Australians for Mental Health welcomes today’s announcement from the NSW government of an addition to the budget of a performance and wellbeing framework aiming to drive “positive social outcomes” for its citizens. 

These measures will consider non-economic outcomes such as health, longevity and educational attainment and will apply across all state services. 

“Today's announcement is a heartening recognition that the choices governments make on how they do things and what they invest in has a tangible impact on population level mental health long before people arrive in the health treatment system,” said Chris Gambian, Executive Director of Australians for Mental Health.  

“Australian’s mental health is in crisis. The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have shown a steep increase in people reporting mental disorders, and a steep decrease in our collective mental health.”  

“These figures have only been confirmed by our own Mental Health Monitor and recent reports from Safe Work Australia about mental health in our workplaces.” 

“Governments around the country must mobilise a crisis response that matches the scale of the crisis we are in.”  

Chris Gambian is available for interview.  

Media contact: Simon Black on 0420 488 219 or at [email protected]   

About Australians for Mental Health: 

Australians for Mental Health was founded in 2014 to campaign for fundamental change in the way the country thinks and acts about mental health. Our mission is to ensure that Australia starts putting mental health at the heart of our national life.