Queensland State Budget 2026–27

Services must be funded to prevent crisis, not just respond to it

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.

The submission recommends:

• expanding access to psychosocial and recovery-oriented supports so people can get help earlier and move flexibly as needs change;
• investing in workforce capacity, including peer and lived/living experience roles, to support service quality, continuity and viability, particularly in regional, rural and remote communities;
• strengthening place-based commissioning, integration and outcomes monitoring so community-based services are better connected to hospital and housing services and youth justice systems; and
• providing longer-term funding certainty through five-year funding arrangements to support service planning, workforce stability and sustained place-based delivery.

Queenslanders consistently say they want mental health support that is local, accessible and available early, not only once crisis occurs. Strategic investment in community-based mental health services will improve outcomes for individuals and families and reduce avoidable escalation into crisis responses. This investment is also essential to meeting Queensland Government targets to reduce ambulance ramping, support homelessness services and improve outcomes for young people while delivering better value for public expenditure over time.

Read Our Submission Here >