This Minns Labor Government is transforming mental health care in Kempsey, with two new initiatives improving access to critical mental health support.
A free, walk-in mental health service has today opened its doors on Wide Street, offering accessible, stigma-free and culturally responsive suicide prevention support to the local community.
Kempsey has also been chosen for an innovative pilot program, with Mental Health Hospital in the Home launched in February this year.
Together, these initiatives are redesigning mental health services in Kempsey to better meet the needs of the local community and remove common barriers that prevent people from accessing support, like stigma and hospital-related trauma.
Safe Haven
The newly-renovated, Aboriginal-led Safe Haven is a free, non-clinical space where people can walk in without an appointment or referral to receive immediate mental health support.
Safe Havens offer an alternative to accessing mental health services through a hospital emergency department.
The Kempsey Safe Haven will be staffed by Aboriginal peer workers who bring cultural knowledge, lived experience and strong community connections to their support while also working alongside the existing Aboriginal Specialist Wellbeing Service.
Located on Wide Street in Kempsey, the service is now open Thursday to Sunday from 9am to 4pm and is available to everyone in the community.
Mental Health Hospital in the Home (HiTH)
Mental Health Hospital in the Home is an acute mental health service that provides hospital level care to voluntary patients in the comfort of their own home or community.
This type of care is proven to prevent the impacts of prolonged inpatient stays like physical and cognitive decline and is designed to give patients more options and improved continuity of support.
As part of the pilot, capacity has increased at Port Macquarie Base Hospital’s Mental Health Inpatient Unit where people requiring hospital admission can continue to receive high-quality care.
Two reviews will assess the effectiveness of the HiTH pilot at the 6-month and 12-month marks.
The transformation in Kempsey is another step in the Minns Labor Government’s plan to modernise and improve access to mental healthcare in New South Wales, including:
- Building a network of Medicare Mental Health Centres, where anyone can access free, walk-in mental health support.
- Investing in more than $64 million in community mental health programs, to help people with mental health challenges live independently in the community.
- Embedding suicide prevention into government decision making, with our world-leading Suicide Prevention Act 2025.
The Mental Health Line is available 24/7 on 1800 011 511 to connect people with mental health services. For crisis support, call 13YARN (139 276) or Lifeline 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14.
Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson:
“People should be able to get the right care at the right time, in the least restrictive setting possible. That is exactly what we are delivering in Kempsey with the Mental Health Hospital in the Home pilot and the new Aboriginal-led Safe Haven.
“By investing in free, walk-in community-based services we are redesigning mental health services to improve outcomes and to better meet the needs of the local community.
“We’re still in the early days of the HiTH pilot but I’m excited to see how that model can improve outcomes for the patients in the Kempsey community who may not be suited to traditional inpatient care.
“The new Aboriginal-led Safe Haven is another powerful example of what better mental health care looks like — culturally-led, inclusive, and designed by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people. It reflects a commitment to services grounded in culture, community and lived knowledge, where people feel safe, respected and understood.
“That matters, because when someone is in distress, getting help early and locally can make all the difference.”
Minister for the North Coast Janelle Saffin:
“Kempsey has been chosen as a key site for these transformative programs because we recognize the vital need for enhanced mental health support in our regional centers. This pilot is a major win for the North Coast, putting our community at the forefront of modern, compassionate healthcare.”
“For the people of Kempsey and the Macleay Valley, these services are a gamechanger. They remove the traditional barriers to care—like the stress of a hospital emergency department—and provide support that is local, accessible, and culturally safe.
“By delivering hospital-level care at home and opening an Aboriginal-led Safe Haven, we are ensuring that the people of the North Coast have more options to receive the right help, in the right place, at the right time.”
Kempsey Shire Mayor Kinne Ring:
“Our community deserves services that are welcoming and easy to access, and I’m pleased to see this new approach shifting toward more community-based support and greater choice in how our residents can access care.
“The Safe Haven is a genuinely important addition. A free, walk in space where anyone can access support without an appointment or referral. Being local, accessible and culturally safe will make a real difference in helping people feel comfortable seeking help when they need it.
“The Hospital in the Home program also represents a meaningful shift in how care is delivered, bringing hospital level support directly to patients in their homes or community. Kempsey is a close-knit and supportive community, and this model opens up new opportunities to deliver mental health services in a way that genuinely improves access for local residents.”
Mid North Coast Local Health District Chief Executive Jill Wong:
“The launch of the new Mental Health Hospital in the Home model of care is a significant milestone for our region, allowing people to receive intensive, high-quality mental health care safely at home and in their community, close to family, culture and supports.
“Most people seeking mental health support don’t need to be admitted to hospital and in Kempsey we now have a full suite of supports from the walk-in options at our Safe Havens to Mental Health Hospital in the Home and stronger community mental health services. This ensures people receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place.
“The Safe Haven is more than a building, it’s a welcoming front door to compassion and hope, a place for community to connect and to feel safe, enabling clinical teams, working alongside Mental Health Hospital in the Home, to connect people to the support they need, when they need it most.”
Mid North Coast Local Health District Acting Aboriginal District Coordinator Tianna Bailey:
“The Aboriginal led Safe Haven will be vital to support the healing and wellbeing of the Aboriginal community members in Kempsey and across the Macleay Valley, as part of the broader network of community-based care that includes community mental health teams and Mental Health Hospital in the Home support.
“Operating alongside the Aboriginal Specialist Wellbeing Service and complementary models such as Mental Health Hospital in the Home, the Safe Haven will ensure mob have access to culturally safe suicide prevention and wellbeing support.
“This is a significant step forward for Aboriginal led services and programs and reflects the Mid North Coast Local Health District’s strong commitment to listening to Aboriginal voices and delivering culturally appropriate, responsive and community driven models of care.
“The inclusion of Aboriginal stakeholder and community governance groups is central to this model, ensuring the cultural integrity of both the Aboriginal Specialist Wellbeing Service and the Aboriginal led Safe Haven, while strengthening connections with broader mental health services and ensuring continuous improvement is aligned to community priorities.”