Accessibility and Quality of Mental Health Services in Rural and Remote Australia Inquiry - June 2018

Key points

The following presents the key areas of the YACSA response to the Inquiry into the Accessibility and Quality of Mental Health Services in Rural and Remote Australia:

  1. There is a shortage of accessible and affordable mental health services in rural and remote South Australia, particularly those targeted at young people.

  2. Young people in rural and remote areas face a set of unique challenges that act as a barrier to seeking help for mental health issues.

  3. While there are mental health services accessible in some regions, the vastness of rural and remote South Australia means there are significant geographical barriers for young people to access services.

  4. Mental health services in rural and remote regions are inadequate and do not meet the needs of young people.

YACSA developed two surveys to gauge the experience of rural and remote young people accessing mental health services to inform our response to the Senate Inquiry into the accessibility and quality of mental health services in rural and remote Australia.

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