Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia (Gayaa Dhuwi) welcomes the candid assessment of a fragmented and failing system in the Productivity Commission's interim report on the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.
However, it cautions that its recommendations must be met with a genuine commitment from governments to appropriately fund and engage in shared decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations.
The interim report validates what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been saying for decades: the mental health system is not fit-for-purpose and requires fundamental, systemic reform.
Gayaa Dhuwi is encouraged by several of the interim report's key findings, including the call for a dedicated Social and Emotional Wellbeing Schedule in any new agreement to support outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, stronger alignment with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and recognition of the foundational role of cultural capability in all services.
Professor Helen Milroy AM, Chair of Gayaa Dhuwi, said the report is a critical opportunity for change that must not be wasted.
"Australia's mental health system is fragmented, underfunded, and requires transformational change to be culturally safe", Professor Milroy said.
"While we welcome the call to embed the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration, true progress is not possible without addressing the interim report's damming finding that there has been no dedicated funding attached to the National Agreement to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
"It's time for governments to move beyond rhetoric and genuinely invest in our community-controlled organisations and our models of care, which are centred on our holistic and cultural understanding of social and emotional wellbeing."
The interim report highlights a range of systemic issues, including a failure of governments to genuinely partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the creation of additional administrative burdens, and the fact that discrimination remains a primary barrier to accessing services. This mirrors the findings of the Productivity Commission's Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
It also highlights the need for the next agreement to articulate and embed priorities highlighted by community, such as cultural safety in all services and greater investment in the community-controlled sector and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing workforce.
Ms Rachel Fishlock, CEO of Gayaa Dhuwi, said the interim report confirms the current National Agreement is disjointed and fails to provide a cohesive, strategic direction for reform.
"The findings are bleak but affirm what many of us already know and have long been raising, the current system is not working for our people", Ms Fishlock said.
"The current Agreement is disconnected from the key national policy frameworks for our people, including the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy, and the un-implemented National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' Mental Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing, leading to a piecemeal approach that does not serve our communities.
"This is one of the reasons why we developed the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration Framework and Implementation Plan. It provides the long-term, strategic architecture for whole-of-system reform that is so clearly missing. However, despite being launched in February this year and activity set to commence on 1 July, there is no committed funding for it.
"For any future National Agreement to succeed, it must be guided by this framework, commit to genuine co-design with our communities, and crucially, genuinely share decision-making power and appropriately resource the community-controlled sector."
Gayaa Dhuwi urges all Australian governments to not only accept the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's final report, when released, but to commit to ways of working that prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, self-determination, and the cultural strengths that have sustained our peoples for more than 65,000 years.
Gayaa Dhuwi reminds the public and media outlets of the importance of responsible and culturally respectful reporting when it comes to issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This includes adhering to the Good Yarn Guidelines and ensuring that crisis support services are promoted effectively.
24/7 crisis helpline services available to the community include:
- 13 YARN (139276) – a dedicated support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Brother to Brother crisis line (1800 435 799) – providing support for men
- Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) – for young people in need of support
