The Australian Government is seeking public opinion on the draft Ten Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform (the Roadmap) via an online survey. 

The Roadmap is a key component of the Australian Government's Delivering National Mental Health Reform Package of the 2011-12 Budget, and the draft has been developed with states and territories, informed by input from mental health experts, including mental health consumers and carers. 

The survey will be available from 16 January 2012 until 7pm AEDST 1 February 2012

Draft Ten Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform

7 September 2011

The Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, today announced the appointment of Monsignor David Cappo AO as Chair of the nation’s first National Mental Health Commission.

Monsignor Cappo has held several senior positions, including as a former national director of the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission, Beyond Blue and the former Deputy Chair of the National Mental Health Advisory Committee.

“The new Commission will, for the first time, allow us to properly measure and independently report on what is happening in Australia’s mental health system – with the needs and experiences of consumers and carers placed at the very centre,” Monsignor Cappo said.

The Commission will:

• manage and administer the Annual National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention;
• monitor and report on the performance of the mental health system including through ongoing evaluation of the Ten Year Roadmap for Mental Health Reform which is currently being developed;
• develop, collate and analyse data and reports from other sources including Commonwealth agencies reporting on progress - with a particular focus on ensuring a cross sectoral perspective is taken to mental health reform;
• provide mental health policy advice to Government in consultation with relevant agencies; and
• engage consumer and carers in mental health policy and service improvements.

The Commission will report to the Prime Minister and its first task will be to produce a National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in 2012, delivering on a key election commitment of the Gillard Government.

The Government is continuing to consult the mental health sector, including consumers and carers, about the role of the new Commission. The Mental Health Council of Australia this week hosted a workshop, at the Minister’s request, preparing for the Commission’s commencement on 1 January 2012.

The Government is investing $32 million over five years to establish the new Commission, which will be based in Sydney.

National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum Submission submitted to the Senate Community Affairs Committee Enquiry into Commonwealth Funding and Administration of Mental Health Services.
Extract::
It will be imperative that the budget initiatives:

• support the implementation of the Fourth National Mental Health Plan in guiding recovery based approaches to mental health
• acknowledge the considerable change management initiatives required to implement a recovery approach to the development and implementation of mental health services
• include effective mechanisms to utilise the expertise of mental health consumers and carers to inform the implementation process and involve them in service design and implementation in an ongoing way
• include effective mechanisms to better integrate with disability and community support services and draw from their experience in the provision of psychosocial disability support as an essential element of holistic mental health care
• are monitored closely to ensure that they are implemented in the most strategic way, capitalising on current evidence about what does and doesn’t work in mental health
• are informed by identified population needs
• become a very first step in ongoing reform in the sector, and that ongoing policy includes acknowledgment that more key areas will need to be addressed before the foundation for reforming the mental health system can be considered complete
• build on the COAG National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-11 and any further COAG initiatives.

In this submission the NMHCCF will discuss the importance of the formation of partnerships with consumers and carers as part of a process to drive the implementation of recovery focussed reforms in mental health and will highlight some of the major gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that this first round of mental health reform initiatives are successful.

Download:: National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum Submission