House of Representatives Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention – Final Report Summary
14 November 2021
Category: Resources
In December 2020, the House of Representatives established a Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (the Committee). The aim of the Committee was to build on the findings of recent major reports and reviews of the mental health system, including (but not limited to):
- the Productivity Commission’s Report on Mental Health,
- the Victorian Royal Commission, and
- work done by the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy Taskforce.
The Committee also sought to respond to the dual crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent natural disasters, in particular the 2019 bushfires – both of which had placed additional strain on Australia’s mental health system. The Committee’s final report (the Report) was released in November 2021 and sets an ambitious reform agenda. It is anticipated that this report will guide the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, to be released later this year.
QAMH has prepared a summary of what was investigated in the Report, some key recommendations impacting QAMH members, focussing on what is relevant to the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Sector, and our initial thoughts regarding those recommendations.
QAMH acknowledges and pays deep respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters across Australia. We honour their Elders past and present, whose knowledge, leadership, and cultural practices have sustained these lands for millennia.