Canberrans in crisis as cost of living intensifies distress, while community funding dwindles

Demand for mental health services has never been higher, but in the lead up to the ACT 2024-25 Budget, it’s the mental health services who are asking for help. 

“Community mental health providers account for two-thirds of the ACT’s mental health system, yet only receive 13% of the funding,” says Dr Erin Stewart, Advocacy, Policy, & Media Manager of the Mental Health Community Coalition. “We’re asking for more resources to keep this sector afloat. 

“The cost-of-living crisis is fuelling higher and higher demand for mental health services. Care – a non-profit organisation who provides free financial counselling and other support – has seen a 30% increase in demand. 

“Other services are seeing record requests for assistance related to the cost-of-living crisis. 

“Yet, funding for our sector has failed to keep pace with inflation, let alone the additional needs we are seeing.” 

Mental health community services help people with mental health conditions to live well in our community, outside of acute hospital settings and outside of prohibitively expensive private services. 

“We find that our sector prevents people from spiralling into mental health crisis. People really benefit from this early intervention because it means they are more likely to avoid deterioration, or even a hospital stay,” says Dr Stewart. 

“Treatment in the community is also actually far more cost-effective. It costs over $1000 per day, per person to receive in-hospital mental health care. By comparison, for each dollar invested in community mental health, taxpayers enjoy a return on investment of $3 because it prevents the use of emergency services and hospitalisations. 

“Over time, there are more savings, as people are more likely to enter into and retain training and employment opportunities. 

“It’s really a case of investing money to save a lot more money – and to improve the living conditions of Canberrans.” 

Sector Asks for the 2024-25 ACT Budget

The 2024-25 ACT Budget asks of the Mental Health Community Coalition and its members include: 

• Reallocate funding towards community mental health. 
• Invest in the peer workforce – Peer workers are people with lived and living experience of mental ill-health who have undertaken training and personal development to harness their experience for others’ therapeutic benefit and are a cost-effective, evidence-based workforce to promote recovery. 
• Put in place better supports for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and continue funding the Mental Health and AOD alliance to focus on sector solutions. 

• Improve the pay and conditions of community mental health workers. 
• Reinstate vital programs including the ACT Recovery College, the Certificate IV in Peer Work, and Capital Region Community Service’s Open Art Program. 
• Fund policies to address the loneliness epidemic. 
• Address mental health needs and resilience associated with climate change. 
• Implement that ACT Disability Health Strategy. 
• Improve access to and quality of housing for vulnerable people. 
• Provide gender responsive services that address violence and improve access to healthcare. 
• Fund additional staff in the sector to meet higher levels of demand. 
• Invest in evidence-based, safe mental health education programs and storytelling in schools, workplaces, and policy design. 
• Prioritise people with mental ill-health who have been left out of the NDIS and other services. 
• Renew peppercorn leases so that organisations can operate without having to worry about sudden eviction. 
• Improve public transport to enable better community participation. 
• Increase funding for consumer and lived experience advocacy. 
• Fully fund the Maternity in Focus Action Plan. 
• Longer-term funding for evidence-based, low-cost youth mental health programs such as WOKE and Stepping Stones. 
• Support youth wellbeing and raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility by investing in appropriate mental health supports for young people. 

For more information, read MHCC’s Pre-Budget Submission.

Media contact:

Erin Stewart, Media and Communications Manager, 0493 388 756 | communications@mhccact.org.au