AAPi has been quoted extensively in the Herald Sun today, following an article published on Sunday outlining the Victorian Government's plan for three mental health hubs in Victoria and to fix our mental health workforce issues by hiring overseas clinicians.
AAPi is concerned about the government over reliance on overseas workforces and costly hubs is not sustainable. While our overseas colleagues are welcome and valued, this is not a long-term solution to the mental health crisis. Instead, AAPi is asking for Medicare to be appropriately funded at the one higher rebate of $150, investing in our current and future workforce by allowing provisional psychologists to provide appropriate Medicare services, more support for regional, rural and remote practitioners and more funding for psychologists in schools for prevention, early intervention and treatment.
The article quotes Executive Director Tegan Carrison:
"...the fact there would be just three initial hubs - delivering mental health services for children aged zero to 11, at a total cost of $54m - was “a band-aid measure” that didn’t provide long term solutions.
"The hubs were also not a good use of money.
“ Research shows these hubs are not cost efficient . . . and while the hubs might service the mental health needs of immediate areas, what about the remainder of the state, in particular rural and remote areas where we know the suffering is immense?” Ms Carrison said.
"Victoria should be investing in homegrown workforces and building its own capacity, not turning to overseas workers to fix its problems; with the pandemic clearly showing international workforces could not be relied upon," she said.
We need the government to urgently take action on AAPi’s recommendations.
Read the article online here or the PDF here.