$47 million for headspace to support youth mental health

The Coalition Government will invest a further $47 million to continue to support the mental wellbeing of young Australians through headspace with a new youth mental health ambassadors project and funding for its head office.

About 560,000 Australian children and adolescents are estimated to have a mental illness and one in four young Australians aged 16 to 24 experience mental illness in any given year.

Three quarters of all mental illness manifests in people under the age of 25 so intervention early in life and at an early stage of illness can reduce the duration and impact of mental illness.

Our Government is providing $2 million over four years to headspace National to deliver the Young Ambassadors for Mental Health project. Funding of $45 million over three years will also be provided to headspace National to continue to support and build the quality of the network of 108 headspace centres across the country.

The Government will also be guaranteeing a stable future for headspace centres by expanding the role of headspace National in providing support to Primary Health Networks (PHNs) with commissioning of headspace services throughout Australia.

We are committed to ensuring that Australians can get information, advice, understanding, counselling and treatment, when and where they need it.

We want our young people to know they are not alone on their journey, and that headspace is there to deliver quality frontline support and coordinate the right interventions for people who are at risk.

This latest funding boost brings our total investment in headspace to more than $208 million since October last year.

Our Government’s strong economic management ensures we continue to invest record amounts of funding into vital health initiatives including mental health, life-saving medicines, Medicare and hospitals.

For further information call headspace Castle Hill on 8820 9995 or visit headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/castle-hill/.