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 headspace have played an important role in raising awareness and improving access, these models may not fully meet the needs of young people with complex challenges, those from marginalised backgrounds, or living in rural and remote areas. Many require flexible, culturally safe, and sustained support that extends beyond short-term clinical care. To build a more responsive and equitable system QAMH recommends;

1. Transition to community-led care: shift from a predominantly clinical model to integrated, place-based support led by communities, centring cultural safety and lived experience,
2. Strengthen funding for community mental health: Allocate a fair share of mental health funding to grow and sustain NGO-led, community-based mental health services, and
3. Invest in prevention and social supports: Invest in programs that tackle social drivers of distress such as wraparound care, peer support, and social prescribing, particularly for marginalised young people.