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NDS submission to the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy Consultation
15/10/2021
What you need to know
- The Australian Government is developing a ten-year National Mental Health Workforce Strategy.
- The Strategy will consider the workforce needs within traditional mental healthcare settings, as well as within sectors which have significant contact with people experiencing mental illness.
- NDS has argued that the strategy should consider the mental health care needs of people with disabilities
- Our submission also calls for greater mental health training for workers who support people with psychosocial disabilities and people with disabilities experiencing mental ill-health.
The Australian Government is developing a ten-year National Mental Health Workforce Strategy, which will identify plans to attract, train, and retain the mental health and other associated workforces to meet the demands of the mental health system in Australia.
The NDS submission highlights the significant mental healthcare needs of many Australians with disabilities and the current workforce challenges associated with meeting these needs.
NDS raised concerns that the Consultation Draft Strategy and Background Paper did not adequately address the needs of people with disabilities, who are up to five times more likely to experience mental ill-health compared to the general population.
Our submission also encouraged the National Mental Health Workforce Taskforce to consider the gaps in knowledge within the traditional disability workforce around recognising and responding to mental illness in the people they support.
For any enquiries, please contact Clare Hambly, Policy and Projects Officer, Quality and Safeguards, submit enquiry/feedback, show phone number