A Minns Labor Government will boost access for mental health services for young people in New South Wales by committing $17 million to the Kids Helpline over four years to increase their capacity to respond to a rising number of calls.
For more than 31 years, the Kids Helpline has been at the forefront of providing digital mental health and wellbeing services for children and young people in Australia and New South Wales, and it stands apart as the publicly recognised national helpline for children and young people aged 5-25.
Increasing levels of demand, and increasing counselling contacts means that alternative funding has been required to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in New South Wales. In fact, there has been a 25 per cent jump in the number of people seeking mental health services compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Approximately 31 per cent (or 147,368) of all attempted contacts to the Kids Helpline came from children and young people based in New South Wales – approximately 404 contacts per day, or one contact every 4 minutes.
In 2021, counsellors provided 27,984 counselling sessions to young people based in New South Wales which was a 12 per cent increase on the number of sessions in 2020.
2021 also saw a 111 per cent increase (1,588 responses) in the number of emergency referrals made to ambulance, police, or child safety services in New South Wales. 44 per cent of the concerns were related to alleged child abuse, 26 per cent to suicide attempts, and 11 per cent to allegations of sexual assault.
The increased demand and counselling contacts, coupled with rising costs means that alternative funding has been required to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in New South Wales.
NSW Labor’s funding will:
- Further increase the Kids Helpline’s capacity to respond to more children and young people in New South Wales and support more young people in deeper and more meaningful ways;
- Help more children and young people across the whole of New South Wales to get help when they need it by ensuring ongoing access to Kids Helpline services, 24/7, no matter where they live;
- Strengthen the integration of Kids Helpline with local, area and state-wide services across mental health, child protection, education, employment, and other social systems in New South Wales;
- Assist appropriately qualified counsellors to obtain practical skills and capabilities needed to deliver quality mental health service by recruiting up to 28 FTE additional counsellors to respond to children and young people; and
- Build the New South Wales mental health service system’s capability to respond more rapidly to the impacts of crises on children and young people.
Chris Minns, NSW Labor Leader said:
This R U OK day we are reminded that while it is important to check in on the mental health on those in our lives, it is also important the necessary support systems are in place and are adequately funded.
‘I’m really concerned about the rising mental health crisis facing children and young people in New South Wales, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19, by social media, and the constant pressures of growing up in a digital age.
‘The services provided by yourtown’s Kids Helpline provides New South Wales kids with invaluable support at any time of the day, when they need it most. I want to make sure they have the resources to continue to provide that essential support.’
Ryan Park, Shadow Minister for Mental Health said:
‘The work done by yourtown is foundational in keeping our children safe and supporting their mental health whenever they may need it.
‘When a child reaches out for help, we want to ensure there are always adequate services available to support them.
‘This R U OK day, NSW Labor are committing to putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to the mental health of children in NSW.