Australians with serious mental health care needs are once again being left behind, with this year’s Federal Budget failing to deliver any meaningful investment in the specialist workforce needed to support them, psychiatrists have warned. 

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has welcomed the Government’s funding boost for public hospitals, expansion of bulk billing incentives for GPs and cheaper medications under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, calling them substantial and meaningful investments in bolstering Australia’s healthcare system.  

“The health announcements in today’s budget will tangibly make health care and essential medicines more affordable and accessible for millions of Australians. We wholeheartedly welcome these commitments,” said Dr Elizabeth Moore, President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP). 

“However, it also brings into stark contrast the disappointment that would be felt right across the mental health sector this evening.  

“Once again, mental health is an afterthought. Once again, mental health is the neglected cousin of the health portfolio. 

“For another year running, Australians with complex and acute mental health conditions have been overlooked.” 

In its pre-budget submission, the RANZCP called for targeted investment in the workforce, improved access to affordable psychiatric care, and urgent action to meet the growing mental health needs of children, young people, and rural and remote communities. 

The College says the lack of workforce investment puts more Australians at risk—not just those already unwell, but also people living with poverty, chronic disability, or housing and food insecurity, who research shows are more likely to develop serious mental illness and miss the chance to get help early. 

“We know the earlier someone gets help, the more likely they are to recover and avoid complex and long-term mental health conditions. 

“But right now, the people most at risk of deteriorating mental health are the least likely to get timely help, with their conditions becoming more complex, expensive and harder to treat with time. 

“Many Australians are forced to wait, travel long distances, or miss out entirely because the specialist care they need isn’t available in their community or local hospital. 

“Meanwhile, frontline services are under immense strain, private psychiatric hospitals are closing, and waitlists are blowing out as rising demand outpaces the number of psychiatrists available. 

“When early support isn’t there, people’s conditions worsen to a point of crisis. For many, an overstretched emergency department becomes the only way in. 

“Without an available psychiatry workforce to deliver support to everyone who needs it, we’re only tinkering at the edges of a broken system.” 

RANZCP members have consistently warned that workforce shortages are putting lives at risk, with too many people unable to access help early. 

“Psychiatrists are medical doctors specialising in mental illness, uniquely trained to provide care across the full spectrum of mental health conditions. 

“The system cannot function without their expertise, yet it's being forced to pretend it can as we grapple with a critical and chronic shortage,” Dr Moore said. 

The College says it stands ready to work with the next Federal Government to ensure specialist mental health care is prioritised in future budgets and long-term planning.