Young Australians in crisis: Report reveals worsening mental health

Mental Health Australia has joined calls for reforms to Australia’s mental health system, including greater investment into the sector, following last week’s release of the 2023 National Mental Health Report Card.

Published by the National Mental Health Commission, the annual report provides a look at the state of Australia’s mental health system and tracks the whole-of-life outcomes for people living with mental health concerns.

This year’s report paints a bleak picture, highlighting a significant increase in the proportion of Australians experiencing mental health concerns, a mental health system struggling to meet demand, and a lack of improvement across the factors that influence mental health and wellbeing, such as financial stress, loneliness and discrimination.

Using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the report estimates that between 2007 and the 2020-2022 period, an additional 1.1 million people experienced a mental disorder.

“The prevalence of people living with mental illness is at a record high and the determinants of mental health are either not improving or getting worse,” the report’s foreword, jointly written by the National Mental Health Commission’s advisory board chair Professor Ngiare Brown and interim chief executive Paul McCormack, said.

“We are also not seeing improvements in the system’s effectiveness in meeting demand or preventing distress.

“The latest data in this report strongly reinforces the need to act with urgency in addressing the needs of people with mental health concerns and ensuring the right supports are in place, particularly for our younger generations.”

Increases in those experiencing mental health disorders were most significant among young people aged 16-24, rising from 26 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2020-2022.

This increase was largest in young women, rising from 29 per cent in 2007 to 46 per cent in 2022-2022.

Mental Health Australia’s acting chief executive Michelle Possingham agreed the levels of mental ill-health and distress outlined in the report highlighted the “urgent need for stronger mental health reform” and “bold investments in prevention”.

“The report card paints an alarming picture of mental ill-health among young people, particularly young women,” she said.

“The government must work in partnership with the sector and people with lived experience to radically improve access to mental health supports and invest properly in prevention to turn this trend around.”

She said that, at present, the level of need “far surpasses” what was allocated to the sector in the most recent federal budget, with the scale of investment falling short of what is required “to make a meaningful difference”.

“In the lead up to the federal election, we need a real commitment from all sides of parliament to address this gap in future budgets, with funding security for the sector to deliver the transformational change that is needed.”

The report also notes, despite increases in the rates of mental ill-health, the mental health system’s ability to provide effective care has not improved, with significant staffing shortages remaining across all professions in the mental health workforce.

An estimated 20 per cent of Australians in 2022-2023 also delayed accessing mental health care, up from 12 per cent in 2020-2021, due to the cost of care.