Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister outline to the House how the Morrison government is investing in mental health support, particularly for our youth, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Moncrieff for her commitment to youth mental health. In particular, she has been a great advocate and supporter for headspace Southport, along with all of the young people on the Gold Coast.

We know the challenge of youth mental health is real, profound and significant. One in four young Australians in any one year face some form of mental health challenge. Over 400 beautiful young Australians took their lives in 2018, for which we have the confirmed figures. Last year, one of the central features of the budget put forward by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer was a youth mental health package of over $500 million. Going into the pandemic, however, we knew that more needed to be done and that the challenges that were already there required additional investment, so the first phase of what we did was a $1.1 billion investment in primary health. In particular, there was a $74 million investment in mental health with a significant focus on support for youth and children: $2 million for Kids Helpline and $6.75 million for the work of the Head to Health youth focused website. All of these things have been helping to make a difference.

More broadly, telehealth, now with over 14 million services, has been a prime deliverer of additional mental health support for young Australians and, in fact, for all Australians. The second phase of the mental health program through COVID-19 had a particular youth mental health focus—a program of over $40 million, coupled with the pandemic mental health plan. That led into the third phase, which was the practical research focus. That was a $20 million investment, with half of that to be spent on suicide prevention, with youth as a fundamental part of that.

Going forward, we have more work to do. It's something that every member of this House believes in and is passionate about. It's part of our fundamental responsibility. In that context, I'm delighted that we have been able to announce in the last week an additional $24 million for headspace to expand services in headspace centres around the country. We currently provide approximately $120 million a year for headspace, but this investment will provide additional services for young people in their teens and early 20s in over 40 different headspace centres. I had the privilege of visiting headspace Queanbeyan, where Tiana talked about the way in which headspace has been able to transform her life and her experience. The investment we're making there is similar to the investment we're making in over 40 other headspace centres. It's about hope, opportunity and recovery.