SANE Community Feedback on the Federal Budget - May 2024

[RachSANECEO]

Hi SANE Community 

We’ve had a flurry of contact today from people sharing their views with us via email on the funding allocation for mental health care and support in the 24-25 Commonwealth Budget.

We’d love to hear YOUR thoughts on the initiatives that have been announced and what you think is missing. We’ll be using your feedback to craft our response to government and advocate for what really matters to our community.

Please click here: https://forms.office.com/r/0pkhLssXRp to complete this very short survey. You can also add your thoughts in the thread below.

An overview of what was included can be found here Budget 2024–⁠25: Cheaper medicines, new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics and more free mental health ser...

Thanks for adding your voice to this important conversation.

Rachel

SANE CEO

Survey questions:

1. Were you satisfied with the mental health measures announced in the 24-25 budget? (yes, no, maybe)
2. Do you think these changes will improve your access to mental health care and support (yes, no, maybe)
3. What announcements were you pleased about? <open text>
4. What was missing? <open text>
5. postcode <open text>
6. age bracket (18-25, 25-35, 35-50, 50+)
7. lived experience identification
8. gender
9. Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander identification

This survey will be open until 6:00pm 24 May 2024.

[tyme]

Dear All,

Please see the above post:

@outlander @Zoe7 @Faith-and-Hope @Shaz51 @Anastasia @Snowie @wellwellwellnez @chibam @Historylover @Dimity @MDT @TAB @Captain24 @NatureLover @AussieRecharger @Birdofparadise8 @Former-Member @Asgard @Tilz @MermaidHair @SkySeeker22 @MayaBird07 @Ainjoule @HelloKitty1981 @defaultusername @Hope2Recovery @8ppleTree @Tranquil_Atoms @Xibon 

[Zoe7]

Ridiculous is the first word that comes to mind @RachSANECEO @tyme 

$361 million to fund a broken system - a drop in the ocean.

Obviously consumers/those with lived experience have not bee consulted/heard.

Where are they going to get these new MH practitioner from? There is a distinct lack of MH professionals already - and getting an appointment with one is near impossible at times. Adding to that the restrictions on how many medicare rebated sessions you can get has not been increased - very disappointing. 

Also concerned about the new national peer workforce association - we need more peer workers rather money thrown into an organisation for them. How about putting that money straight into providing peer support workers????

What is the National Early Intervention service going to include, how will it be structured and where will the money actuially go - seems to me that the funding will be in setting this up rather than actually providing the help.

Overall - not enough funding for grassroots programs, those already in the space (like SANE) doing amazing work or where it is really needed for those already living with mental ill health. It is great to be thinking of early intervention but where is the extra help available for those already needing it???

Very disappointing - so much hot air and lack of adequate delivery.

[tyme]

Thank you for sharing your powerful insights. I absolutely hear where you are coming from @Zoe7 

There's certainly room for more to be done - or even a total overhaul of systems that don't work.

[Zoe7]

It is pretty much putting a bandaid over a flooding river @tyme - very disappointing 😒

[chibam]

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@RachSANECEO wrote:

An overview of what was included can be found here Budget 2024–⁠25: Cheaper medicines, new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics and more free mental health ser...

---

Does anyone know if there's anything with more specific details on their proposed mental health measures?

For example, one of his points was that their:

• Launching a new national early intervention service to ensure people can access support before their distress escalates to needing higher intensity services like a mental health treatment plan, acute in-patient service or crisis line.

Well, okay. But what does this service actually do? Likewise with their "Medicare Mental Health Centres" mentioned elsewhere. They mention that these services will include "psychiatrists, psychologists and GPs", but I get the impression that they may include other sorts of therapists, as well?

Also, I can't help but feel like this overview is written in a bubble of "what money is being poured into the health system", without any regard as to how it ties in with the rest of the budget; and that leaves me wondering whether this is just the funny way that this particular document has been written, or whether these measures truly do exist in an isolated bubble of their own, within the overall budget?

For example, a lot has been made of this budget's plan for more manufacturing - the "future made in Australia." Presumably, that means more jobs. So, is there any sort of commitment to insure that these jobs will be given to the unemployed 'mentally ill' people (or those approaching 'mental illness') who need them most? What measures are being taken to insure that people will be given the best job that makes them the most happy? These questions are equally important to the matter of national mental health as how much money the government is spending on mental health services.

[Zoe7]

@chibam It is pretty much all clumped under the "Strengthening Medicare' banner without much elaboration.

See this link here 

[Zoe7]

This may be of interest @chibam as it aligns with a lot of your point above

https://psychology.org.au/insights/federal-budget-2024-25-only-scratches-the-surface

[Glisten]

The Albanese Government will establish a Commonwealth Prac Payment to support students undertaking mandatory workplace placements required for university and vocational education and training qualifications.

Australians studying to be a teacher, a nurse, a midwife or a social worker will be eligible for this payment, but not Psychology students.

Yet there is a predicted  +13% increase in demand for clinical psychologists and the demand for lived experience trauma informed psychologists is even higher.

Why aren’t Psychology students included in the Prac Payment?

G

[DW_]

Absolutely. The cost of studying to be a psychologist and reaching registration is high. Why would they not be included?