The Productivity Commission’s Final Report on the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement delivers a clear message: Australia’s mental health system is not fit for purpose.

QAMH welcomes the call for a complete reset: a co-designed national framework that prioritises prevention, community-led supports, lived experience leadership, and sustainable funding. We are proud to have helped shape this reform agenda through our submissions on the Agreement’s development and Interim Report, and by contributing to the public hearing, consistently highlighting that genuine reform begins with a strong community mental health sector.

Many of our key advocacy positions are now reflected in the Commission’s recommendations:

• Long-term, outcomes-based funding to replace short-term pilots
• Shared Commonwealth-state responsibility for psychosocial supports
• Recognition of the community-led sector as central to reform
• Co-design with lived experience leaders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• Integration across housing, education, justice, and employment

But words alone are not enough. These recommendations mean little without real action, funding, and accountability. It’s now up to state and federal governments to commit to turning them into lasting reform.

Read our briefing on the report here.