The Greens have today announced that in balance of power after the next election, they will push to
tackle the growing mental health crisis in Australia by making mental healthcare free and unlimited for
everyone who needs it as part of Medicare.
The plan, which will create universal, unlimited and available mental healthcare through Medicare, will
be funded by taxing billionaires and big corporations making big profits.
Our plan will ensure everyone can access mental healthcare, when they need it, not when they can
afford it.
On current polling, a power-sharing Parliament is the most likely outcome of the coming election. The
Greens have already announced their ‘tycoon tax’ plan that will be pushed in ‘balance of power’
negotiations to help raise revenue, but the free mental health care plan is the first key expenditure
policy announced by the party.
This plan is a priority for the party and will be a central election campaign focus for the Greens,
especially amongst young people, and a key element of post-election balance of power negotiations.
Greens Health Spokesperson, Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John said:
“Mental health services in Australia are out of reach for too many people. Hundreds of thousands of
people are being left behind because they can’t get the help they need. Two of the problems people are banging up against are the cost of services, and the limit on number of appointments.
“Over half of individual psychological therapy sessions had an average gap payment of $68, whilst two thirds of psychiatrist consultations had an average gap of payment of $93 (source).
“The lockdowns and pandemic have affected everyone’s mental health. Everyone’s stressed, worried,
and anxious about the future. But the urgent need for universal mental health services, funded by big
corporations making big profits, was urgent before the pandemic.
“We can tackle this crisis. By taxing the billionaires and big corporations we can make sure everyone
can afford to access mental health services for as long as they need them.
“When everyone can access free mental health support, our whole community will benefit through an
improved quality of life, improved relationships and better performance while studying or working.”
Greens Leader Adam Bandt said:
“The next election will be closer than people think. Scott Morrison is only 828 votes away from losing
majority government and on current polling, a power-sharing Parliament is the most likely outcome.
“In balance of power, the Greens will kick the Liberals out and push the next government to make
billionaire corporations pay their fair share of tax so we can get free and unlimited mental health care
into Medicare.
“Last time The Greens were in balance of power we got free dental for kids into Medicare, and this
time we will fight to get people the mental health care they deserve. In balance of power, the Greens
will push to get dental and mental health fully into Medicare.”
How the Greens’ plan will work
Expand the Better Access Initiative to unlimited psychology or psychiatric therapy sessions
and raise their Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) rebates for patients with a diagnosed
mental illness. The rebates would be offered at two levels to give mental health care providers
a real avenue to providing no-gap mental health care.
Details of amendments to the Medicare rebate:

• For psychiatric therapy sessions, rebates for MBS items 291, 296, 297, and 299 would be raised to 100 percent of the schedule fees (currently 85 percent)
• For psychology therapy sessions there are two levels:
  • the higher level, for providers who offer no-gap services to encourage bulk billing, MBS rebates for items 80000, 80005, 80010, 80015 would be increased to match the 2021-22 rates recommended by the Australian Psychology Society.
  • the lower level, for sessions charged at more than the Australian Psychology Society recommended rates, providers would receive the current, lower, rebates.
• Within any 12-month period, people would be eligible for unlimited sessions. They would need a referral from their General Practitioner (GP) every 10 treatment sessions under their mental health treatment plan.
• The Parliamentary Budget Office has calculated that this plan will decrease the fiscal balance by $1.123 billion over the estimates and $4.756 over the decade.
• The Greens ‘tycoon tax’ plan on the super-profits of big corporations and mining companies, previously launched, will raise $338b over the decade.

Christian Porter’s resignation from the Ministry in the face of a Greens’ no confidence motion doesn’t end the mystery donation affair, with the Greens vowing to pursue the Prime Minister over his failure to act and to renew a push in Parliament to have the Greens’ federal ICAC bill – which has already passed the Senate – brought on for debate in the House of Representatives.
“Faced with a Greens no confidence motion and widespread community condemnation, Christian Porter has started to accept the reality that Ministers can’t take cash donations and refuse to say who they’re from,” said Greens Leader Adam Bandt.
“It should have been absolutely obvious from day one that Christian Porter’s actions were wrong, yet Scott Morrison refused to sack him.
“Transparency and integrity count for nothing for Scott Morrison, and both Christian Porter and the Prime Minister are still acting as if nothing wrong happened.
“The fish rots from the head down. It is clear Scott Morrison will not enforce standards of integrity the community expects, and we need a federal ICAC to hold politicians to account.”
“We need a federal corruption watchdog now more than ever. The Greens have got a bill to establish a federal ICAC through the Senate and it’s awaiting a vote in the house. When Parliament resumes, we will renew our push to make the corruption watchdog law. After this latest in a string of scandals, it will be a brave Liberal backbencher that stands in the way of establishing a federal corruption watchdog.”

To help improve the treatment times of those with hepatitis C, the Morrison Government will fund a new national point-of-care testing (POCT) program that can confirm active hepatitis C infections within an hour and allow treatment to begin immediately.
The Kirby Institute at the University of NSW and the International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing at Flinders University will be provided with $6.5 million combined to establish the program.
Being able to provide the testing and treatment all in one visit is a real game-changer for people who would normally have to wait several weeks for a test result.
This technology can test for active hepatitis C infection by taking a small amount of blood from a fingertip. This blood is analysed on site, with a result ready for the patient within an hour. If the result comes back positive, treatment can begin during that same visit.
Under the program, testing will be available nationally at 65 sites with a high prevalence of hepatitis C infection, including drug treatment clinics, needle and syringe programs, and prisons.
The program will also include the development of standard operating procedures, logistics, deployment, operator training, and external quality assurance.
At the end of 2018, an estimated 129,640 people were living with chronic hepatitis C in Australia. Hepatitis C rates have been declining in Australia since the country implemented wide access to direct acting antiviral treatments.
These treatments cure the virus in 95% of people. But many people living with hepatitis C are not aware they have it, so innovative methods are necessary to increase testing.
This major investment will increase access to hepatitis C testing, treatment, and cures across the country.
Australia is committed to achieving the global goal of reducing the burden of viral hepatitis and eliminating viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030. Indeed, we could be one of the first countries in the world to reach that goal.
 

A new National Centre for Monitoring Dementia is to be established to improve the care for those suffering from the condition along with $25.5 million for new research.
Marking Dementia Australia week, the Morrison Government is providing $13 million in funding to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to establish the National Centre, to routinely monitor dementia care in Australia.
This will help address critical gaps to support national dementia policy and service provision.
A further $25.5 million is also being made available under the Government’s Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care (DAAC) Mission including the release of a comprehensive roadmap and implementation plan to chart the way forward.
The Mission is funded through the Medical Research Future Fund.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said it was a significant step forward.
“The research will improve the quality of life for Australians as they age, reduce stigma associated with dementia and enable better outcomes for older people,” Minister Hunt said.
The theme for Dementia Action Week is “A little support makes a big difference.”
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said it was a relevant message for all Australians.
“Many people with dementia can continue to live well for many years – but this remains a complex and often misunderstood condition,” Minister Colbeck said.
“Those living with dementia deserve our understanding, love and support. It’s about seeing the person behind the diagnosis – an individual with a life, passions and relationships.”
The week of awareness has also been marked by the release of the Dementia in Australia 2021 Report, a benchmark study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Dementia in Australia 2021 provides comprehensive, timely and accurate data that will inform our continuing work to improve the quality of life for Australians living with dementia – particularly senior Australians.
The report confirms that dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia, and the leading cause of death among Australian women.
The DAAC Mission Roadmap is a high-level strategic document that includes the aim, vision, goals and priorities for investment for the $185 million Mission.
The Implementation Plan outlines the priorities for investment, evaluation approaches and measures, supporting activities and collaborative approaches.
The Roadmap and Implementation Plan were developed by the DAAC Mission Expert Advisory Panel, led by the co-chairs, Professor Elizabeth Beattie and Professor Len Gray.
“We know that dementia is now the third leading cause of disease burden in Australia, and that as our population ages, the number of Australians with dementia is projected to more than double by 2058,” Minister Hunt said.
“Lifting the quality of dementia care is one of the key drivers of our $17.7 billion plan to reform aged care, which includes a $229.4 investment in reforms specific to improving the quality of life and care for people living with dementia.”
The Dementia in Australia 2021 report found up to 472,000 Australians are living with the condition and more than half of all people in residential aged care are also affected.
Minister Colbeck, said the report validated the prominence of dementia care in the Government’s aged care reform plan.
“Our vision for quality dementia care in aged care encompasses staff capability, regulation and appropriate design of residential facilities. Dementia research has given us guidelines on dementia friendly design, and as part of our five year plan a new accommodation framework will be implemented from 1 July 2024.”
Dementia Action Week also encourages healthcare professionals to find out how they can make their practice more dementia-friendly.
“The Government’s reform package provides a boost for training in dementia care including for more than 3,000 personal care workers to be trained as dementia leaders in their organisations and training places for an additional 1,000 GPs and GP registrars each year,” Minister Colbeck said.
He said the Dementia in Australia 2021 report also confirmed the trend of more senior Australians choosing to age in their homes, and the corresponding need to support carers.
“We know up to 337,200 Australians are providing care for a person with dementia, and that 1 in 3 of those carers feels worried or depressed due to that role,” Minister Colbeck said.
“Our aged care reform package includes additional support for dementia carers through the National Dementia Support Program, more respite care places and better dementia-specific models of respite care.
“This week is also an opportunity for people to find out some simple things they can do to support a person living with dementia, or a friend or family member who is a carer.”
Dementia Action Week runs from 20‑26 September 2021. People can find out about simple things they can do to help support those living with dementia by visiting the Dementia Action Week page on the Dementia Australia website, www.dementia.org.au