The New South Wales government has released the 2024-2025 state budget. In the leadup to the budget, AAPi met with Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson and Premier Minns, made submissions and participated in NSW mental health inquiries, advocating strongly for increased funding and greater access to psychologists.
AAPi welcomes the additional $111.8 million mental health investment along with including the following key announcements:
- $30.4 million to expand Community Mental Health Teams across targeted areas, including regional NSW. These teams provide care for those who experience persistent and complex mental illness. This funding will provide a workforce boost of approximately 35 additional positions, supporting community outreach, allowing for extended service hours and enabling more comprehensive case management.
- $40 million for the Pathways to Community Living Initiative, which is focused on supporting alternatives to long-term hospital care for people with complex needs and persistent mental illness. This will fund a complex care clinical workforce of over 25 professionals who will support patients through this program.
- $39 million additional funding to strengthen mental health services by establishing a new Mental Health Single Front Door. The NSW Single Front Door currently provides virtual GP, virtual KIDS and Urgent Care Services. Following this investment, this service will expand to include mental health support, allowing those in need to call Healthdirect to receive assessment advice from clinicians and connect with the appropriate services.
- Significant investments to address domestic and family violence.
- $40.0 million to enhance essential services for vulnerable children with specific investments in rural and regional allied health, juvenile arthritis and Karitane and Tresillian services.
- GambleAware program across ten regions of NSW, and key services including the GambleAware Helpline and Gambling Help Online.
- $6.6 billion investment in social housing and homelessness services, with at least half of new homes prioritised for victims/survivors of family and domestic violence.
- $70.1 million to expand emergency department short-stay units to improve patient flow and reduce ED wait times by nearly 80,000 hours.
- $53.9 million to improve patient flow and support discharge planning.
- $274.7 million to boost staffing at newly built and upgraded hospitals across the state, enabling an additional 250 healthcare workers statewide.
- $200.1 million to deliver accommodation to house health workers in regional NSW to enable increase recruitment and retention of health workers.
- $10 million to expand Men’s Behaviour Change Programs to enable men to recognise their violent behaviour and develop strategies to prevent the use of violence.
- $17.9 million to enhance essential services for vulnerable children by boosting the statewide public paediatric allied health workforce.
- $2.3 million funding over four years to Royal Far West to increase support for children with developmental concerns who live outside metropolitan areas.
The Budget also includes $188.8 million for the Bulk Billing Support Initiative to ensure that GP practices remain accessible to families and households. Unfortunately, this initiative excludes psychology practices. The budget identified that this initiative will protect bulk-billing rates by reducing financial pressures on GP practices so they don’t pass on additional costs to patients and will save clinics from closure. Australia's mental health epidemic is at a crisis point, with ABS data detailing for people aged 16–85 years in New South Wales, 40.5% or 2.5 million people had a lifetime mental disorder.
It is disappointing that this initiative was not expanded to include psychologists and allied health practices, given that bulk billing psychology session rates have declined due to the cost-of-living crisis and low Medicare rebates. AAPi will continue to advocate for initiatives such as this that include psychologists.
AAPi acknowledges that governments have many competing priorities in their annual budgets and commend the positive steps taken by the New South Wales government in the 2024-2025 state budget, particularly the significant investment of $111.8 million in mental health services. AAPi remains committed to advocating for further inclusion of psychologists in future funding initiatives to ensure comprehensive and accessible mental health care for all.
Further information can be found here.