Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
The Morrison Government is investing an additional $24.3 million through the 2022-23 Budget to implement new community-based treatment services and fund existing support and treatment services for Australians with an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are among the most complex and deadly of psychiatric illnesses, and the Morrison Government recognises the importance of making sure everyone can access evidence-based care when and where they need it most.
The number of people in Australia with an eating disorder at any given time is estimated to be around one million, and almost a third (31.6%) of Australian adolescents engage in disordered eating behaviours in any given year.
This new funding, combined with the Morrison Government’s support for innovative new treatment and therapy approaches, will see more care available in more places, improving the chances of recovery for those impacted.
The funding includes:
- $20 million for community-based eating disorder treatment services. These services will focus on local needs, using innovative and evidence-based models of care that are free to those who access them.
- $1.3 million to the Wandi Nerida residential eating disorder treatment and recovery centre on the Sunshine Coast.
- $1.6 million for the National Eating Disorders Collaboration for ongoing development of clinical resources, implementation of the National Eating Disorders Strategy, support for clinical workforce development, and provision of independent, expert advice to Government.
- $1.1 million for the Butterfly Foundation to continue to develop the eating disorder peer workforce, provide advice to state and territory governments on the establishment of the community-based residential eating disorder treatment centres and build on and expand the Butterfly Body Bright program in primary schools.
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said the funding will provide more services for more people.
“Eating disorders are extremely complex and dangerous and prolonged care is often needed,” Assistant Minister Coleman said. “But it is possible for many people to make a full recovery if they get the right treatment at the right time and that’s what these new services will deliver.”
“These new services will fill current treatment gaps within the community, ensuring more wrap around support for those who require ongoing care outside a hospital setting.”
“The service providers of these programs will also work closely with the National Eating Disorder Research Centre to inform important eating disorder research and contribute to the evidence-base for future eating disorder treatments and supports.
“As a Government, we are deeply committed to helping Australians affected by eating disorders and body image issues, and ensuring those impacted have the best chance of recovery.”
Since 2012-13, the Government has committed $268 million to eating disorder initiatives, with more than $71 million in 2021-22 alone. This is up from just $500,000 for specific eating disorder initiatives in 2012-13.
The Morrison Government is delivering a number of vital initiatives to ensure continuity of care and access to high quality treatment and support for people affected by eating disorders and their families and carers.
In November 2019, the Government provided $110.7 million to introduce 64 new Medicare items for eating disorders. These items enable patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders with complex needs to access up to 40 psychological and 20 dietetic services a year.
A further investment of $63 million was provided for six new community-based residential eating disorder treatment centres across Australia.
$26.9 million was also included in last year’s Budget to increase the availability and quality of care options for people affected by eating disorders, including:
- $1.9 million to improve access to specific timely, high quality care for eating disorders in Australian Government funded mental health centres such as headspace and Adult Mental Health Centres;
- $300,000 to enable Eating Disorders Families Australia to continue operation of the “strive” program, providing mental health support for families and carers of people with eating disorders;
- $2.5 million to deliver the final phase of the workforce credentialing project to ensure all Australians have access to high quality care delivered under the Medicare eating disorder items; and
- $13 million to establish a National Eating Disorder Research Centre to coordinate and conduct world-leading research into eating disorders.
The funding reinforces the Morrison Government’s strong commitment to achieving better mental health for all Australians, with expenditure on mental health services estimated to be a record $6.8 billion in 2022-23 alone.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Butterfly Foundation’s ED HOPE helpline (1800 33 4673), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
