Submissions

QAMH welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) on the consultation draft of the National Safety and Quality Mental Health Standards for Community Managed Organisations Guide for Service Providers (the Guide). Having purpose-built standards for our sector is an important development that means services will no longer need to adapt or retrofit other standards to meet their needs or aspirations. Read our submission including areas of concern for our members.

QAMH welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training (DYJESBT) on the development of a Queensland Vocational Education and Training (VET) Strategy. With the number of new jobs in the health care and social assistance industry projected to rise by 63,111 in 2024-25 alone, this work comes at an important time, and we look forward to a strategy which will deliver priority and future skills, ensure access for all Queenslanders, better connect employers and industry and support VET pathways and transitions.

QAMH and Arafmi welcome the opportunity to provide a joint submission to the Committee Secretary for the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs (the Committee) to inform the inquiry into the recognition of unpaid carers. Informal carers provide substantial support to people with mental illness. Our submission to this inquiry is informed by consultation with our members, who include people with lived experience of caring for a person experiencing mental health challenges, and organisations representing mental health carers.

QAMH welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Independent Review Panel on the role of pricing and payment approaches in improving participant outcomes and scheme sustainability. Our comments on how the NDIA can support the development of the sector and build the capacity of providers to deliver high quality supports to deliver high quality supports for Australians with psychosocial disability receiving NDIS funded packages are outlined in this submission.

While significant progress has been made in attempting to improve the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s response to people with psychosocial disability via the development of the NDIS Psychosocial Disability Recovery-Orientated Framework, significant challenges remain. This submission examines the NDIS model and the challenges it presents in delivering psychosocial disability support and considers the policy and practice implications of these challenges. Finally, the submission offers recommendations for improving psychosocial disability support within the NDIS.

The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has fostered individual choice and recovery-oriented approaches, as well as opportunities for innovation and collaboration among service providers. Nonetheless, there have also been a wide range of unanticipated outcomes. This submission makes recommendations for the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework to ensure the protection, safety, and wellbeing of individuals accessing disability supports and clarify expectations of both registered and unregistered providers delivering psychosocial supports in the NDIS market.