Submission to the Fair Work Commission: SCHADS Award Alternative Classification Structure
Limited access to timely, community-based mental health support means many Queenslanders only receive help once distress has escalated to crisis. Long wait times, fragmented service pathways and workforce constraints are shifting unmet need into emergency health care, housing services and the justice system.
Queensland State Budget 2026–27
Limited access to timely, community-based mental health support means many Queenslanders only receive help once distress has escalated to crisis. Long wait times, fragmented service pathways and workforce constraints are shifting unmet need into emergency health care, housing services and the justice system.
Disability Safeguards Submission
In this submission to the Productivity Commission, QAMH highlights the essential role of the NGO community mental health sector in Australia’s care economy. These organisations deliver cost-effective, recovery-focused supports that keep people well, connected and out of hospital. They strengthen participation in work and community life yet remain underfunded and under-recognised in reform efforts.
Draft Review of the Disability Discrimination Act
In this submission, QAMH welcomes the review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 as an important step toward modernising Australia’s anti-discrimination framework and aligning it with contemporary human rights principles. QAMH stresses that reform of the Act must align with the recommendations of the NDIS Review and the design of future Foundational Supports, ensuring protections extend to all people with psychosocial disability, including those outside the NDIS. This alignment would create a coherent national framework linking rights with the supports people need to fully participate in community life. We also highlight the essential role of community-managed mental health organisations in breaking down these barriers and promoting inclusion and recovery.
Delivering Care More Efficiently
In this submission to the Productivity Commission, QAMH highlights the essential role of the NGO community mental health sector in Australia’s care economy. These organisations deliver cost-effective, recovery-focused supports that keep people well, connected and out of hospital. They strengthen participation in work and community life yet remain underfunded and under-recognised in reform efforts.
Fair Work Commission: SCHADS Fair Work Draft Determination
QAMH supports the intent of addressing gender-based undervaluation and ensuring fair pay across the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCHADS). However, we are deeply concerned that the Fair Work Commission’s draft determination will create inequities, destabilise organisations, and erode workforce retention if not urgently revised.
Our Response to the Productivity Commission’s Interim Report: National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement
QAMH urges the Productivity Commission to be bold and deliver a reform blueprint that addresses both immediate needs and long-term system change. Community-based services are central to an effective mental health system offering early intervention, recovery-focused support, and community connection, yet they remain underfunded and overlooked.
Fair Work Commission: Gender-Based Undervaluation in the SCHADS Award
QAMH supports addressing gender-based undervaluation to better reflect the value of community-managed mental health work and welcomes efforts to simplify the SCHADS Award. However, urgent safeguards are needed, including sustainable funding to meet increased wage obligations, clearer role descriptors, and formal recognition of lived experience roles. We urge the Commission to allow more time for meaningful sector engagement before proceeding with phased implementation, to avoid unintended and harmful consequences.
Refined Models of Youth Mental Health Care
In this submission, QAMH supports enhanced coordination and reform of youth mental health services but cautions against primarily expanding centre-based clinical models as the default solution. While centre-based services like […]
National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement Review
In its submission to the Productivity Commission’s Review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, QAMH highlights the persistent gaps in Australia’s mental health system – particularly the […]