Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, welcomes the Productivity
Commission’s inquiry into ‘the role of mental health in supporting economic participation and enhancing productivity and economic growth’.

Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health has released a major report that shows that while Australia provides world-class education and is an international leader in youth mental health, the mental health of university students has been largely ignored.

Orygen welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Western Australia Mental Health Commission’s draft Youth Psychosocial Support Packages Model of Service.

A major issue to be addressed underpinning the implementation of national youth mental health policy is the current and projected nationwide skills shortage in the mental health sector. This skills shortage relates to both a fundamental undersupply of mental health professionals in all key disciplines and a pressing need to update knowledge, culture and practice in the mental health workforce. This report analyses these workforce challenges and makes recommendations to support a national strategy and framework for workforce development in the youth mental health sector.

Through the whole course of illness, the number one goal that people have is to get back to work or to complete their education and training. Despite this great desire of people with severe mental illness to get back into the workforce they remain the group who are the most marginalised.

This comprehensive report examines labour market outcomes, educational attainment and employment services for job seekers and makes key recommendations to assist young Australians with mental illness realise their employment and educational dreams.

Nearly a quarter of young people in Australia people aged 12-25 have concerns relating to their mental health. Australia faces substantial costs arising from mental illness in young people. In 2009, the financial cost of mental illness in people aged 12-25 was $10.6 billion. This Access Economics report analyses the financial impact of mental ill-health on the Australian economy and the flow-on effects of this cost.