Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health) Share this | Hansard source

This budget was also an opportunity for the Minister for Health to commit to one of his own key mental health promises, and that was a specific plan for Australians who have eating disorders. In May 2017, the minister first recommended the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Taskforce investigate options for Medicare coverage for the treatment of those living with an eating disorder. In this place last night, we heard directly from the Parliamentary Friends of Mental Illness about somebody living with an eating disorder and about her recovery and survival. It was quite a traumatic thing to listen to. Nearly one year later, the Medicare task force clinical committee finally met for the first time to look at this issue. The minister stated in March of this year:

… what I have done is requested that the MBS Taskforce consider extended eating disorder treatment, a new item of Medicare … they have my commitment and my support that if they propose we will announce this funding …

But, in estimates, the Department of Health could not confirm whether or not a new Medicare item was still being considered. Indeed, the departmental officer at the table said:

There is no advice in front of the government at this stage … There is no recommendation … The Eating Disorders Working Group is still considering what advice it wants to put forward.

The department also confirmed that to date there have been no costings undertaken at all by the agency or the government in relation to whether or not there is a Medicare item going to be developed for eating disorders. After the budget there was an announcement on eating disorders by the minister, and we understand that there's now an eating disorder trial that's going to commence on the Sunshine Coast, and of course we welcome that.

We know that eating disorders are a really serious issue. They know no boundaries and are experienced by men and women of all ages. There are serious consequences of eating disorders, and we heard directly last night about what they can do. They affect around a million Australians. We know that, of all psychiatric illnesses, eating disorders have a very high mortality rate, and they have a devastating effect not just on the individual but on their carers, family and loved ones.

So I'm keen to know from the minister exactly what is happening in relation to an Medicare MBS item for eating disorders, where the task force is at, where the eating disorders working group is at, whether or not the government is serious about this issue and whether or not the minister is actually going to commit to having a new Medicare item number if it's proposed. When does the minister expect to have some action in relation to this? How is the Sunshine Coast proposal going to work in terms of people accessing services and the funding? Is the government considering a trial anywhere other than the Sunshine Coast at the moment? I'm particularly interested to know whether or not trials are going to be located in particular seats around the country as we lead up to the election. I want to know: why the ad hoc nature of some of these announcements, and, particularly, why are they outside of the budget process? It would be very interesting to hear from the minister exactly what is happening when it comes to eating disorders and the MBS item that he made a commitment to—whether or not the government is going to deliver on that and how long this is actually going to take.

As we heard last night, people living with eating disorders are having terrible trouble trying to access services. I know the minister is aware of that. He would've heard similar stories from people around the country. It is very difficult indeed to get the allied health services and psychological support that people living with eating disorders need. They do often need more than just the eight or 10 Better Access visits that they can access. They often need care over many years, not just over a short period of time. It's a very serious illness and it has very severe consequences. I'm keen to hear from the minister and the government about when the government is going to act, how the Sunshine Coast proposal is going to work with the trial, whether or not there's going to be an evaluation of the trial, when the government expects to have that, when the MBS task force is expected to report to government and when we're going to get action.

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