Beyond Blue welcomed the opportunity to make this submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the economic effects of mental ill-health in Australia.
Around 45 per cent of Australian adults will experience a mental health condition during their lifetimes.Four million people experience a mental health condition each year and nearly 6 million people are ‘at risk’ of developing a mental health condition.
Click here to read Beyond Blue's full submission to the inquiry.
In summary, Beyond Blue joins many others in calling for:
- Future investments in the type and range of services and supports that people and families are saying they need.
- A long-term, bipartisan national strategy and financing plan that survives the slings and arrows of election cycles and replaces short-term funding cycles.
- Recommendations that are systemic rather than programmatic.
- Significant structural reforms, including to financing and administrative arrangements.
- A whole of life approach that addresses social determinants rather than just a biomedical, health-centred one.
- A greater focus on prevention and early intervention in community-based settings, without leaving behind those who need acute and crisis support.
- A commitment to a mix, type, distribution and scale of services and support – from self-managed care, to peer-led work, multidisciplinary teams and biomedical interventions – resulting in a more ‘balanced portfolio’.
- The development of, and respect for, new workforces.
- A focus on improving equity to supports and services.
- A commitment to meaningful evaluation (focused on outcomes not activity), and adequate funding to do so.
Beyond Blue submission to PC Mental Health Inquiry - April 2019