2024-25 Budget: Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition ‘dismayed’ as funding struggles to meet needs
Mental Health advocates say funding announcements do not go far enough to meet the needs of Territorians.
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Mental health advocates have been “dismayed” by recent budgets saying they fail to address the scale of unmet need in the Territory.
The Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition chief executive Geoff Radford said while there were “important steps” made in the Federal and Territory budgets, it remained “well below” what Territorians need.
Mr Radford said much of the positive funding announcement were previously announced bilateral agreement.
“Without new investment, Territorians remain isolated with limited accessible options for support and their mental health continues to deteriorate,” Mr Radford said.
The NT Budget has committed an additional $5.7m in mental health spending compared to the 2023-24 budget, brining the total service to $107.8m.
The NT will also spent an additional $1.76m to implement a national bilateral agreement for mental health.
Mental Health Minister Selena Uibo said the NT Government continues to invest in Suicide Prevention Community Grants, $1.48m youth Headspace Centres, $2.6m for universal after-care services and $3.7m for a new Head to Head Kids Hub.
The Territory has also set a higher target for the number of people receiving non-admitted public mental health services, from a 8900 a year baseline to 9200.
“(The) reflects an aim to improve community access to non-admitted mental health services,” it said.
Mr Radford agreed that too often Territorians were reaching a “distressed”, “crisis” state in the emergency departments due to gaps in community mental health services.
“Funding needs to be targeted at supporting people experiencing mental health challenges before their condition deteriorates further,” he said.
Mr Radford called for culturally safe psychosocial supports, to give Territorians the wrap around care they need before they become acutely unwell.
“Investing in these reforms generates significant savings to the governments and benefits families, it reduces pressure on the healthcare system and the NDIS,” he said.
The Federal Government has announced $193.8m over four years to support culturally appropriate primary health care services in remote Northern Territory.
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory has also celebrated a $22m investment in suicide prevention and mental health.
The Territory Budget has flagged that the Commonwealth funding for the NT’s national mental health and suicide prevention has dropped by more than 80 per cent, from a revised budget of $2.2m to $352,000 in 2024-25.
The Commonwealth Budget document confirmed it allocated $400,000 per year to the Northern Territory for the next two years under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.
The Productivity Commission reports that the Territory has almost double the national suicide rate, with 49 people taking their own lives in 2022.— almost one Territorian a week.
Despite this the Territory received 0.3 per cent of the $201.7m three-year national suicide funding pool.
The NT will also be cut off from the NMHSPA a year before the rest of the country, with no additional funds promised beyond June 2025.
It comes as the NT prepares to table proposed changes to the 26-year-old Mental Health and Related Services Act.
‘Life changing’: $251M in emergency housing support for Territorians
Territorians escaping violence and homelessness have been handed a “life changing” $251m investment following a major Federal initiative for housing and homelessness.
The federal budget has more than doubled funding for housing and homelessness to the NT via a new $9.3 billion five-year National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness.
In 2023-24 the Territory received $22m for social housing and homelessness, but will more than double to $56m in the next budget cycle.
And the Territory’s funding pool is set to increase by $1m a year until 2027-28, with to a total of $251.4m allocated under the five-year scheme.
NT Shelter head of operations Annie Taylor said the funding increase was “unprecedented and game changing”.
Ms Taylor said money specifically to address homelessness had increased seven-fold, from $5.9m to $42.8m in 2024-25.
Ms Taylor said under previous funding models the Territory had struggled to meet demand, with one in 25 Territorians receiving homelessness assistance in 2022-23.
“The level of unmet demand for homelessness services in the NT rises year-on-year and our homelessness services are overstretched,” she said.
“Beyond the numbers, although they are significant, what this means in real terms is that more Territorians experiencing homelessness will get the support they so desperately need.”
While the Territory has a homelessness rate 12 times the national average, the NT’s share of the NASHH the less than 3 per cent of the $9bn fund.
Urban Housing Minister Ngaree Ah Kit said the five-year agreement would allow $25 million for crisis and transitional accommodation for youth, and women and children escaping domestic and family violence.
Ms Ah Kit said there was also a $25 million bonus for essential infrastructure to speed up housing construction, with funding for new roads, sewers, energy, water and community infrastructure.
She said it would complement a $6m Territory investment in 2024-25 to the Housing Australia Future Fund, to redevelop Shiers St housing in the Narrows and the Mitchell St YWCA lodge.
Family Violence Prevention Minister Kate Worden housing was key to address women and children’s safety, with a third those seeking homelessness services abuse survivors.
Despite the urban housing win, the federal budget appears to have slashed more than $155.9m from remote housing.
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