Inclusive Communities Fund Consultation
QAMH supports the Inclusive Communities Fund’s aim of making community organisations more welcoming and accessible for people with disability. However, the Fund must explicitly recognise psychosocial disability and the less visible barriers that can affect participation and connection.
In this submission, QAMH calls for:
psychosocial disability to be clearly recognised throughout the Fund
meaningful involvement of people with Lived and Living Expertise of mental health and community-based mental health organisations
approaches for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to be led by those communities and community-controlled organisations
practical and lasting changes to make community activities more inclusive
locally designed approaches, particularly in regional, rural and remote communities
clear evaluation of outcomes for people experiencing psychosocial disability.
The Fund should complement, not replace, individual NDIS supports, Foundational Supports or community-based psychosocial services. It must not be presented as addressing the substantial unmet need for psychosocial support outside the NDIS.
Second Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–2032
In this submission, QAMH highlights the important role community-based mental health services can play alongside specialist domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) services in identifying violence early and supporting people to recover and rebuild their lives. Recovery often continues long after the immediate crisis has passed, yet long-term psychosocial support and coordination between services are not consistently recognised within current service pathways.
QAMH calls on the Australian Government to:
embed community-based mental health services as a recognised partner within the broader DFSV service system
strengthen referral pathways, shared care and collaboration between community-based mental health and specialist DFSV services
build workforce capability to support earlier identification of violence and safe, trauma-informed responses
provide dedicated funding for long-term psychosocial support and the integration activities that enable services to work together effectively
Ending violence is the goal of the National Plan. We believe ensuring people have the support they need to recover from its lasting impacts should be the enduring legacy of the Second Action Plan.
Fair Work Commission SCHADS Award Wage Increase
Young people experiencing mental health challenges that exceed primary care but fall short of acute services have long faced a gap in appropriate support. The draft headspace Plus and Youth Specialist Care Centres (YSCC) models of care represent a significant Commonwealth investment in addressing this missing middle, and QAMH welcomes the opportunity to contribute to their design.
Both models include positive features that QAMH supports, including multidisciplinary and youth-focused care, peer workforce roles, outreach approaches, family and kin support, and greater recognition of the social factors that shape mental health and wellbeing. In this submission we support:
• strengthening access and prioritisation arrangements so young people with the highest levels of unmet need, including those with complex, atypical or culturally shaped presentations, can access appropriate support
• making peer workers, bicultural workers and Social and Emotional Wellbeing practitioners mandatory components of the minimum workforce across all sites, rather than optional local enhancements
• embedding lived and living expertise in governance and leadership, not just service delivery
• formalising partnership agreements between headspace Plus, YSCCs and community-based mental health services delivered by NGOs as a condition of funding, not a local option
• strengthening continuity of care obligations so new services complement existing therapeutic relationships rather than disrupt them
• requiring regular cultural safety audits and genuine partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, guided by self-determination
• addressing the unresolved gap in access pathways for young people on temporary visas
• funding the integration functions needed to make these models work, including transition coordination, workforce development and partnership development, and recognising community-based mental health services as genuine implementation partners.
Draft Models of Care for headspace Plus and Youth Specialist Care Centres
Young people experiencing mental health challenges that exceed primary care but fall short of acute services have long faced a gap in appropriate support. The draft headspace Plus and Youth Specialist Care Centres (YSCC) models of care represent a significant Commonwealth investment in addressing this missing middle, and QAMH welcomes the opportunity to contribute to their design.
Both models include positive features that QAMH supports, including multidisciplinary and youth-focused care, peer workforce roles, outreach approaches, family and kin support, and greater recognition of the social factors that shape mental health and wellbeing. In this submission we support:
• strengthening access and prioritisation arrangements so young people with the highest levels of unmet need, including those with complex, atypical or culturally shaped presentations, can access appropriate support
• making peer workers, bicultural workers and Social and Emotional Wellbeing practitioners mandatory components of the minimum workforce across all sites, rather than optional local enhancements
• embedding lived and living expertise in governance and leadership, not just service delivery
• formalising partnership agreements between headspace Plus, YSCCs and community-based mental health services delivered by NGOs as a condition of funding, not a local option
• strengthening continuity of care obligations so new services complement existing therapeutic relationships rather than disrupt them
• requiring regular cultural safety audits and genuine partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, guided by self-determination
• addressing the unresolved gap in access pathways for young people on temporary visas
• funding the integration functions needed to make these models work, including transition coordination, workforce development and partnership development, and recognising community-based mental health services as genuine implementation partners.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
QAMH’s submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the OSCA 2027 update focuses on how community-based mental health roles are classified and counted. Accurate occupational classification matters because it underpins workforce planning, funding and reform. Currently, much of the community-based mental health workforce is not clearly visible in national data, making it harder to plan for growing demand and sustain the delivery of services.
In this submission, QAMH supports the inclusion of Mental Health Worker in OSCA 2024 and calls for three key changes to better reflect how the workforce operates in practice:
• revising the Mental Health Worker classification to reflect vocational entry pathways and the full scope of psychosocial support work
• creating a distinct occupation code for Lived Experience (Peer) Workers
• creating a distinct occupation code for Mental Health Team Leaders
These changes aim to ensure the community-based mental health workforce can be accurately counted, understood and supported as part of Australia’s mental health system.
Occupational Standards Classification (OSCA) 2027 Update Consultation
QAMH’s submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the OSCA 2027 update focuses on how community-based mental health roles are classified and counted. Accurate occupational classification matters because it underpins workforce planning, funding and reform. Currently, much of the community-based mental health workforce is not clearly visible in national data, making it harder to plan for growing demand and sustain the delivery of services.
In this submission, QAMH supports the inclusion of Mental Health Worker in OSCA 2024 and calls for three key changes to better reflect how the workforce operates in practice:
• revising the Mental Health Worker classification to reflect vocational entry pathways and the full scope of psychosocial support work
• creating a distinct occupation code for Lived Experience (Peer) Workers
• creating a distinct occupation code for Mental Health Team Leaders
These changes aim to ensure the community-based mental health workforce can be accurately counted, understood and supported as part of Australia’s mental health system.
The Government’s Changes to Rural, Regional, and Remote Medicare Access and Funding
In this submission to the Senate inquiry, QAMH highlights the interconnected role of primary care and community-based mental health services, and how limited GP access is driving greater reliance on community services as the first point of contact.
Drawing on insights from QAMH’s Regional, Rural and Remote Roadshow, the submission shows that gaps in timely GP access reduce opportunities for early support, increasing the risk of deterioration and avoidable presentations to emergency departments or hospital care. While telehealth can help address access gaps, it is most effective when complementing, not replacing, local face-to-face services.
To address these challenges, QAMH calls for Medicare reform that supports integrated, mixed-team models of care. This includes recognising the role of community-based mental health services, peer workers and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and strengthening coordination across the rural mental health eco system.
Getting It Right: A New Definition for NDIS Providers
This submission responds to the Australian Government’s proposed amendment to the definition of “NDIS provider,” a key part of broader reforms to introduce a mandatory, risk-proportionate regulatory framework under the NDIS. The revised definition will determine which providers are captured and, importantly, which supports are formally recognised within the Scheme.
QAMH supports stronger, proportionate safeguards that enhance participant safety and Scheme integrity. However, the amended definition must explicitly recognise specialist community-based psychosocial supports delivered to people with psychosocial disability. These supports are distinct, non-clinical and recovery-oriented, often delivered through outreach, peer-led and culturally secure models that do not always align neatly with traditional disability service categories. Without clear recognition, there is a real risk these specialist supports will be inconsistently captured or unintentionally excluded.
Definitional reform cannot occur in isolation. Regulatory changes must align with pricing, workforce capacity, and implementation settings to avoid unintended impacts on service continuity, particularly in regional and thin markets.
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.