14 February 2019 Show
PDF version [292KB] Lauren Cook IntroductionAccording to the World Health Organization, mental health is ‘a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. ’ When a person has a condition that affects their mental health, they may have a mental illness or mental health disorder. This includes conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In Australia, the framework for mental health services is a highly complex mixture of public and private systems, with funding shared between the Australian, state and territory governments, individuals and private health insurers. This quick guide provides an overview of mental health in Australia, including the prevalence of mental health conditions, the cost of mental illness, government responsibilities, and mental health services available in Australia. Prevalence of mental health conditionsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB) provides the most comprehensive (albeit dated) estimates for mental disorders in Australian adults both over their lifetime and in the preceding 12 months. The survey estimated that 45 per cent of Australians had experienced a mental disorder in their lifetime, with 20 per cent experiencing a mental disorder in the previous year. Conducted in 2007, this was the second ABS mental health and wellbeing survey, with the first survey conducted in 1997. The Department of Health has said that there are no plans to fund another survey on mental health by the ABS. In addition to the NSMHWB, the following sources provide an indication of the prevalence and impact of mental health conditions in Australia:
Cost of mental illness in AustraliaEconomic impactA report commissioned by the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) estimated in 2014 that the cost of severe mental illness in Australia was $56.7 billion per year. This includes the direct economic costs of severe mental illness arising from the use of health and other services, as well as indirect costs due to lost productivity because people are unable to work. Similarly, in December 2016, the National Mental Health Commission stated that the cost of mental ill-health in Australia each year was around $4,000 per person, or $60 billion in total. The 2018 KPMG and Mental Health Australia report, Investing to Save, looked at how much mental ill-health in the workplace costs Australian employers. The report found that, mental ill-health in the workplace costs an average of $3,200 per employee with mental illness, and up to $5,600 for employees with severe mental illness. Overall, it was estimated that the cost of workplace mental ill-health in Australia was $12.8 billion in 2015–16. Spending on mental health servicesThe Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) estimates that spending on mental health-related services in Australia from all sources (government and non-government) was around $9.0 billion, or $373 per person, in 2015–16. Of the $9.0 billion, $5.4 billion (59.8 per cent) was funded by state and territory governments, $3.1 billion (35.0 per cent) was funded by the Australian Government, and $466 million (5.2 per cent) was funded by private health insurance funds. In 2016–17, the Australian Government spent:
Government responsibility for mental health servicesResponsibility for funding and regulating mental health services in Australia is shared between the Australian and state and territory governments. However, as noted in the Parliamentary Library publication, Health in Australia: a Quick Guide, their respective roles are not always clear. Below is a broad outline of government responsibility for mental health services in Australia. Australian Government
State and territory governments
Shared responsibilityOn 4 August 2017, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan, which established a national approach for collaborative government effort from 2017 to 2022. Additional shared arrangements are usually detailed in national agreements, such as those agreed to by COAG, and include:
Mental health servicesMedicare-subsidised servicesIn Australia, mental health services provided by GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers may be subsidised through Medicare. General practitionersAccording to the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) survey of GPs, 12.4 per cent of GP encounters (or 17.7 million separate encounters) in 2015–16 involved the management of psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. This is much higher than the 3.2 million GP mental health-specific Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items (MBS Group A20) that were billed by GPs in 2015–16, indicating that GPs likely billed many of these encounters as general MBS items. PsychiatristsUnder Medicare, rebates are available for consultations with psychiatrists. In 2017–18, there were 2.4 million MBS items billed by psychiatrists (MBS Group A8). According to the AIHW, psychiatrists provide the highest number of services per patient (in 2016–17, 6.2 services per patient) of all mental health-related services. Allied health professionalsUnder the Better Access initiative, Medicare rebates are available for up to ten individual and ten group allied health services per year to patients with a mental disorder who are referred by a GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician. The table below outlines the number of mental health-related services that were billed under Medicare by allied health professionals in 2017–18. Medicare benefits claimed under the Better Access initiative, 2017–2018.
Source: Department of Human Services (DHS), Medicare Group Reports, Medicare Australia Statistics, DHS, last updated 23 November 2018. Specialised mental health care servicesIn addition to services subsidised under Medicare, there are a range of other specialised mental health care services in Australia. Specialised mental health care can be delivered in a range of facilities, including public and private psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units or wards in public acute hospitals, community mental health care services, and residential mental health services. In 2015–16, there were 1,591 specialised mental health care facilities providing care.
Other servicesDisability support servicesIn Australia, the NDIS provides support to people with disability, their families and carers. The NDIS was introduced across Australia from July 2016 and is expected to be fully rolled out across all states and territories by July 2020. The main component of the NDIS is individualised packages of support to eligible people with disability. The NDIS also has a broader role in helping people with disability to:
People who experience disability as a result of a mental health condition are referred to as having a psychosocial disability. Once the NDIS has been fully rolled out, it is expected that there will be 64,000 participants (13.9 per cent of all participants) with a significant and enduring primary psychosocial disability. Following the introduction of the NDIS, there has been concern that the transfer of funding for existing mental health programs to the NDIS could leave people who are ineligible for the NDIS without services or support. In response to these concerns, the Australian Government committed $80 million to the National Psychosocial Support (NPS) measure, to provide psychosocial support services to people who are not more appropriately funded through the NDIS. Additionally, the Australian and state and territory governments have committed to ensuring continuity of support for people with disability already receiving services who are ineligible for the NDIS. Homelessness support servicesMental illness is one factor that contributes to the level of homelessness in Australia, with 27 per cent of people who accessed specialist homelessness services in 2016–17 having a current mental health issue. The main source of government-funded support for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness is specialist homelessness services. These services are delivered by non-government organisations, including agencies that specialise in delivering services to specific target groups (such as young people or people experiencing domestic and family violence) and agencies that provide more generic services to people in crisis. For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament. © Commonwealth of Australia Creative Commons With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and to the extent that copyright subsists in a third party, this publication, its logo and front page design are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence. In essence, you are free to copy and communicate this work in its current form for all non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to the author and abide by the other licence terms. The work cannot be adapted or modified in any way. Content from this publication should be attributed in the following way: Author(s), Title of publication, Series Name and No, Publisher, Date. To the extent that copyright subsists in third party quotes it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material. Inquiries regarding the licence and any use of the publication are welcome to . This work has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion. Any concerns or complaints should be directed to the Parliamentary Librarian. Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications with Senators and Members and their staff. To access this service, clients may contact the author or the Library‘s Central Enquiry Point for referral. Which personal attribute is considered by the WHO when defining mental health as a state of wellDiscussion. The WHO declaration about mental health is also clear: it is "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community " [1].
What type of definition is used in defining mental health?According to the World Health Organization (WHO) : “Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.”
What are the 4 definitions of mental health?Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.
What are the 3 most significant determinants of mental health?When it comes to mental health, three social determinants are particularly significant: freedom from discrimination and violence. social inclusion. access to economic resources.
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