Advisory Group to Guide Mental Health Reforms

The Gillard Government has announced an Expert Advisory Group on Mental Health to guide the government’s mental health sector reform.

The advisory group is to be chaired by Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Mark Butler, and includes Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry along with 11 other mental health sector experts.

Minister Butler, Australia’s first national mental health minister, says the Gillard Government is very aware of the need for significant reform of the way mental health services are provided in Australia and says it is important that this process is influenced and informed by experts, service providers and people in the community affected by mental illness.

Butler says that the creation of the new, time limited, specialist group will allow for targeted advice to be provided directly to the Australian Government on how to achieve the most coordinated, cost-effective and lasting reforms for their investment in mental health care.

Butler said the new specialist group will provide key advice in addition to other sources of specialist information available.

The members of the Mental Health Expert Working Group are:

• Professor Patrick McGorry AO, Executive Director, Orygen Youth Health and Australian of the Year.
• Monsignor David Cappo AO, Vice-Chair, Australian Social Inclusion Board.
• Professor Ian Hickie AM, Executive Director, Brain and Mind Research Institute.
• Dr Andrew Fuller, Clinical Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne.
• Dr Pat Dudgeon, Clinical Psychologist, School of Indigenous Studies, The University of Western Australia.
• Ms Janet Meagher AM, Divisional Manager (Inclusion), Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia.
• Dr Christine McAuliffe, General Practitioner.
• Ms Sally Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer, National Employment Services Association.
• Professor Frank Oberklaid OAM, Director, Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal Children's Hospital. 
• Mr Toby Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Mission Australia.
• Mr Anthony Fowke AM, President of Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill (ARAFMI) Australia.
• Dr Christine Bennett, Chief Medical Officer, BUPA Australia.