The National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement and supporting Bilateral Schedule is an agreement between the Commonwealth and states to build a better mental health and suicide prevention system for all Australians.
National Agreement
The National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement sets out the shared intention of the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to work in partnership to improve the mental health of all Australians, reduce the rate of suicide toward zero, and ensure the sustainability and enhance the services of the Australian mental health and suicide prevention system.
The National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement (PDF 2.0 MB) targets a range of priority areas including:
- prevention and early intervention
- suicide prevention
- treatment and support
- supporting the vulnerable
- workforce and governance, and
- quality and safety.
Bilateral Agreement
The national agreement is supported by a Bilateral Schedule on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (4.65 MB) between the Commonwealth and Queensland, signed in March 2022.
Under the bilateral schedule more than $260 million will be invested in mental health and suicide prevention support and services in Queensland over five years.
The Commonwealth will provide $150.9 million and Queensland will invest more than $109.5 million to epand mental health care services where they are needed most.
New mental health and suicide prevention services will be established, particularly for people in the group known as the 'missing middle'.
The funding includes:
- $49.9 million to establish a network of new Head to Health adult mental health centres and satellites across Queensland with five new Head to Health centres and seven satellites. These new services will address gaps in the mental health system, providing more integrated, seamless mental health care for adults and older adults. These are in addition to Queensland’s first Head to Health centre that opened 20 January 2022 in Townsville
- $21.5 million to establish two new Head to Health Kids Hubs to improve access to multidisciplinary team care to children.
- $75.3 million to enhance headspace centres to increase access to multidisciplinary youth mental health services in Queensland, with the Commonwealth funding the establishment of 2 new headspace sites and Queensland providing funding for clinical in-reach into new and existing headspace sites.
- $78.6 million to expand and enhance existing universal aftercare services to support individuals following a suicide attempt and / or suicidal crisis.
- $9.4 million to ensure all people in Queensland who are bereaved or impacted by suicide can access postvention support services.
- $4.9 million to implement a Distress Intervention Trial Program to prevent and reduce suicidal behaviour.
- $10.3 million to improve perinatal mental health screening and enhance capture and reporting of national consistent perinatal mental health data.
- $10.5 million to support additional initiatives that address gaps in the system of care for the ‘missing middle’.
Read the Bilateral Schedule announcement.
