Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on ABC iview<\/a> and ABC Listen<\/a><\/p>\n The Coalition says Labor is copying their previously announced policies and just playing “catch up”.<\/p>\n So let’s breakdown what both the major parties are (so far) offering for mental health and then what the experts think of those promises.<\/p>\n The Coalition<\/p>\n A Dutton government would invest $400 million, with a very specific focus on youth mental health.<\/p>\n They made their big announcement more than a week before Labor and had a focus on the “missing middle”.<\/p>\n The “missing middle” are a group experts say need more support as they don’t have mild mental illness but they also don’t require admission to a hospital.<\/p>\n It includes those with personality disorders, eating disorders and early psychosis.<\/p>\n The Coalition has promised to:<\/p>\n Labor<\/p>\n The Albanese government is putting a bigger dollar figure on the table \u2014 $1 billion \u2014 and is aiming a bit broader than just youth.<\/p>\n They have committed to:<\/p>\n There’s definitely similarities between the packages but where they differ most is Labor’s focus on Medicare Mental Health Centres and training, compared to the Coalition’s reinstatement of the 20 subsidised psychology sessions.<\/p>\n What do the experts think?<\/p>\n Dr Astha Tomar <\/strong>is the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.<\/p>\n She said investment in youth mental health was wholeheartedly welcome as 75 per cent of mental illnesses present before the age of 25.<\/p>\n But she said support for middle age or older Australians was lacking in both parties’ promises.<\/p>\n “It’s a whole of life journey \u2026 access to specialist care doesn’t stop just because you turn 25. It’s also about what happens later,” she said.<\/p>\n Dr Astha Tomar says both parties are under-spending. (Supplied)<\/p>\n Dr Tomar said Labor’s promise to train more professionals was to be applauded and while she urged Mr Dutton to match it, she said both parties were massively under-spending.<\/p>\n The Productivity Commission’s report on mental health in 2020<\/a> found the cost to Australia of mental-ill health was around $200 billion per year and for every $4.2 billion spent on mental health per year it resulted in almost $20 billion in benefits.<\/p>\n “A commitment of $1 billion is a really good start but we really need $20 billion. We need visionary leaders who would make that commitment and I know it won’t happen overnight but it should.”<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n Professor Bridianne O’Dea<\/strong> specialises in child mental health at the Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing.<\/p>\n She said there needed to be more specifics about how any of this would help with wait times.<\/p>\n She said teens were waiting more than three months for their first session.<\/p>\n “Our research calls for national standards on wait times \u2026 we don’t have anything in Australia that outlines an acceptable time that a person should wait for mental health treatment.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Cut through some of the election noise with Vote Compass<\/a><\/p>\n The ABC’s Vote Compass can help you understand your place in the political landscape.<\/p>\n In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has set a standard that 75 per cent of people who need talking therapies \u2014 for conditions such as depression \u2014 should be treated within six weeks and those who are experiencing psychosis should start treatment within two weeks of referral.<\/p>\n On the Coalition’s increase of subsidised psychology sessions, Professor O’Dea said it shouldn’t be about dictating the number of appointments but letting the clinician decide what the patient needed.<\/p>\n “The data has shown<\/a> there’s huge variability in the number of sessions people actually use [and] by doubling the sessions the wait times do increase because we have people staying in care with their clinician for longer, and while that may be needed, the unintended consequence is longer wait times.”<\/p>\n Read more about the federal election:<\/p>\n\n
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