A Ten Year Plan for Mental Health
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Today the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, and the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin, invited Australians to help carve out the future of our mental health system with the release of the draft Ten-Year Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform for public consultation.
The Roadmap will provide governments, the community sector, workplaces and communities themselves with a measurable, long term national reform plan for mental health which will guide where we focus our attention and funding over the next 10 years and ensure our mental health system ranks as one of the world’s best.
The Roadmap will identify the most important directions and actions that need to be undertaken to achieve this vision over the next ten years.
Ms Macklin said the Roadmap would complement the Government’s progress towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme.
“We’re taking big steps to help improve the lives of people with mental illness. As a Labor Government we are committed to making sure that no Australian is left behind, and that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential,” Ms Macklin said.
The community will be able to provide their comments on the Roadmap through a new online tool available from today.
The online survey tool is an open form of consultation to help gather the broadest range of feedback on the draft roadmap. It will be available from today until 1 February 2012 on the mental health page of the
Department of Health and Ageing website – www.health.gov.au/mentalhealth
The Federal Government has committed to a record investment of $2.2 billion over five years to build a better mental health system – a system that will work better for consumers, their families, carers and health practitioners alike.