leadership. On all counts, Mental Health Victoria is both disappointed and worried. There is still time for the Federal Government to provide details on that vision before Australians go to the polls over the coming weeks. But it is getting late".
Next Tuesday, 5 April, Mental Health Victoria will be hosting a post-budget webinar, featuring Hon. David Coleman MP, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, together with lived and living experience leaders and mental health policy and economics experts. Over 400 individuals and organisations currently registered will have the opportunity to pose follow up questions to Assistant Minster Coleman.
