Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Nash. Today is World Mental Health Day. Each year in Australia, one in five Australians experiences mental illness. Just recently, we learnt that the number of people taking their own lives is at a 10-year high. There is a growing concern in the mental health sector that the current changes to funding will unintentionally remove access to services for some consumers and carers. These changes are seeing some Commonwealth and state programs closing, and therefore people may miss out on access to services. Has the government done any analysis on the number of people who may lose access to services, and what steps are being taken to ensure that consumers and carers will not lose access to services?