Ms McBRIDE (Dobell—Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health) (09:35): Forty years ago, in 1984, the Hawke Labor government established Medicare and Australians no longer had to miss out health care because they simply couldn't afford to pay. Forty years later, we are putting mental health at the heart of Medicare so that everyone can get the mental health care and support they need. In my role, I visited communities across the country and heard from people seeking help, supporting family and providing care. In each community, I have seen the very real impact of distress and mental illness for individuals and families and that, for too long, people have not been able to access support, mental health care has been out of reach and often those most in need have been left behind. This is why we've been working to reform the mental health system—to make sure that everyone can get the care and support they need when and where they need it. We are taking action by introducing new mental health services, building new centres and supporting the workforce to deliver quality care. An important part of this reform is the introduction of a stepped model of care so that people can get the right mental health care to meet their needs. That is why we are introducing a national early intervention service. We all experience periods of distress in our lives when we lose a loved one, when a relationship breaks down or when work is overwhelming. These are times when we all need extra support, which, until now, hasn't always been available to everyone. The national early intervention service will be free, offering professional mental health care so that people don't end up in crisis. It will provide the right type of care and support more than 150,000 people to get the help they need every year. We also recognise that children, young people and their parents should be able to access mental health and wellbeing support at every age. That is why we are setting up perinatal mental health centres and kids hubs and expanding headspace centres across the country. We have invested in perinatal mental health centres so that expectant and new parents can receive free psychological support. The new kids hubs will support children aged from nought to 12 and their families to seek mental health, wellbeing and developmental advice and support. For young people aged 12 to 25, we are expanding the number of headspace centres to 173 across the country so that they can get age-appropriate support for mental health, physical health, sexual health, study and work. I know the difference that headspace has made for many young people across the country, like Lily, who is from the Central Coast of New South Wales, and first visited headspace after feeling anxious and depressed. Lily told me she was 'afraid to ask for help' but that visiting headspace completely changed her life. She told me, 'Five years later, I can say I'm much healthier.' Lily's experience shows just how important headspace is for young Australians. The new headspace centres we are opening across the country will mean that more young people like Lily can get help and support. Together, the perinatal mental health centres, kids hubs and new headspace centres will make sure that children, young people and their families can receive the support the mental health and wellbeing support they need at every stage of life. While these services have provided a safe place for young people and families to seek support, there has not been similar support available for adults, and often there's nowhere to find immediate support close to home for many who are in need. This is why we are setting up Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country. Medicare Mental Health Centres provide a safe and welcoming place where people can walk in and get free support. The centres are supported by dedicated teams of social workers, nurses, peer workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. They offer immediate support when someone is distressed, and short- and medium-term care whenever needed. The centres will, importantly, be part of that stepped model of care, alongside the new national early intervention service. I have visited Medicare Mental Health Centres in cities and regional communities and heard from social workers, peer workers and psychologists. They have told me about the difference the centres and their work are already making to thousands of Australians. That is why we are building 61 Medicare Mental Health Centres across the country, with 31 already open and providing life-changing support to their local communities. To deliver these reforms, we're supporting the health professionals and mental health workers who give so much to the people they care for every day. We have recently announced increases in the number of postgraduate psychology places, internships and supervisors in every state and territory. Before this announcement, I heard from Nita, who grew up in the suburbs of Western Sydney hoping to one day be a psychologist, to help others. But Nita is one of the thousands of students who applied for a psychology course but was not admitted, simply because of the limited number of places at universities. I was frustrated, both for Nita and for anyone who had ever waited to see a psychologist, to know that students had been turned away. That is why we're investing in 500 more postgraduate psychology places, 500 additional internships and 2,000 more supervisors. Importantly, half of the internships and supervisors will be for people in First Nations communities, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and people living in regional, rural and remote towns in Australia. This will mean that people like Nita, who aspire to grow up and be a psychologist, will now have the opportunity of a career helping others. I also know the invaluable role of peer workers and people with direct lived experience in the mental health workforce. Leslie, who was the first peer worker I worked alongside, nearly 20 years ago at the Wyong mental health inpatient units, showed me that, often, the best care comes from someone who has lived through the same experience and walked in your shoes. In Medicare Mental Health Centres and services across the country, peer workers like Leslie are often on the front line, providing immediate care to people in need. That's why we are supporting and recognising the peer workforce, by establishing a national peer worker association and a peer worker census. This support for the mental health workforce will increase the number of people studying, joining the workforce and supporting people in places like kids hubs, headspaces and Medicare Mental Health Centres. I want to acknowledge that these reforms would not be possible without the direct lived experience of so many individuals, families and supporters. I am so personally grateful for the advice given and the contributions that so many people have generously made as we undertake this reform together. This year, we announced the establishment of two new, national, mental health lived-experience peak bodies—one for consumers and one for carers and kin. The peak bodies, which are world-leading, recognise the contribution of people with lived experience and are a demonstration of our commitment to continue to work alongside people with lived experience as we deliver these important reforms. In closing, my hope is that our work to introduce the national early intervention service; to set up perinatal mental health centres, kids hubs and new headspace centres; to establish Medicare Mental Health Centres and to build the workforce will bring us closer to being a country where everyone can get the mental health care and support they need, and where mental health care is available to everyone and those most in need are not left behind, because that is what Labor governments do, and that is exactly what the Albanese Labor government's mental health reforms will deliver.