After decades in which mental health has been poorly funded and marginalised, one expert is confident plans to redress this – at least at a federal level – bode well for improvements in mental health treatments.

“Mental illness is one of the top-three non-communicable diseases. It’s right up there with cancer and heart disease as a cause of death and disability in the society,” says Professor Patrick McGorry, executive director of Orygen, a not-for-profit that focuses on childhood mental health, and professor of youth mental health at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Youth Mental Health.