actcoss text final.indd - ACT Council of Social Service

9. Youth aged between 18 and 25 years of age
were identified as an area of unmet need. This
requires a coordinated response to ensure that
this population group receives treatment and
support in an age-appropriate setting.
10. There is a need for improved and coordinated
services for Indigenous and CALD mental health
consumers due to the lack of coordination
between specific and mainstream services.
Efforts should be made to make mainstream
services more accessible for Indigenous and
CALD potential service-users.
11. A conceptual and service segregation persists
between disability and mental health which
undermines advocacy as well as services for
dual-disability clients.
12. Participants highlighted the need for more faceto-face
contact between workers and managers
from different community organisations to
establish networks and referral links. There is
currently no forum for cross-sectoral planning
and networking around mental health service
issues.
13. The resource, time and logistical challenges of
collaboration were identified, and the need
for government support and incentives to
collaborate was emphasised.
14. There is a need for clearer protocols around
entry, discharge and transfers between services.
15. A review of organisational structures is a
necessary pre-requisite to collaboration.
16. Lack of awareness about community mental
health services was cited as a problem for
potential service-users, community sector
workers, clinical workers and government
service staff.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations to improve the
relationship between the community
sector and government
1. Develop inter-departmental service agreements
to facilitate a whole-of-government approach to
mental health. 1
2. Conduct periodic training in the terms and
implications of the Social Compact and the
Community Sector Funding Policy for all new
staff in the government sector, and regular
information and review forums for community
sector workers.
3. Ensure meaningful community participation in
any review of the distribution of resources in
the sector and ensure that distribution criteria
remain flexible.
4. Review the impact of MOUs between
government departments and community sector
agencies, to improve their effectiveness.
5. Commit to the development of sectoral MOUs
and consider the adoption of a ‘Primary Care
Partnerships’ model of coordinated service
delivery.
Recommendations to improve the
relationship between the community
mental health sector and others parts of
the community social service system
6. Engage in the mapping of community sector
service delivery to those affected by mental
illness, identifying service gaps and needs. 2
7. Fund and facilitate a permanent ACT crosssectoral
mental health planning network,
involving community sector service managers,
front-line workers and consumers.
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1
2
This recommendation is consistent with Recommendation 1(d) of the Mental Health Council of Australia, Not for Service: Experiences of
injustice and despair in mental health care in Australia (2005) at 17
This reflects recommendation 6 of The Australian Psychiatric Disability Coalition Inc and The Head Injury Council of Australia Inc, Trying Desperately: The Role
of Non-Government Organisations in an Integrated System of Care for People with Psychiatric Disability or Acquired Brain Injury, Tony Wade and Associates P/L,
Brisbane, May 1995 at 9. This was also recommended by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Report of the National Inquiry into the Human
Rights of People with a Mental Illness, (1993) (‘Burdekin Report’). This paper is intended to be a contribution to the mapping process, but more detailed research
needs to be undertaken.
7 Towards an integrated mental health service system in the ACT•June 2007 NO WRONG DOORS