The National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement (Agreement) sets out the shared intention of the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to work in partnership to improve the mental health of all Australians and ensure the sustainability and enhance the services of the Australian mental health and suicide prevention system.

This interim report presents initial findings and draft recommendations and invites further information and feedback from interested people and organisations.

Key points

• The mental health and suicide prevention system is fragmented and out of reach for many people. Under the Agreement, the Australian, state and territory governments committed to progress an ambitious set of outcomes through national outputs and specific actions contained in bilateral schedules.
• The actions in the Agreement do not advance system reform.
• Key commitments in the Agreement have not been delivered and should be completed as a priority.
• Governments should immediately release the completed National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy and comprehensive guidelines on regional planning and commissioning for primary health networks to deliver greater access to mental health and suicide prevention services.
• A new policy architecture is needed to articulate the collective actions that will deliver changes to the mental health and suicide prevention system and improve outcomes
• The current Agreement should be extended until June 2027 to allow sufficient time for co‑design of the new policy architecture.
• The next agreement should formalise the role of the National Mental Health Commission as the entity responsible for independent assessment and reporting on progress.