Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Tyrrell, for your question. As a person who used telehealth quite a few times during the course of the COVID crisis, I know it was a terrific service. As you know from some of my earlier comments today, Senator Tyrrell, the Albanese government is committed to strengthening Medicare and to providing equitable access to ensure all Australians receive the care that they need, and that is especially the case in respect of the issue that you've raised, which is mental health. In the recent budget the Albanese government delivered $586.9 million to mental health, and this funding will extend critical services and address urgent gaps and workforce shortages.

There's a whole range of issues there in relation to access to mental health. An independent evaluation by the University of Melbourne found that the additional psychology sessions as part of the COVID Better Access package did not expand access to mental health support and that the number of new patients accessing a psychology service declined.

The Albanese government is committed to delivering equitable access to mental health support for all Australians, and that of course includes people in your home state of Tasmania, Senator Tyrrell. The additional Better Access sessions that were put in place temporarily during COVID exacerbated— (Time expired)