• Lesley Russell
• The Menzies Centre for Health Policy

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24 May 2011After much prodding and shaming, the Government finally delivered on its commitment to mental health reform in the 2011-12 budget. However given the magnitude of the burden of mental illness and the scope and extent of the needs in mental health, even this significant down payment on new services cannot be considered the endpoint of work in mental health but only the beginning. Going forward there are a number of key issues to be addressed, including: the implementation and ongoing sustainability of current initiatives; ensuring better integration of mental health, substance abuse and physical health services; and developing a whole-of-government approach to tackling the unmet needs of people with mental health problems, their families and carers.

The Gillard Government has put $2.2 billion ($1.5 billion in new money) on the table over the next five years ($918 million over the forward estimates). In the year 2014-15, this will provide just $407 million more for funding in the allocated areas, and so these limited dollars will be severely stretched. About a quarter of the whole mental health package ($580.4 million) is funded by savings from the Better Access Program. The cost blow-out of this program has been so substantial that it cannot be ignored – it is expected to cost $3 billion over the next budget period. This amounts to $10 million per week, which does put the totality of this budget announcement into some perspective.