Conversations continue on new National Agreement

  
Wednesday 25 February 2026
  

• The nation’s health and mental health ministers met recently to discuss the new National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.
• While the discussions are a positive step; the sector, people with lived experience and the Productivity Commission have all called for urgent action on psychosocial supports.
• There are currently close to 500,000 Australians who cannot access the psychosocial supports they need to recover from ongoing mental health challenges, because they are not eligible for the NDIS.
   

Discussions about a new National Agreement continue in the wake of the joint meeting of health and mental health ministers earlier this month, however there remains no clear pathway to action on psychosocial supports.

While ministers recognised the calls from the sector and those with lived experience for an increase in psychosocial supports, the meeting focused on early discussions about the scope, timeframes, and roles and responsibilities related to the new agreement.

The National Agreement sets out how state and federal governments will work together to improve Australians’ mental health and prevent deaths by suicide, including how initiatives or activities will be funded.

Notably, the development of a National Mental Health Declaration was not progressed at the recent meeting, which was a key recommendation of a Productivity Commission review into the agreement late last year, which found that it is not fit-for-purpose and needs to be re-written.

WAAMH’s CEO, Taryn Harvey, said she was pleased the national conversation was continuing and that plans were in place for a roundtable consultation process in WA, to discuss the unmet needs for psychosocial supports as an action from an earlier joint ministers’ meeting.

“We see our state as being in a uniquely strategic position – with a new, transformational mental health strategy expected, the State Government has an opportunity to seize upon these negotiations and secure long-awaited investment in community-based mental health supports, so we can finally begin to re-balance the mental health system,” Ms Harvey said.

“I look forward to participating in the roundtable here in WA and hearing more about what national coordination looks like under a new agreement.

“In particular, I want to ensure that people with severe mental health challenges – those who have multiple unmet needs who often find it the most difficult to access supports – are being represented in these early discussions.” 

The community-based mental health sector as well as people with lived experience have called for an increase in psychosocial supports to assist Australians while the new agreement is developed.

This is particularly crucial for the 50,000 Western Australians (and close to 500,000 Australians in total) who are not eligible for the NDIS and therefore, cannot access the mental health support they need. While this increases pressure on hospital-based services, it also means individuals cannot live active, fulfilling, mentally healthy lives as part of the WA community.

Read more about the sector’s priorities for the next National Agreement, which have been identified in collaboration with state and territory peak bodies, including WAAMH.