Yes can I just ask how many suicide prevention trial sites are currently operational
Twelve, Senator
And so in what way are they operational?
Well they're twelve distinct suicide prevention sites. They all have, they all
have different models they're trialing and different ways in which they're
operating we did in the last Estimates table an update on the 12 sites and
the activity going on within them which we have updated and we're happy to table
if that would.
That would be really good. Thank you very much
So how much funding is each suicide prevention
trial site actually received?
It's around a million for each site per year
Senator Deborah O'Neill: For remote communities is there any
additional funding allocated for the extremely high costs of people moving
around in just in those districts that are remote or are they required to provide
the service in you know remote north northwest Western Australia without
additional funding?
So it's not a service provision it's about funding
through the PHN a community strategy so it's not service delivery in the same
way. Of course where we deliver services in remote areas it's a more expensive
endeavor and they're funded differently but in relation to this it's a million
dollars per site per year in order to bring together stakeholders and come up
with strategies for moving forward. And it's the same amount for each site.
And that $1 million has been delivered completely to each 12 sites or is it rolled out?
$1 million per annum. Yes so each year there's been approximately a million
that the trials been operating per site
So can you provide an update on outcomes
for each of the prevention trial sites is that what you're tabling?
Yes, that would be the best way to do that Senator.
OK, I'll have a look at those
That's happening now isn't it so we can have a look at that?
Please yep -- otherwise I may be asking you questions that that are
already on there -- recent research has shown that rate of suicide is two and a
half to three times higher in Australians who lived within the lowest
two quintiles of household wealth than those in the top quintile. What action is
the Department taking to address this inequality?
Senator, just to go back one
step so obviously there's a range of activity happening in the suicide
prevention area I can't point to a particular stream of funding which goes
to particularly the issue you're you're alluding to although it's one we're
aware of there is obviously higher prevalence of suicide and self-harm and
and so on in some communities than others and that's certainly something
that we -- but the way the program's work is for example we've got a national
suicide prevention leadership and support program which invests in a range
of national projects designed to reduce suicide and suicidal behaviour across the
population and that's just sort of one example so there's a whole range of
things that happen under that head we can provide all the detail you like
about the various streams but I can't point to the this is the low
socio-economic particular extreme but it absolutely I mean it's not the only risk
factor in fact the largest risk factor for suicide sadly is a previous
suicide attempt so that's one of the reasons we're investing heavily in after
in discharge assistance for people, work with States and Territories in how we make sure
people get the support after initial attempt for example but
low socio-economic is a risk factor and it's one we're looking at. Now, it'd be a factor
which no doubt Ms Morgan and her taskforce will be looking at in terms
of how do we target the activity we do next or additional to to make sure we
get to the risk factors that that are at play.
Can you just walk me
through how the department if it's flexible enough in this instance say for
example - my community of Boroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria where we've
we have suicides too often and a lot of those suicides, a lot of the concerns
that come back from family members is that they've not had the opportunity to
even debrief or talk about the suicide before the next one happens. The most
recent one is a brother -- two brothers -- one who died a year ago and then his
brother decided to do the same thing twelve months later on his anniversary
and so the family or the families just feel completely helpless that they've
got no one to talk to and no understanding of how they can help their
family members to to deal with these issues. How does the Department I mean
what can you do in terms of identifying particular places that are far greater
risk and it's happening far too often?
so, I'm not sure if the the family you're referring to, Senator, was Indigenous but we do have --
Sorry they are yes, First Nations people.
First Nations People, yes, so we do have a number of First Nations specific
suicide prevention programs and mental health initiatives,
So of the $503.1 million
youth and Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention plan,
$34.1 million was for Indigenous specific suicide prevention initiatives
so $1.2 million for Red Dust to deliver social emotional well-being activities
in the Northern Territory, $5 million for young Indigenous leaders to participate
in place-based cultural programs and round about $19.6 million
which may be maybe more appropriate in a way to talk through on Friday with the
National Indigenous Australians agency here a number number of investments from
them including expanding Aboriginal mental health first aid and other
activities in the Kimberley. We've also, the Government's also recently announced
providing $4.5 million for the Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit)
Australia Indigenous Leadership body to create a national plan to
improve culturally appropriate care and focusing on empowering young leaders
within communities which is particularly important in relation to ---
What about in schools Mr. Rodham, given a lot of a lot of our kids again, First Nations kids in
these instances, as young as four. six, eight are either attempting or actually
succeeding in suicide.
What kind of what kind of work is the department doing with education?
So there are some programs specific to schools; one is the
Be You program being rolled out through Beyondblue is doing a lot of that work
and we also have a Headspace in Schools program. But where is that? So you said bu
bu yes where is that being rolled out which schools the BU program so I should
say so bu operates in a number of schools but particularly relation to two
communities with significant proportion of first Australians there is a targeted
pilot of BU being rolled out in the Kimberley and the Pilbara starting in
the first term of 2020 so it hasn't started yet that one hasn't that the BU
program more broadly australia-wide has been operating since 2016-17 is funded
through to 2020 schools in the southern states is it I'm not sure if I so
there's a large number of schools involved in the program all right across
all sorts of states and territories the pilots that mr. ron was talking about
were two that came on late accelerated in the Kimberley and the Pilbara because
of the concerning incidents I mean having up there with the coroner's
report and other activities so that one has been brought forward and put into
place more quickly but it is appearing across all states and territories just
to give you some statistics there have been as of the 30th of September this
year 2817 early learning services so they may be schools or early childhood
centers were participating bu 85308
and percentage of a stadium school Australian schools by state and
territory participating in bu 53% in New South Wales 72% in Victoria 63% in
Queensland 66% in Western Australia 81% in South Australia 90% in Tasmania 91%
in the acct and 94% in the Northern Territory it's important to note senator
also that all schools are learning many centres can enroll to be involved with
bu so we're wanting schools to come to it and so can individual educators so
what we're aiming to do here is to give schools and educators the tools to be
able to help kids in the money of you discussed I mean to go back to your
previous question and the very distressing huh terrible story about in
Burrell or in your area we don't have a trial in Burrell or the area at the
moment but we do have services that are each to that and we are aware that we
what are those services well I'm mental health services across the territory but
it's to the point I'm trying to make is that we realized that this is a very
difficult situation and unacceptable which is why we're going towards zero we
also realized there's more to do we also realize we have to move very carefully
that we don't inadvertently do something that can actually have an adverse effect
it's one on which I think it's fair to say it's very very bipartisan and very
enthusiasm by everyone in order to do better for all Australians who might
attempt or complete suicide but particularly for a pers and Torres
Strait Islander people because we've seen such distressing incidents that we
want to stop we realize that we're not doing enough we realized that we don't
have all the answers and that's one of the reasons why we're really pleased the
prime minister has appointed an expert to lead us and to provide advice on to
what to do next so when we hear stories like the ones you provided which we very
much appreciate your sharing it just inspires us further what we need to do
next I can assure you that the it's a very genuine commitment by the
government no doubt by all members of the Parliament certainly
by bureaucrats and the interdepartmental committee for example that I co-chair
into this as the vendor one of the most engaged positive experiences of public
servant because the whole of the common walls coming together to address this
issue so we appreciate you sharing the experience and we'd be happy to take in
any way information you've got about what's going on and see how we can
respond and we together we need to move forward to do better and work towards
your own will those inter governmental agencies head out to these communities I
will all meet on those lands not as a group MS Mormon oh she can tell you
about herself has been doing all sorts of travel as much as possible for one
person to do she's really been out a lot we involve ourselves with remote
communities to the extent we can obviously the the National Indigenous
Australians agency has people out on the ground all over the place and we
certainly encourage all of agencies something like the services Australia
obviously has people all over Australia also and that's why they're on the IDC
to talk about how they engage with people we're also talking to departments
industry the tax office or everyone in terms to say where does the Commonwealth
touch people how can we make sure that that engagement is better and that we
actually together can work towards doing more about preventing suicide in
Australia okay the department coordinate which funding is granted to mental
health organisations or is this a ministerial decision so it was a
question does the department coordinate which funding is granted to mental
health organisations or is this a ministerial decision but by and large
it's ministerials decisions or in some instance whole-of-government decisions
based on departmental advice so what do process does the department go through
and allocating mental health organisations with funding well it
depends on the program senator that when we there's 5.2 billion dollars a year
spent of Commonwealth Fund on mental health overall of which about 800
million a year is the Department of Health specific programs so obviously
there's a whole range of different ways and that money's applied so are you able
to describe the application process or the due diligence
the department completes when allocating funds again it depends on the program I
would point that the large proportion of the Department of Health funding the 800
million a year about four hundred something like that is passed through
the primary health networks who are charged to research and find out the
needs in their community and Commission services so that's in order to have that
commissioning happening closer to the ground on the basis of needs in
particular places other parts of that funding is delivered in different ways
so there's a range of arrangements but we always we're always subject to and
comply with the the financial rules of the government and make sure that that's
fully accountable and appropriately allocated okay the government's
announced a new suite of 64 Medicare benefits scheduled items will be
introduced to support a model of best practice evidence-based care for
patients with anorexia nervosa and other eligible patients with eating disorders
yo can you please confirm what consultations occurred before this
announcement was right we might need to work with our colleagues from from the
health financing group who so I'm not sure it was obviously that went through
the MBS processes if they're not here at the moment can we ask that it be re
asked when her financing are here okay in relation to those items they'll be
able to provide you the detail of this