A peak mental health body has welcomed the free counselling service for all Australians to be introduced next year.
The Federal Government has announced a free digital mental health support service will be available under Medicare by next January.
“Australia is suffering through a mental health crisis. Getting help can be hard to access and unaffordable. This will take pressure off a system struggling to meet the needs of Australians,” Australians for Mental Health Executive Director Chris Gambian said.
“Making it easier for people, especially young people, to get support as early as possible and at no cost will be a game-changer.”
Mr Gambian said nearly 40 percent of Australians aged 16 to 24 had experienced a mental health disorder in the past year.
This was 50 percent higher than 2007.
“This announcement for free support is a good measure, but we are also facing a major challenge in Australia and we will never be able to fund enough services to meet the growing demand for mental health support,” Chris Gambian said.
“If we are going to solve the mental health crisis, we also need to think about what’s causing mental ill-health. Providing services to help people is great, but we need to address why we get to the point where we need that help too.”
