Last week, mental health experts gathered in Canberra to address gaps in care for individuals with mental health conditions following the Bondi Junction attack.  Our CEO, Louise Cornish attended the event to represent Tasmanian Families and Friends.

The roundtable, hosted by Wentworth MP Allegra Spender and the Black Dog Institute, highlighted critical mental health care issues experienced by all Australians when accessing mental health services, but of most importance for Tasmania was the recognition from the Ministers of the inequity of access to mental health care services in Tasmania.

Elizabeth Young, the mother of Jade Young, who was fatally injured in the recent Bondi Junction attack, spoke of the inconsistencies in care by sharing her family’s struggles to find mental health support. She spoke about the support provided to her family members in NSW who received immediate and ongoing psychological support from specialist mental health practitioners, while her son in Tasmania “received no such treatment.”

Kerry Hawkins, president of the Western Australian Association for Mental Health, also highlighted the stigma faced by people living with complex mental health conditions, as well as the challenges faced by families and carers. Kerry also spoke of the challenges for family members who walk alongside people with these kinds of distress and how they are completely unsupported, stating that hundreds of thousands of Australians live in quiet despair with emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion and financial exhaustion.

Mental Health Families and Friends Tasmania were a signatory to a joint statement issued by the Black Dog Institute and other leading mental health organisations across Australia to call on the government to commit to three key asks:

1. Long-Term Funding and Reform: Federal and State/Territory Governments must agree on funding arrangements and a long-term roadmap for reform to close the service gap for the ‘missing middle’ and people with complex mental health needs. Reform is required to provide consistent, integrated, and comprehensive care that bridges the current divide between primary and specialist services.
2. Full-Day Mental Health Ministers Meeting: This crucial negotiation should take place during the planned full-day Mental Health Ministers Meeting, involving Federal and State/Territory Ministers for Health and Mental Health. Such a dedicated and focused meeting will allow for in-depth discussions and the development of a unified, collective approach to addressing this pressing issue, including discussions on funding, service integration and whole-of-government approaches. The involvement of key stakeholders and experts in these discussions, including centring the voices of people with lived experience and their families, carers and kin, will ensure that the agreed solutions are both person-centred and effective.
3. Inclusion in National Health Reform Agreement:  Mental health reform should be included in the upcoming NHRA to ensure new mental health services can be sustainably funded across Governments. Embedding these commitments within the NHRA, as recommended by the Productivity Commission and the NHRA Review, will provide a framework for accountability, transparency, and continuous evaluation of progress.

The roundtable proved to be a success, as after the event Health Minister Mark Butler committed to come together for a full day next month and start to work through these issues. This Mental Health Ministers Meeting is the first time in over 10 years that Health and Mental Health Ministers have come together to discuss the gaps in the mental health system in a dedicated forum. This is a huge win for the sector and is a testament of what we can achieve when we speak with a united voice.

You can watch the media release here: https://media.streem.com.au/player/bPy74R