Mentally healthy people,

mentally healthy communities mhaustralia.org

Mental Health and

the future of

welfare

The Future of Welfare Conference

Frank Quinlan, CEO, Melbourne, October 2014

@frankgquinlan #futureofwelfare

Today’s conversation…

• Current reforms (especially McClure) are

impacting mental health

• Key considerations for mental health

reform

• Some reasons to despair

• Some reasons to hope

mhaustralia.org

mhaustralia.org

Current reforms impacting mental health…

• 2014 Budget

• National Mental Health Commission

Review of Mental Health Programs and

Services

• NDIS roll out

• Federation Whitepaper

• McClure review of welfare

mhaustralia.org

2014 Budget…

• Mental health programs largely isolated

• Impacts on consumers

• Changes to DSP and NewStart

• Proposed GP co-payment

• Senate and policy “hair trigger”

• Ongoing fiscal constraint

mhaustralia.org

NMHC Review of programs and services…

• Scope

• Shared ownership

• Change management

• Fiscal constraint

mhaustralia.org

NDIS roll out…

• Early days of a staged rollout, with a

rushed beginning

• Captures many state and

Commonwealth programs in its net

• Bi-lateral agreements were negotiated

without input from NGO and other

relevant parties

• Continues to represent a fundamental

shift in our approach to services

mhaustralia.org

Federation whitepaper…

• Commonwealth state relations are at the

core of many service issues

• Mental health is a good example of

programs caught at the cusp

• Commonwealth state relations remain

unpredictable

• Commonwealth government will be

starting to build its pre-election platform

mhaustralia.org

McClure review of welfare…

• Inadequate payments, poverty traps,

perverse incentives make the review

welcome

• Identified factors other than payments –

supports, capacity, opportunity

• Links to other reviews and processes are

unclear

mhaustralia.org

McClure review of welfare…

• Yes, simplify the system, but…

• No, forget about “permanency”

• Pay adequate allowances

• Yes, but look more broadly than the youth

focussed NZ Investment Model

• Yes, but mutual obligation activities should

support recovery

• Yes, but focus job services on longer term

outcomes

• Yes, wrap services around people

• Yes, support employers

mhaustralia.org

7 Point Plan for Mental Health Reform

• Agree on what we want to achieve

• Be clear on who is responsible for what

• Increase consumer and carer participation and choice

• Match services to need

• Get the incentives right to drive better outcomes

• Invest at the right time to achieve greatest benefit

• Keep government and services accountable

Some reasons to despair…

• Characterisation of mental illness as an

episodic disorder

• The shift from a rights based approach to

an economic approach – including the

privatisation of support

• “Obsessive Hope Disorder”

• National leadership

• Commonwealth State relations

mhaustralia.org

Some reasons hope…

• Momentum for change

• Mental as…

mhaustralia.org

Some reasons hope…

mhaustralia.org

Footnote (if required)

Footnote (if required)

Footnote (if required)

Some reasons hope…

• Momentum for change

• Mental as…

• Recognition of the greater importance of

prevention and early intervention

• Recognition of the value of integration

• Recognition of the economic impact of

mental illness

mhaustralia.org

Mentally healthy people,

mentally healthy communities mhaustralia.org

Mental Health and

the future of

welfare

The Future of Welfare Conference

Frank Quinlan, CEO, Melbourne, October 2014

@frankgquinlan #futureofwelfare