Lifeline is welcoming a $1.2 million boost by the Government, despite saying it’ll only meet about one-third of annual costs.
The funding was part of a more than $10 million mental health package announced by Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey yesterday, which marked the first direct government funding for telehealth provider Lifeline in a decade.
“This package will support around 16,000 additional calls and interactions and increase capacity across the sector by around 15%, helping more people access support whether it be by phone, text or other digital channels,” Doocey said.
The multi-millon-dollar boost includes $3.9 million over four years to expand telehealth services, $2 million over four years to Youthline, $1.2 million to Lifeline and $3.35 million to develop an AI-enabled tool for referral and triage.
“As I travel around the country, people tell me in their time of need they find mental health services that are quite fragmented, it takes too long to be seen,” Doocey told 1News.
“That's why I want to invest more into our telehealth services,” he added.
Lifeline chief executive Shaun Greaves told 1News the boost means the service can continue to support those in need.
“This is really good news, it means that Lifeline can look forward and we can be there for the future for people that need us,” he said.
Due to lack of funding, the former 24 hour service was forced to stop answering phones between midnight and 7am in November last year.
“We would absolutely love to turn the 24/7 service back on at the earliest opportunity, if the funding was forthcoming we would turn it on as quickly as we could,” said Greaves.
He said the service receives about 100,000 calls a year and answer about 45,000.
'Part of the puzzle' – Labour
Labour’s mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary told 1News she welcomes the additional funding yet is concerned about cuts.
“This money helps with part of the puzzle, but we need more funding on the frontline to be able to make sure people don't end up in crisis, this government's made cuts to that and that's the problem,” she said.
SHARE ME