Australia announces mental health fund worth USD 160 mn

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced mental health fund worth USD 160 million to provide assistance for citizens suffering from poor mental health.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 24-06-2018 00:04 IST | Created: 24-06-2018 00:01 IST
Australia announces mental health fund worth USD 160 mn
Showing his concern for citizens who are ineligible for NDIS but still need support from community-based services, Frank Quinlan, Chief Executive, Mental Health Australia also welcomed the announcement. (Image Credit: Pixabay)
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Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced mental health fund worth USD 160 million to provide assistance for citizens suffering from poor mental health.

The fund will be spent on citizens who are not eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. An agreement has been signed before taking up this new national Psychological measure between the Federal, State and Territory governments.

As per the undersigned agreement, from July onwards, a corpus of USD 80 million will be provided by the federal government over four years with state and territory governments matching the commitment.

Greg Hunt said that the new measure will help people for whom the NDIS was not designed, but who will benefit from specialised but less intense psychosocial services, such as individual and group assistance and rehabilitation, ensuring these people don't miss out on crucial support.

Showing his concern for citizens who are ineligible for NDIS but still need community-based services, Frank Quinlan, Chief Executive, Mental Health Australia also welcomed the announcement.

He said, “because many of the programs that previously provided that support is being wound up in order to make way for the NDIS, there's been a gap”.

He further appreciated the collaborative effort made by Federal and the State government.

"I don't think this is going to be enough to close the gap but I do think this is going to give us some really good information about the sorts of programs that work and that are most effective, and I think it's a really important first step in resolving these issues," he added.

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