Our Position – Bridging the gap: strengthening private mental health care in Australia

Mental health is a fundamental aspect of an individual’s overall health and wellbeing. It is influenced by a variety of factors, including personal attributes, as well as a range of cultural, economic, political, and environmental elements.
Addressing these factors necessitates a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach encompassing awareness, prevention, treatment, and recovery. Notably, mental health is closely linked with physical health, as individuals with mental illnesses are more susceptible to developing physical ailments and often have reduced life expectancy compared to those without mental health conditions.
In Australia, mental health services are structured to provide varying levels of support based on individual needs, following a ‘stepped care’ model. This approach ensures that the intensity of care is matched to the severity of the individual’s condition, promoting early intervention and efficient resource allocation.

The goal is to provide the least intensive and least intrusive intervention appropriate to the person’s needs, stepping up to more intensive services only as required.

Private hospitals play an important role in this stepped care model, providing specialised inpatient and outpatient services that complement community-based and public mental health care.

Private mental health services, however, are facing significant viability concerns due to funding constraints, workforce shortages, and increasing demand.

Addressing these challenges is crucial to ensuring continued access to high-quality mental health care, reducing pressure on the public system, and supporting patient choice in treatment options.