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Under Pressure: Australia's Mental Health Crisis

About the report

AAPi has partnered with The McKell Institute to report on the issues relating the the Help Us Help More campaign.

The McKell Report examined the demand for services and the reasons behind it, the barriers to access, the consequences of inaction, the strain on the workforce and the economic cost of the national mental health crisis. 

Its recommendations include providing access to additional subsidised psychological therapy sessions under the current MBS for those with more complex mental health needs; increasing the Medicare rebate for psychologists; offering incentives to regional and rural psychologists; expanding career pathways and providing more Commonwealth supported places for psychology students.

AAPi is calling on the Federal Government to “help us help more” by adopting these practical measures in the forthcoming Federal Budget to urgently improve the affordability and availability of mental health care support to Australians. 

Key findings from the McKell report 

  • In 2020/21, over two in five Australian adults (aged 16-85 years) reported having experienced a mental disorder over the course of their lifetime.
  • Claims for mental health conditions grew by 73% between 2000/1 and 2019/20, and represented 28% of all disease claims in 2019-20. 
  • In 2018-19, the annual cost to the economy of mental ill-health and suicide in Australia was estimated to be up to $70 billion.
  • Since the beginning of the pandemic, 88% of psychologists have seen an increase in demand for their services.
  • At the end of 2022, 38% of psychologists were still unable to see new clients. 

Summary of recommendations from the report 

  1. Provide access to additional subsidised psychological therapy sessions under the current MBS for those with more complex mental health needs. With limited supply of psychologists, the mental health care system should prioritise greater access to those with complex needs. 
  2. Increase the Medicare rebate for psychologists to enable more bulk billing. This would decrease the out of pocket expenses and enable more bulk billing, ensuring that mental health services would be more accessible for those in lower socioeconomic areas.
  3. Offer incentives to rural and regional mental health practitioners. This would entice practitioners to service more regional areas and alleviate the build-up of demand currently faced by regional practitioners.
  4. Expand MBS eligibility to provisional psychologists. This would allow provisional psychologists to offer rebates to their clients and improve access and timeliness of services.
  5. Improve career pathways for psychology students. Create a career pathway for those studying psychology, so that they’re practice- ready when they finish. One way to achieve this would be to reinstate the 4+2 internship program - an intensive supervised training program for those who have finished the university component of their education.
  6. Provide more Commonwealth Supported Places for psychology students. Provide a minimum number of Commonwealth Supported Places for students studying psychology. This would mean that places with no, or reduced, fees would be earmarked for those wanting to train as psychologists. The number of these places would align with and be determined by workforce demands and job vacancies.