NSW to spend more than $64m to expand community mental health, recruit 29 clinicians
New South Wales will pour more than $64 million into frontline community mental health, recruiting 29 additional clinicians and expanding services for young people and regional communities as part of a four-year plan the Minns Labor Government says sits within a record $3.1 billion mental health commitment.
Recruits are now joining teams across Sydney, Western Sydney, Murrumbidgee and Hunter New England Local Health Districts, adding to a community workforce that has grown nearly 8% since June 2023. According to the government, there are now more than 1,670 staff delivering support outside hospital settings, including peer workers, clinical nurse consultants, psychologists and nurse practitioners.
Fourteen of the new roles are dedicated to Western Sydney, including three peer workers. Peer workers are recognised as part of the mental health and suicide prevention workforce who draw on their own lived experience of mental health challenges, suicidal distress and recovery, or their experience as family members or carers, to support others navigating the system.
The funding also backs rural and regional community mental health workers for the Farmgate Support Program, described as a critical service for farming communities that was left on a funding cliff by the former government. Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson said the investment is aimed at closing gaps between hospital-based services and community support so people can get help earlier and closer to home, before reaching crisis.
She added the nearly 8% growth in the community workforce since the government took office is a step in the right direction, and emphasised the integral role of peer workers in connecting people to care. Mental health peer worker Will Woods said workers with lived experience can build trust and hope, helping people feel understood and supported to reconnect with their communities and find a path forward.
independently.