Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the great challenges for our community and for our society is how we tackle the rising instances of youth mental health issues. One in four young Australians aged between 16 and 24 have a mental health issue, and three-quarters of all mental health illness manifests before the age of 25. This is something that I have campaigned very hard on locally. I am very proud to say that the coalition government will be building a new Headspace facility in Caboolture. This will fundamentally change the lives of many locals, ensuring that they get the best possible care in the country and providing a preventive approach to youth mental health issues. Tragically, while it is very hard to measure these figures, local service providers tell me that our community has almost twice the national average youth suicide rate.

This new Headspace facility will make a fundamental difference in the lives of so many locals. The tender has been awarded in the last few weeks to an organisation called United Synergies. I have visited some of their Headspace facilities, and they provide that incredibly high level of care for the local regions that they service. One of the other things that this Headspace facility will do is bring together all of those service providers, to ensure that we are all working together locally to give those young locals the best possible opportunity.