Category: Australian News

The report of an independent review of the Australian Government’s Hearing Services Program has been released today. The review was undertaken to provide ideas and recommendations for the government to consider, including ways of ensuring the program improves the outcome of vulnerable Australians who live with hearing loss, by being more client and outcomes focused.
Minister for Regional Health, Dr David Gillespie, said the Government would carefully consider the various recommendations put forward as part of the review process.
‘I want to ensure that as part of this process we preserve choice, improve the equity, effectiveness, and sustainability of the program, and build on the key priorities from the Hearing Health Roadmap that the Government has already funded in Budget 2020. Whether you are born with hearing loss or it occurs later, it can have a huge impact on your life,’ Minister Gillespie said.
‘Right now, 1 in 6 Australian adults suffers from hearing loss, and this is expected to rise to about 1 in 4 adults by 2050, as the population ages.
‘The Government wants to ensure that all Australians with hearing loss, wherever they live, can get top-quality assistance to help them get the best out of their lives.
‘The Hearing Services Program already provides an excellent service, and with the help of the independent review, we have been keen to see additional ideas put forward that will build on the program’s strengths to make it even better for even more people.
‘There are a range of recommendations that the Government will consider in depth before making a comprehensive response to the review in due course,’ Minister Gillespie said.
The Minister would like to assure all stakeholders that the Government will be consulting further on how to take some of the recommendations forward and provide certainty to the sector. ‘In the meantime, I encourage interested parties and consumers of hearing services to continue to be involved in the outcomes of the review through the hearing services team in my department’.
The review confirmed the program was highly valued, both by people with hearing loss and those who support them personally and in their school or work lives. In 2019–20, it provided more than 1.4 million services to Australians, including providing and fitting hearing aids for more than 392,000 people.
The Government set up the independent review in August 2020 to seek further ideas about how to further strengthen the program and make it more accessible, especially for people outside the major cities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The review was also tasked to explore reasons as to why more than half of those who are eligible are not accessing the program.
‘On behalf of the Government, I would like to thank the expert panel – Professor Mike Woods and Dr Zena Burgess – and everyone who has contributed to this review,’ Minister Gillespie said.
Stakeholders including consumer advocacy groups, hearing services clients, providers, industry, professional associations, and academics participated in the review.

Nominations are now open for members of Australia’s first-ever Council of Elders – a panel of representatives charged with providing advice and feedback on aged care issues around the country.
In another important response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the council will be established as part of the Morrison Government’s comprehensive $17.7 billion reinforcement of the sector.
It comes as Australia today marks the inaugural Ageism Awareness Day and the United Nation’s International Day of Older Persons.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, and Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said in keeping with both awareness initiatives, the Council of Elders will ensure older Australians and the issues they face, are at the heart of Australia’s generational reforms.
“Our aged care reforms are all about providing respect, care and dignity to senior Australians, and we want to ensure the voices of those senior Australians are heard at the highest levels in this process,” Minister Hunt said.
“The Council of Elders will have about 10 members appointed from nominations right across Australia, including rural, regional and remote areas.”
Successful nominees will represent the diverse life experiences and characteristics of senior Australians and bring the views and perspectives of others to the table.
“The Council of Elders will be consumer focused,” Minister Hunt said.  ‘Its members will be independent of government and must not be affiliated with aged care services providers’.
Council members will have a lived understanding of aged care and must be able to engage with their community, the Government and ministers on aged care reforms.
Minister Colbeck said in addition to public nominations, interest had also been sought from peak bodies and community organisations representing senior Australians.
“Council of Elders members are expected to represent the views of older Australians, so they will remain independent of any of the organisations that may put their name forward,” Minister Colbeck said.
“The guidance and feedback from council members will help keep us on track as the Morrison Government continues to work closely with aged care stakeholders and providers on a path to offering higher-quality individual needs-based care.”
The Council of Elders will provide advice to the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, and also to the National Aged Care Advisory Council (NACAC) which is also being established under the aged care reforms.
The Council of Elders chair will also have a seat on the NACAC to directly share the perspective of senior Australians with this group.
Information relating to nominations can be found here.
The nomination process will close 15 October 2021, with the membership of the Council of Elders to be announced later this year.

Older Australians are today recognised for the vital contributions they make to communities around the country as part of the United Nation’s International Day of Older Persons.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt and Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said the global day of awareness marked an important opportunity to show our gratitude to seniors Australians – from our parents to neighbours and friends.
“The value older Australians bring to communities across our nation is immeasurable,” Minister Hunt said.
“From passing on family traditions and recipes, sharing words of wisdom to younger generations, or seeing the successes of the past come to life in the present, senior Australians across the country have made our nation what it is today.”
Minister Colbeck said it was particularly important to continue strengthening our connections with senior Australians as we continue to navigate the impacts of the global pandemic.
“We know the impact COVID-19 has had across our nation – but it has been felt particularly by older and more vulnerable Australians,” Minister Colbeck said.
“As lockdowns continue across so many regions, it is more important than ever that we check in on those people we love most to ensure their physical and emotional needs are being met.
“Whether it’s a face-to-face visit, text message, a video chat or a phone call, I encourage everyone to check in regularly with all the senior Australians in our lives.”
Minister Colbeck also paid tribute to workers across the aged care sector who have helped ensure residents in facilities across Australia stay connected with family and friends.
The Government provides funding for a number of measures to help senior Australians remain connected and supported in their communities. These include:

• The Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line (1800 171 866)
• The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (1800 22 22 00)
• Translation and interpreter services (131 450)
• Community Visitors Scheme, supporting community-based organisations to recruit volunteers to visit older people to provide friendship and companionship

Ageism Awareness Day
Peak industry organisations like the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) and the Council of the Ageing (COTA) are also marking today as Australia’s inaugural Ageism Awareness Day.
A live social media video by OPAN will touch on conversations about ageism, its impact, and how we can each play a part in combatting harmful stereotypes. To find out more, visit OPAN’s Facebook page. To register for a webinar held by COTA today, visit the Every Age Counts website.
Be Connected
For more details about thriving in the digital world, including e-safety training and learning resources, visit the Be Connected website, designed to empower all Australians to develop digital skills and confidence.

From today, all Australians aged 12 and over are eligible to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine through Australia’s network of GPs and community pharmacies.
The decision by the Australian Government to open up mRNA vaccines to the 60 and over age group will give Australians more options and encouragement to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, if they haven’t already.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said we are on track to ensuring every eligible Australian can receive a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this month, with more than 28 million doses administered to date.
“More than 77 per cent of eligible Australians have received one COVID-19 dose and 54 per cent are fully vaccinated,” Minister Hunt said.
“We have now passed the United States on percentage of first doses administered and I thank all Australians who have come forward so far and received a COVID-19 vaccination. It will make a significant contribution to returning to COVID normal.
“I encourage everyone who is not yet vaccinated to call your local GP, Community Pharmacy, State or Commonwealth Hub and make an appointment today. It can protect you and your loved ones.”
Australia currently has two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) and included in our rollout program on the advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
These are the Spikevax (Moderna) and Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccines. As they are both mRNA vaccines, they are very similar and are highly effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19.
The Commonwealth has been working closely with other jurisdictions, which have been progressively announcing the availability of mRNA vaccines for people aged 60 and over at state and territory-run clinics.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder has been updated to allow people aged 60 and over to find sites that administer the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Australia is ready to take its next steps to safely reopen to the world, with changes coming to the international border.
Our government is setting out the framework for how international travel will look in coming months.
With first dose vaccination rates at over 78 per cent and double dose rates nationwide at 55 per cent and on track to reach 70 per cent in some jurisdictions over the next week, our government has been finalising plans so Australian families can be reunited, Australian workers can travel in and out of our country, and we can work towards welcoming tourists back to our shores.
Within weeks, large parts of the country will be moving to Phase B and then to Phase C of the National Plan to safely reopen Australia and to stay safely open. Under Phase C, international travel is on track to reopen safely to fully vaccinated Australian travellers. Many countries around the world have now safely reopened to international travel and it will shortly be time for Australia to take the next step.
To enable fully vaccinated Australians to travel, our government is finalising new arrangements.
Following completion of home quarantine pilots in New South Wales and South Australia, it is anticipated that states and territories that are ready to do so will roll out:

• Seven day home quarantine for Australian citizens and permanent residents fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved for use in Australia or ‘recognised’ by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
• 14-day managed quarantine for anyone not vaccinated or vaccinated with a vaccine not approved or recognised by the TGA.

Australian citizens and permanent residents who cannot be vaccinated – for example if they are under 12 or have a medical condition – will be treated as vaccinated for the purposes of their travel.
States and territories will begin this program at different times given their varying vaccination rates but we expect the system to commence in November.
Under Phase B and C of the National Plan, 14-day managed quarantine caps apply to unvaccinated arrivals. These will return to previous levels at Phase B of the National Plan. We will work with states and territories to remove all travel caps on vaccinated Australians.
In line with the National Plan, our government is balancing the need to minimise the risk that the spread of COVID-19 presents, with the need to live with the virus.
The Government’s intention is that once changes are made in November, the current overseas travel restrictions related to COVID-19 will be removed and Australians will be able to travel subject to any other travel advice and limits, as long as they are fully vaccinated and those countries’ border settings allow. Border settings and quarantine requirements in other countries continue to change and we strongly encourage all Australians to closely monitor DFAT travel advice, available on smartraveller.gov.au.
These changes mean there will be no travel restrictions if you are a vaccinated Australian entering or leaving our shores.
We will also work towards completely quarantine-free travel for certain countries, such as New Zealand, when it is safe to do so.
Testing is expected to continue to be a requirement of international travel, but subject to further medical advice, Rapid Antigen Tests may be used.
Australians who want to travel overseas once restrictions are removed will be able to access an internationally recognised proof of vaccination document in the coming weeks to prove their vaccination status abroad. The proof of vaccination for international travel will include a QR code that is readable globally, and will comply with the standards set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Engagement with commercial airlines and foreign governments has already begun to ensure they are familiar with the system.
We know it has been an extraordinarily difficult 18 months for Australians overseas trying to come home and for Australians with family and friends overseas.
To maximise the number of Australians who can return, our government is also offering facilitated flights into any state or territory that agrees to commence seven day home quarantine trials for returning Australians.
More than 680,000 Australians have returned since the Government recommended people reconsider the need to travel abroad in March last year. The Government stands ready to assist more people to return with the cooperation of states and territories.
Australian citizens and permanent residents who have been vaccinated with a TGA-approved vaccine overseas can already visit their GP or local pharmacist in Australia to have their COVID-19 vaccination status updated in the Australian Immunisation Register, to be able to show proof of vaccination in Australia.
In coming weeks the government will finalise the processes for people to be able to show their vaccination status if they have had a TGA ‘recognised vaccine’. People who have received vaccines not recognised by the TGA, or who are unvaccinated, will be required to undertake 14 days of managed quarantine on arrival.
In addition to the four COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved and registered for use by the TGA – Pfizer (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Moderna (Spikevax) and COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen – the TGA has also been reviewing other vaccines in widespread use around the world for the purposes of determining ‘recognised vaccines’.
We need to ensure that we keep Australians safe without creating unnecessary obstacles to people who have been fully vaccinated overseas from coming to our country.
Today, the TGA has published its initial assessment of the data on the protection offered by the Coronavac (Sinovac) and Covishield (AstraZeneca/Serum Institute of India) vaccines and has advised that these vaccines should be considered as ‘recognised vaccines’ for the purpose of determining incoming international travellers as being appropriately vaccinated.
Declaring certain COVID-19 vaccines as ‘recognised vaccines’ is separate to a regulatory decision on whether they are approved for use for vaccination in Australia, which has not been made by the TGA.
The recognition of these two additional vaccines is a major milestone towards more Australians vaccinated overseas getting home sooner.
The TGA will continue its assessment of other vaccines for the purpose of determining ‘recognised vaccines’ based on the available data and data that is provided.
In coming weeks the Minister for Health will consider updates to the Biosecurity Act Emergency determinations to facilitate some of these changes for fully vaccinated Australian travellers as we move forward on the National Plan to get Australia back to normal and reopen our country safely.

From 1 October 2021, Australians with multiple sclerosis (MS), multiple myeloma, macular degeneration and keratitis will have access to new and expanded medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), reducing the cost of treatment for patients and their families.
Kesimpta® (ofatumumab) will be listed on the PBS to treat patients with relapsing-remitting MS. Relapsing-remitting is the most common form of MS with 70 to 75 per cent of people with MS at some point suffering from the relapsing-remitting stage of the disease.
MS is the most commonly acquired neurological disease in younger adults. More than 25,600 Australians live with MS and more than two million people are diagnosed worldwide. The average age of diagnosis is between 20 to 40 years and on average three times as many women have MS as men.
Without PBS subsidy, around 500 Australians might pay more than $28,000 per year for treatment.
Also from 1 October 2021, subsided access to Beovu® (brolucizumab) will be available for the first time to treat people with wet age-related macular degeneration.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic disease of the macula. It’s the most common macular disease in Australia. AMD is responsible for half of all blindness and severe vision loss in this country.
Patients who have not responded to first-line anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment will now have access to this new treatment option. Without PBS subsidy, around 12,800 Australians might pay more than $8,800 per year for this new treatment option.
The PBS listing of Pomalyst® (pomalidomide) will also be extended from 1 October 2021, to include use in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in patients who have been previously treated with lenalidomide.
Representing Australia’s third most common blood cancer (after lymphoma and leukaemia), approximately 18,000 Australians are living with multiple myeloma at any given time. Myeloma is a type of cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow.
Without PBS subsidy, around 210 patients per year might pay more than $72,600 per course of treatment.
Ikervis^® (ciclosporin) will also be made available from October 1 2021 for the treatment of severe keratitis with dry eye disease. Severe keratitis is inflammation of the cornea and is characterised by damage or lesions on the corneal surface.
Dry eye disease is a common ocular condition that is characterised by dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea. Patients with dry eye disease experience reduced tear production or tear film instability, which leads to discomfort and visual disability.
Without PBS subsidy, around 7,500 patients might pay more than $900 per year of treatment.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said these medicines will improve thousands of lives and without listing, the medicines would cost Australians suffering from these conditions much more.
“Since 2013, the Coalition Government had approved more than 2,700 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $13.8 billion,” Minister Hunt said.
“Without PBS subsidies many Australians would be thousands of dollars out of pocket, instead they’ll only pay $41.30 per script or $6.60 with a concession card for these medicines.
“The Morrison Government’s commitment to ensuring Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.”
These PBS listings have been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

At a time of global crisis, the Greens will provide support and reparations for the Global South by boosting international aid through Official Development Assistance, providing $4.5 billion of climate finance and reparations to 2025, and cancelling bilateral debt obligations.
The Greens’ funded plan to decolonise international aid will help to right historical wrongs and support countries across the world grappling with interconnected crises.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for International Aid & Development, will be delivering a keynote address at the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) conference today laying out the Greens plan.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:
“Countries in the Global South are facing the climate crisis, a public health crisis, and an economic crisis. It’s time Australia stepped up and provided appropriate international aid to help countries combat these interconnected crises.
“As a wealthy, colonial country, Australia has a responsibility to contribute its fair share of aid, and pay reparations for its role in the climate crisis and the ongoing damage caused by Western imperialism.
“Women carry a disproportionate burden of these crises, but their voices go unheard. We must refocus our aid program to centre on the rights and self determination of women and girls, ensure clear gender equity targets and deliver aid through a feminist lens.
“This is the defining decade for climate action and Australia must commit to providing its fair share of climate finance at COP26.
“In the last decade Australia has been cutting aid, while the rest of the world has been doing the opposite. Shamefully and embarrassingly, we are near the bottom of global aid rankings. We are failing our Pacific neighbours who have water lapping at their doorstep.
“The Greens will boost international aid and provide billions of additional funding for climate finance.
“The cascading legacies of colonialism have locked communities into poverty and economic underdevelopment with mounting debts they will never be free of. By cancelling bilateral debt obligations, Australia can be a global champion for debt forgiveness and start to turn the page on the crushing levels of debt owed to wealthy countries by poorer countries.
“The Greens’ vision is to reimagine aid as not simply charity, but as a matter of global justice. Aid should never be a way to further our national ambitions or greedy trade interests.
“Aid programs should work to right historical wrongs and build communities in parts of the world that have been left destitute.”
The Greens plan will:

• Increase Australia’s aid budget to 0.7% of GNI by 2030
• Provide climate finance and reparations of $4.5 billion from 2022-2025, more than tripling Australia’s current commitment
• Establish an independent development oversight agency
• Place the human rights and self-determination of women and girls at the centre of Australian development assistance programs
• Cancel future loan repayments from all countries in the Global South who owe debt directly to Australia
• Advocate for financial institutions and foreign governments to cancel any outstanding debt payments from countries in the Global South

FULL POLICY INITIATIVE AVAILABLE: https://greens.org.au/campaigns/international-aid
Paying for our plan:
By making billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax and winding back handouts to big polluters, we can build a better life for all of us.
1 in 3 big corporations pays no tax and many big corporations and billionaires send their profits offshore tax free.
The Greens will tax billionaires with a new ‘billionaires tax’, require big corporations making excessive profits to pay a ‘corporate super-profits tax’ and axe billions of dollars in handouts to the coal, oil and gas giants that are driving the climate crisis.
When big corporations and billionaires pay their fair share, everyone can have the services they need for a better life.

Hundreds of emerging female leaders in Australian sport will receive quality professional development and training under Sport Australia’s 2022 Women Leaders in Sport (WLIS) grants.
Applications are now open for the program which has helped strengthen the role of female leaders in sport for more than two decades.
Sporting organisations can also apply for WLIS grants to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces and attract, retain, and develop even more talented female leaders across the sector.
Now in its 21^st year, the highly regarded WLIS program is delivered by Sport Australia and will distribute $370,000 in grants with the support of the Office for Women.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne said the Morrison Government is committed to increasing the number of women leaders in sport.
“We are proud to fund a program which sets new benchmarks for supporting women in sport and assists organisations in taking meaningful steps to achieve gender equity in the workplace,” Minister Payne said.
“Increasing women’s economic security and leadership is a key focus for the Morrison Government.
“As we overcome COVID-19, it is more crucial than ever that we build strong foundations for women working in the sport sector.”
Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said the program provides women with valuable development opportunities and experiences to progress on their leadership pathway.
“We know that sport can bring communities together and inspire positive change,” he said.  “By providing these targeted development opportunities we are supporting the next generation of female sports leaders.”
Sport Australia Acting CEO Rob Dalton said the program has a proven track record of success.
‘’Earlier this year we awarded individual grants to a record 84 women who attended courses from Board Room training to High Performance coach education.”
During the last grants round, 13 organisations shared in $170,000 in funding including Football SA which is using its grant to deliver gender inclusive workshops to club board members and run women’s leadership workshops, while the AFL is offering tailored training and education to 36 community coaches and officials.
“To date the WLIS program has supported more than 26,000 women and 100 local, state and national sporting organisations,” Mr Dalton said.
“This is a fantastic achievement, and we are excited to see the program expand thanks to funding from the Australian Government.
“This will enable us to deliver even more opportunities for women and strive for a greater balance of men and women in senior positions both on and off the field.”
Applications for the WLIS individual and organisation grants close on 15 October, 2021.
More information including the eligibility criteria is available on Sport Australia’s website.

The Morrison Government is opening two medical research grant rounds, worth $90 million to help accelerate Australian-led genomics and cardiovascular research, which will improve and save lives.
The grants are available through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and focus on two of the Fund’s key initiatives – the Genomics Health Futures Mission ($56 million) and the Cardiovascular Health Mission ($34 million).
The Genomics Health Futures Mission aims to fund research to integrate genomics knowledge and technology into clinical practice, and the Cardiovascular Health Mission aims to reduce the toll of Australia’s number one killer, cardiovascular disease.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said Australia was taking a lead role in improving and saving lives—through better detection, prediction and treatment, and better long-term recovery from acute events.
“The goal of the Genomics Health Futures Mission is to save or transform the lives of more than 200,000 Australians through genomic research by delivering better testing, diagnosis and treatment,” Minister Hunt said.
“Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of premature death, disability and avoidable hospital admissions, costing more than $10.4 billion each year in direct health care costs. The Cardiovascular Health Mission will help mobilise research, encouraging collaboration and enabling translation of research findings into clinical practice.
“Both of these research grants will accelerate Australian-led research and help improve the lives of all Australians.”
The Cardiovascular Health Mission has $34 million available over three years from 2021–22 through five priority areas identified in the implementation plan:

• Stream 1 – up to $8 million: to improve understanding of cardiovascular disease risk, including biological mechanisms
• Stream 2 – up to $6 million: to help patients to adopt and maintain health interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke
• Stream 3 – up to $8 million: to give patients more equitable access to best care, including new technologies, devices, and biomarkers; and new ways to target interventions to particular groups
• Stream 4 – up to $6 million: personalised, lifelong care approaches for patients who have had a stroke or heart event, to prevent further attacks
• Stream 5 – up to $6 million: understanding the biology of recovery, leading to new treatments and better monitoring of patients’ health.

The Genomics Health Futures Mission has up to $56 million available over two years from 2021–22 through six streams to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects:

• Stream 1 – up to $20 million: develop disease-agnostic, high throughput and scalable functional genomics platforms to increase the diagnostic rate of unresolved cases and accelerate the development of experimental therapeutics
• Stream 2 – up to $12 million: develop new models of genomic newborn screening
• Stream 3 – up to $5 million: through a competitively selected national consortium, conduct research addressing emerging ethical, legal and social issues associated with the governance of clinical and genomic datasets
• Stream 4 – up to $5 million: through a competitively selected national consortium, conduct research to develop effective approaches for responsible, culturally appropriate and nationally consistent involvement of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in genomics research and clinical practice
• Stream 5 – up to $10 million: through a competitively selected national consortium, conduct research to enrich genomics databases to support the inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse groups in genomics research, and equitable benefit from genomics in health
• Stream 6 – up to $4 million: conduct small-scale development projects to establish feasible, evidence-based approaches for population cohort research, focusing on culturally and linguistically diverse groups.

More information on the grants can be found at www.grants.gov.au. Further details about each Mission: Genomics Health Futures Mission | Cardiovascular Health Mission
The Morrison Government’s $20 billion MRFF, is a long-term, sustainable investment in Australian health and medical research, helping to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the health system.

The Morrison Government is today launching a new, free phone application with information, ideas and guidance for parents to help them provide additional support their child’s mental health and wellbeing.
The Raising Healthy Children App was developed by the Raising Children Network as part of its program to support parents’ mental health literacy by building knowledge and confidence concerning the social and emotional wellbeing of children. The Morrison Government is providing $1.5 million over three years to help fund the program.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young Australians is a high priority for the Government.
“Each year, more than 300,000 Australian children experience a mental health disorder, and diagnosis and treatment at an early stage is important because it can reduce the length and severity of the problem,” Minister Hunt said.
“Parents can play a crucial role in early diagnosis and this new app will give parents and carers the confidence to recognise early signs of social or emotional problems and help them to seek support if it’s needed.”
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said the app was targeted towards parents with children aged 12 years and under and includes information on health, development and wellbeing based on the child’s age.
“The app also includes information and support for parents and carers to ensure they are looking after their own mental health and wellbeing,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.
“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on the mental health and wellbeing of young children and their parents, and this app is a resource families can use to recognise warning signs and seek support.”
The app complements existing dedicated online mental health and wellbeing resources available for all parents and carers on the Raising Children Network’s website and can be downloaded from the usual app stores on mobile phones.
In August 2019, the Morrison Government asked the National Mental Health Commission to develop a new National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy as part of the Government’s Long Term National Health Plan.
The strategy has been informed by a steering committee and expert advisory group and is due to be finalised this month.
The 2021-22 Budget invests a record $2.3 billion in reformed mental health care, through the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan. This includes a number of initiatives for children and young people including:

• $54.2 million to create new Head to Health Kids mental health and wellbeing centres for children up to 12 years, in partnership with the state and territory governments;
• $42.3 million to support access to parenting education and support, to build parenting strategies and help parents to identify problem behaviours early; and
• $26.8 million to support Kids Helpline and meet the increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australians looking for support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service anytime via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available  at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au.