Around 35,000 Australians with mental illness and their carers will have access to much-needed support with a $269.3 million boost over the next five years to community mental health services.
$154 million will be allocated to expand Personal Helpers and Mentors services over the next five years for community organisations to employ 425 additional personal helpers and mentors, to work one-on-one with people with mental illness across Australia.
The new personal helpers and mentors will join the more than 1,000 current full-time equivalent workers who are already providing practical support to people with severe mental illness to help them manage everyday tasks, set and achieve personal goals such as finding employment, and improving relationships with family and friends.
The new PHaMs workers will assist an additional 3,400 people with mental illness to help them live more independent lives and reconnect with the wider community.
As part of this expansion, $50 million will be allocated to provide personal helpers and mentors to specifically help people with mental illness on, or claiming, income support of the Disability Support Pension who are also participating in employment services. This intensive support will help jobseekers with a mental illness to look for work, or participate in education or training.
$54.3 million will be allocated for extra Mental Health Respite services over the next five years. This will give about 1,100 families of people with mental illness greater access to flexible respite and support services.
$61 million will be allocated over five years to establish 40 new Family Mental Health Support Services. These services provide a way for families to get help for their children who are suffering from, or at risk of mental illness, outside of the clinical mental health system.
These new support services will provide more than 32,000 children and young people with support such as counselling, and support in their own homes to help them attend school and build better relationships with family and friends.
The new services will also actively work with schools and other key agencies including Centrelink, state child protection and child and adolescent mental health services where families and children need more assistance.