Ahead of the Queensland Election on 26 October 2024, the RANZCP Queensland Branch is calling on all political parties to endorse the three priorities in our Election Priorities 2024 platform, as well as maintain the mental health levy and grow funding by $300 million. 

We invite you to share our Election Priorities 2024!

We invite members to share the Election Priorities 2024 with their Queensland colleagues, and to use it to speak to a candidate ahead of election, if the opportunity arises.

Maintain the mental health levy and grow funding by $300 million

We are calling on the Queensland Government to maintain the mental health levy, with levy funds ring-fenced for improving mental health services across Queensland.

We are asking the Queensland Government to continue with the Better Care Together plan and provide full transparency on how and where mental health levy funds will be spent.

The mental health levy was expected to raise $1.6 billion over five years, but State Budget papers revealed Queensland’s mental health levy would raise $2.3 billion. 

In 2024-25 alone, the mental health levy is expected to raise $533 million. We are asking the Queensland Government to commit to invest $830 million per year (we are calling for an additional investment of $300 million a year, on top of the over $500 million already announced), based on our previous advocacy for $750 million, adjusted for inflation and State Budget papers 2024-25 projections

Priority 1: Fix the mental health workforce crisis  

We need a workforce plan for Queensland to attract, train and retain psychiatrists. 

Queensland Health is currently undertaking a Medical Workforce Mapping Project. The project will examine vacancy patterns and workforce gaps within the psychiatry workforce.

The Branch is calling on the Queensland Government to continue to develop the Medical Workforce Mapping Project.

Priority 2: Improve access to community-based mental healthcare  

For many Queenslanders, mental healthcare is too far away, too expensive, too long a wait or simply not available where they live.

As a result, communities are missing out on the care they desperately need, causing their mental health conditions to deteriorate and become harder to treat with time. The situation is particularly dire in rural and remote regions of Queensland.

The Branch is calling on the Queensland Government to invest in 2,000 community-based mental health staff, including addiction and mental health doctors, nurses and other allied health staff.

Priority 3: Provide more beds, and modernise ageing mental health units

We previously advocated for 500 new mental health in-patient beds and the Queensland Government committed to 126 new mental health and alcohol and other drug beds by 2027, and so we now need an additional 374 new inpatient beds.

We also need to urgently refurbish 250 beds of the existing 1658 public hospital beds.

The Branch is calling on the Queensland Government to deliver 374 new inpatient mental health beds and urgently refurbish 250 ageing beds across public hospitals.

Contact

For more information, or to interview with Queensland Branch Committee Chair, Professor Brett Emmerson AM, please contact:

Tel: +61 437 315 911
Email: media@ranzcp.org