Thousands of Australians seeking help for mental health problems face growing uncertainty because federal funding for hundreds of contracts has not been guaranteed after June 30.
Seventy mental health groups, including Mental Health Australia, Headspace, and the Black Dog Institute have written an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Health Minister Sussan Ley.
The letter reads: “We have not received any definitive advice regarding the future of programs.”
“Some agencies have indicated that without this advice, they will have to give staff notice of termination of employment in a matter of days.
“This ongoing uncertainty is causing a huge disruption to organisations and increasingly, deep anxiety amongst the people they serve.”
The National Mental Health Commission has completed a major review of the mental health sector, which is currently with Ms Ley but no date has been set for its release.
One provider, the MindSpot Clinic, already told patients free online and telephone support may not be available after April 15 due to funding uncertainty.
MindSpot is a free service for Australian adults with stress, worry, anxiety, low mood or depression.
MindSpot director Professor Nick Titov said the uncertainty is concerning for both staff and patients.
The service has helped 30,000 people and is seeing 300 to 400 new people each week, half of them from rural and regional areas where there are no face-to-face mental health services.
Registered nurse Angela Govan, based in Townsville, Queensland, was suffering from anxiety and depression when she went online to look for help.
She told the ABC having access to a therapist through MindSpot was a lifeline.
“The counsellor was fantastic … I couldn’t have got through the course without that contact,” she said.
“It made a huge difference and I now have the skills to keep that anxiety under control.”
Funding to be finalised soon: Minister
Ms Ley says the Government is finalising immediate funding arrangements as part of its commitment to give mental health organisations certainty as soon as possible.
“In my consultations with mental health organisations, I have been highly conscious of the need for certainty and we’re committed to working with the sector to continue delivering frontline services to those who need it,” Ms Ley said.
She said the report would be released soon.
Mental Health Australia chief executive Frank Quinlan said the sector needed clarification on funding and hoped the Prime Minister and Health Minister acted quickly to resolve the issue.