Mental ill health in childhood and adolescence can have substantial impacts on wellbeing and productivity. These impacts are exacerbated for young people in high-risk groups such as those affected by violence, abuse, maltreatment, or poverty. Shockingly, the Australian Bureau of Statistics' National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing has found that almost two in five (39.6%) people aged 16-24 have experienced a 12-month mental disorder in 2020-21. That's why it's so important that we properly resource mental health services here in the ACT.

ACT Government Initiatives

The ACT Government is committed to supporting people living with a mental illness or disorder, having invested in several great measures to support young people, their families, friends, carers, and service providers. The 2022-23 Budget includes an additional $70 million over four years for mental health and community health care support, building on over $40 million already provided to support mental health since May 2020, including new funding for youth measures such as:

• $8.1 million over four years to expand mental health supports for youth and young adults to address priority needs of young people who are experiencing or are at risk of mental health concerns and/or suicide and self-harm;
• the expansion of the Childhood Early Intervention Team to the Gungahlin Child and Family Centre;
• the impending inauguration of the adolescent mental health ward at Canberra Hospital;
• a number of grants for initiatives to support vulnerable or disadvantaged children to participate in sport and recreational activities that improve their physical wellbeing, health, and social skills;
• the ongoing redevelopment of the Watson Health Precinct that will deliver a new purpose built facility for CatholicCare’s STEPS voluntary mental health residential program for kids 13-18 years old; and
• establishing new eating disorder programs and services, including STRIDE, a parent support program, and the Clinical Hub for Eating Disorder services, as well as progressing work towards establishing an early intervention service for eating disorders, and the construction of the ACT’s first eating disorder residential centre.

These investments are great news for young people across the ACT.

My Motions

To date, I have moved two motions in the Legislative Assembly, calling on the ACT Government to fund and support youth mental health initiatives.

• In August 2020, I called on the ACT Government to work to better integrate mental health and drug and alcohol services across primary health, community-based service and acute hospital care. 
• In December 2022, I called on the ACT Government to advocate for the federal government to fund a headspace located in Gungahlin, as well as other take action on a number of other items to drive better outcomes for mental health services in Canberra. 

Headspace for Gungahlin 

Headspace is a mental health service that provides counselling as well as general health services for young people. Currently, there are two Headspaces in the ACT - one in Canberra City and the other in Tuggeranong.

Yerrabi is a young electorate. According to the 2021 census, 35.3% of Gungahlin's population is under 24 years of age. Increasingly, young people in Gungahlin are having to travel to other districts in Canberra to access mental health services.

In December 2022, I moved a motion in the Legislative Assembly calling on the ACT Government to advocate to the federal government to fund a Headspace in Gungahlin.