One of Australia's flagship mental health programs is failing people with complex mental illness, researchers say.
Better Access enables people with a Mental Health Treatment Plan to access selected mental health services.It's estimated there are 600,000 Australians living with severe and persistent mental illness, of which 290,000 require support periodically.
Dr Rosenberg said despite Better Access appointments being partly covered by Medicare, out-of-pocket costs remained a significant barrier for many people. "If we want to try to address the needs of these people, we may well need to look beyond fee-for-service arrangements."In February, as part of the Federal Government's Medicare Benefits Schedule Review, the MBS taskforce's mental health reference group recommended a significant expansion of the Better Access scheme.
Instead, they argued Australia should move away from a single-practitioner model of mental healthcare and toward a multidisciplinary, team-based approach that includes social workers, mental health nurses, peer support workers, and employment/housing officers. "Mental health issues often connect to a broad range of psychosocial factors — family circumstances, financial circumstances, past trauma, uncertain accommodation," Mr Quinn said.If you're living with a diagnosable mental illness, you are entitled to receive a Medicare rebate.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Greens 'more dangerous to Australia' then One Nation: Keenan | Sky News AustraliaHuman Services Minister Michael Keenan has told Sky News he believes the Greens 'are significantly more dangerous to Australia' in comparison to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party. \n\nMr Keenan claims the Greens would 'close down whole sections of the Australian economy', adding the party was 'exceptionally dangerous in their ideology'\n\nWhen pressed on whether the Greens' rhetoric on social cohesion and Islam was more dangerous than One Nation's comments, Mr Keenen was unwilling to compare the parties and told Sky News: 'I'm not going to rate them.' \n\nImage: News Corp Australia \n\n\n\n
Read more »
One Nation sought millions in funding from US gun lobby | Sky News AustraliaOne Nation sought millions of dollars from a powerful US gun lobby in an effort to weaken Australia's gun laws, it has been revealed.\n\nAn undercover investigation by Al Jazeera revealed One Nation's Queensland leader Steve Dickson and chief of staff James Ashby requested $US20 million during a meeting with the National Rifle Association.\n\nMr Dickson told NRA officials that it would be like a 'poison' for the world to look to Australia as a model for gun control.\n\nMr Ashby also reportedly boasts that the donations would buy them parliamentary influence.\n\nTrade Minister Simon Birmingham has called on One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to front the cameras to explain 'sickening' reports. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia \n\n\n\n\n
Read more »
One Nation sought millions in funding from US gun lobby | Sky News AustraliaOne Nation sought millions of dollars from a powerful US gun lobby in an effort to weaken Australia's gun laws, it has been revealed.\n\nAn undercover investigation by Al Jazeera revealed One Nation's Queensland leader Steve Dickson and chief of staff James Ashby requested $US20 million during a meeting with the National Rifle Association.\n\nMr Dickson told NRA officials that it would be like a 'poison' for the world to look to Australia as a model for gun control.\n \nMr Ashby also reportedly boasts that the donations would buy them parliamentary influence.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Read more »
One Nation sought millions in funding from US gun lobby | Sky News AustraliaOne Nation sought millions of dollars from a powerful US gun lobby in an effort to weaken Australia's gun laws, it has been revealed.\n\nAn undercover investigation by Al Jazeera revealed One Nation's Queensland leader Steve Dickson and chief of staff James Ashby requested $US20 million during a meeting with the National Rifle Association.\n\nMr Dickson told NRA officials that it would be like a 'poison' for the world to look to Australia as a model for gun control.\n \nMr Ashby also reportedly boasts that the donations would buy them parliamentary influence.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Read more »
Labor 'trying to smear the Coalition with the sins of One Nation': Kenny | Sky News AustraliaSky News host Chris Kenny says the Labor Party is 'trying to smear the Coalition with the sins of One Nation'. \n\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison is facing pressure to preference One Nation at the bottom of his ticket at the upcoming federal election, with Labor frontbencher Penny Wong urging the party to put 'extremists' last. \n\nMr Kenny says ‘sometimes One Nation should be last, maybe often, but the push for a blanket rule is just Labor and the Greens using One Nation to inflict political damage on the Coalition’. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Read more »
Week in politics: One Nation overshadows major announcements | Sky News AustraliaFresh from the New South Wales state victory, the Prime Minister has unveiled the government’s $500 million health fund. \n\nMeanwhile, Bill Shorten has revealed details of the Labor Party's proposed 'living wage' plan. \n\nDespite major announcements from the two big parties, Al Jazeera’s undercover investigation on Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party has dominated the news this week. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia \n\n\n\n
Read more »
One Nation is 'xenophobic' and 'spreads hatred and fear': Steele-John | Sky News AustraliaGreens Senator Jordon Steele-John has described Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a ‘racist, xenophobic party’ which ‘spreads hatred and fear in the Australian community’. \n\nMr Steele-John says Ms Hanson’s comments in the leaked Al Jazeera video, in which she allegedly suggests the Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy, are ‘quite disgraceful’. \n\nThe Greens Senator has also slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his response to the comments, saying his decision to preference One Nation below Labor is not enough. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia \n\n\n
Read more »
Liberals will preference One Nation below Labor at the federal election | Sky News AustraliaPrime Minister Scott Morrison says the Liberals will preference One Nation below Labor at the May federal election.\n\nMr Morrison says he was prompted to contact the Liberals' organisational wing to ask them to preference One Nation below the ALP after revelations Senator Hanson questioned whether the Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy. \n\nMs Hanson was filmed during an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera saying she 'has a lot of questions' about the atrocity, which saw 35 people killed when a gunman opened fire on crowds in Tasmania, triggering moves to tighten gun laws.\n\nHidden camera footage also showed Senator Hanson's chief of staff James Ashby and One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson talking about getting $20 million in donations from the US gun lobby.\n\n\n\n
Read more »
Liberals will preference One Nation below Labor at the federal election | Sky News AustraliaPrime Minister Scott Morrison says the Liberals will preference One Nation below Labor at the May federal election.\n\nMr Morrison says he was prompted to contact the Liberals' organisational wing to ask them to preference One Nation below the ALP after revelations Senator Hanson questioned whether the Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy. \n\nMs Hanson was filmed during an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera saying she 'has a lot of questions' about the atrocity, which saw 35 people killed when a gunman opened fire on crowds in Tasmania, triggering moves to tighten gun laws.\n\nHidden camera footage also showed Senator Hanson's chief of staff James Ashby and One Nation Queensland leader Steve Dickson talking about getting $20 million in donations from the US gun lobby.\n\n\n\n
Read more »
Hanson brands PM 'a fool' for preferencing Labor above One Nation | Sky News AustraliaOne Nation leader Pauline Hanson says leaked Al Jazeera footage was ‘heavily edited’ and the media bought it ‘hook, lie and sinker’. \n\nMs Hanson was filmed during an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera saying she 'has a lot of questions' about the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which saw 35 people killed when a gunman opened fire on crowds in Tasmania, triggering moves to tighten gun laws. \n\nAddressing the media on Thursday, Senator Hanson said her comments were ‘taken completely out of context’ and branded the Al Jazeera investigation ‘Australia’s first case of severe political interference from a foreign government’. \n\nSenator Hanson confirmed Steve Dickson, who was filmed allegedly courting $20 million from the National Rifle Association of America, would remain on One Nation's Senate ticket and James Ashby would continue on as her Chief of Staff. \n\nShe also branded Prime Minister Scott Morrison 'a fool' after he announced his Liberal Party would preference Labor above One Nation at the upcoming federal election. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Read more »