The NSW Government is continuing to strengthen mental health care by investing an additional $20 million into mental health reform, totalling $95 million in the 2017-18 financial year.
Implemented in 2014, the reform is a 10 year plan in response to the Mental Health Commission of NSW’s Living Well report, which aims to improve outcomes for those living with a mental illness.
The Government will continue to improve mental health services and the wellbeing of the community in partnership with non-government organisations (NGOs), consumers and carers to deliver better lives for people with mental illness, their families and carers.
The NSW Government is undertaking a decade-long whole-of-government enhancement of mental health care. The reforms come in response to the Mental Health Commission of NSW’s Living Well report, a framework for reform which puts people - not processes - at the centre of the mental health care system.
The Government commitment was outlined in the Strengthening Mental Health Care brochure and a series of fact sheets outlining the Government’s key initiatives to strengthen mental health care in NSW: Living Well – Putting People at the Centre of Mental Health Reform in NSW- A Report was developed by the Mental Health Commission following a two-year consultation with the NSW community that engaged more than 2000 people, of whom more than 800 were people who experience mental illness and their families and carers.
As part of the Mental Health Reform, the NSW Strategic Framework and Workforce Plan for Mental Health 2018-2022: A Framework and Workforce Plan for NSW Health Services provides overarching guidance for NSW Health strategic action over the next five years. Strategic actions aim to improve the mental health and wellbeing of people with lived experience of mental illness, the experience of care for their families, carers and supporters and staff experiences.