- Australia has only 16 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people, with forecast shortages of 20 per cent for decades to come
- Regional Australia and young people have been hit hardest by workforce shortages
- Training the next generation to meet demand can avert a worsening crisis, and would cost less than a dollar per Australian.
Psychiatrists on the front lines of Australia's mental health system have called for smart, targeted and urgent investment in specialist training in the May budget so people can access affordable mental health treatment, especially in regional Australia.
Releasing its 2026-27 Federal Pre-Budget Submission, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) warns the system is struggling under the weight of increasing demand, with too few psychiatrists available to provide timely, specialist care, especially in rural and regional Australia.
The submission outlines a suite of evidence-based measures to address the shortage including:
- Train more psychiatrists in regional Australia where shortages are worst, with $22,976,000 over two years to support up to 70 rural psychiatry posts, supervision, and digital infrastructure
- Get more junior doctors into psychiatry to learn from those approaching retirement, with $2.14 million to extend the Psychiatry Interest Forum program to June 2028 to provide a critical linkage, build a sustainable workforce pipeline, and strengthen rural access to care.
- Address mental health early in young people with $6 million annually to embed psychiatrists in Medicare Mental Health Kids Hubs
- Make mental health care more accessible by expanding training into community clinics and private hospitals through the National Consistent Payments (NCP) and Approved Emergency Department (APED) frameworks
Australia currently has just 16 psychiatrists for every 100,000 people. With nearly a third of the workforce approaching retirement, shortages of around 20 per cent are forecast over the next two decades.
Without action people will wait longer for treatment, mental health conditions will worsen and the economic damage the country already sustains from mental illnesses will compound, the submission warns.
RANZCP President Dr Astha Tomar said psychiatrists are seeing the effects of the workforce shortage every day.
"Psychiatrists want to help people, and people need and expect their government to invest in mental health. As the medical specialists who treat complex and severe mental health conditions, we know everyone's mental health matters," Dr Tomar said.
"Right now, we are seeing people whose expectations of our mental health system are not being met. People are coming to us later, sicker, and in more distress because they simply can't get help when they need it.
"We're seeing children and young people waiting months for assessment, families stuck in emergency departments for days, and regional communities going without specialist care altogether.
"There are not enough of us to help the people who need us, particularly outside urban centres, and the situation is getting worse.
"This budget can make targeted investments in Australian's mental health by putting more psychiatrists where people need them most. To provide Australians with the care they deserve, we need to train more doctors and allow the next generation to learn from retiring psychiatrists.
"This is one of the smartest, most cost-effective investments the Government can make.
"From $20 million dollars these investments would cost less than a dollar per person – a small fraction of the $27 billion in economic damage we sustain every year from health challenges in rural communities alone.
"Every dollar invested in prevention and early intervention returns up to four dollars to the economy. That's a return of $80 million each year.
"The choice for the government is clear. Act now, train more psychiatrists, support early intervention and give people a fighting chance. Or choose not to act and pay the price as human and economic costs compound.
"Every Australian deserves a system that helps people get better, not one that keeps them waiting until it's too late. This Budget is the moment to turn that around, and Australians are expecting nothing less."
