Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to acknowledge that national headspace day has occurred this week as part of Mental Health Week here in Australia. This is important because it is about raising awareness about young people—in particular, in relation to mental health issues—and especially about ensuring that young people throughout this country, whether in urban, rural or remote areas, have access to adequate services. Over the past decade, headspace has transformed services for young people living with mental illness. The success of this particular model lies in the fact that it is a service which is specifically designed for young people within our community. This has meant that people who have felt marginalised have accessed services that they may not have otherwise. The result has been a quite clear, measurable difference in reducing suicidal ideation and self-harm. Over the course of the decade some 260,000 young people—more than a quarter of a million—have accessed headspace services, and that has resulted in more than 1½ million services to these young people. Given the fact that in our community up to a quarter of young people will experience mental health issues at some stage of their young lives or adolescence, this is a very important issue. (Time expired)