What could have been a timely moment to bolster support for our profession and the Australian community has fallen short.
Only 10% of Australians feel the government is doing enough to ensure access to psychology services to those who need them most, according to our recent Thinking Futures report.
Tuesday of last week was the right time for the Government to respond with practical and targeted social and mental health reform.
Unfortunately, the overall outcome of the 2025-26 Federal Budget left us concerned with the lack of funding, planning and commitment to the mental health care Australians need.
“It is apparent mental health and other much needed social reforms have been neglected, contrary to this Government’s earlier commitment to a wellbeing Budget, missing a crucial opportunity to invest in our profession in support of our community,” says Dr Sara Quinn, President of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
With a federal election now just weeks away, here is a closer look at where psychology, and the areas of concern for psychologists, featured in the Budget and where we are continuing to push for change.
The changes we wanted to see
In our Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26, we called for innovative, yet practical and future-facing investments that would genuinely strengthen the workforce and improve access to care.
Specifically, we called on the Government to fund 10 evidence-informed initiatives aimed at strengthening access to mental health care in Australia:
- Free online domestic and family violence (DFV) training for psychologists and other health professionals
- Direct access to psychology services for victim-survivors of DFV
- An APS-led DFV professional support network
- Extending Commonwealth Prac Payments to postgraduate psychology students
- Developing an evidence-based National Psychology Workforce Strategy
- Improving access to psychology services by addressing affordability and cost of living pressures
- Bulk-billing incentives for psychologists
- Psychologist-determined support in Better Access
- Streamlining GP Mental Health Reviews, and
- Improving youth access to psychology services.
Unfortunately, we did not see a clear response to any of these initiatives in the Budget papers.
“The lack of investment in our proposed initiatives reflects broader fiscal restraint — not the strength of our advocacy, nor the merit of the solutions we put forward," says Dr Quinn.
Despite our consistent and ongoing advocacy, and our costed initiatives showing a clear economic benefit, the Government has also once again failed to commit to increasing the amount of Medicare-rebated Better Access sessions in this Federal Budget, according to clients’ needs.
“Our position remains that clients with, or at risk of developing severe mental health issues should have access to 20 Medicare-rebated sessions within Better Access,” says Dr Quinn.
What about the Budget Reply?
The Coalition has committed to doubling the number of Medicare-subsidised Better Access sessions from 10 to 20 per year, on a permanent basis.
This would return to the temporary COVID-era arrangements for Better Access introduced by the previous LNP government, and which the Better Access Review found to be necessary and effective for clients.
However, we have gone further to call for psychologists to be able to provide up to 40 sessions per year to a person in complex or severe cases.
The Coalition also announced an additional $400m into youth mental health services. We welcome this investment, which aligns with our Pre-Budget Submission and previous advocacy, but we need more detail about where this money will go and over what timeframe – and whether it will be directed to front-line services provided by psychologists.
Where we saw progress
We know psychologists are well placed to help women going through perimenopause and menopause, as well as their partners, kin and significant others.
That’s why we’re pleased to see several measures relevant to women’s health included in the Budget, which are consistent with our previous advocacy and research. The Government confirmed:
- $4.4 million over three years to develop national clinical guidelines for perimenopause and menopause, and to deliver professional development courses for health professionals specialising in perimenopause and menopause.
- $12.8 million over two years for a public campaign to raise awareness of perimenopause and menopause symptoms, and management options.
We were also pleased to see a range of funding promises to support our First Nations communities. The updates specific to mental health are:
- Scholarships for up to 150 First Nations psychology students to boost the First Nations health care workforce, and
- $24.7 million over four years from 2025–26 to improve access to culturally safe and qualified mental health support.
We are proud to support First Nations psychology students through our APS Bendi Lango Bursary. Nominations are now open to non-members and members alike.
Additional wins for our sector
The diversity of the psychology profession is one of its greatest strengths. Here is a range of wins across our sector that may impact your work:
1) Domestic and family violence
More than eight in ten psychologists, provisional psychologists and academics surveyed for our Thinking Futures report expressed concern about the current rates of domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) in Australia.
While we hoped to see greater investment in our recommendations, we are still pleased to see the Government commit to:
- Greater support services to address housing insecurity and family, domestic and sexual violence.
- Legal reform to improve victim and survivor engagement in the justice system. For more on this issue, see our previous advocacy.
- $21.8 million over two years from 2025–26 to continue to provide family, domestic and sexual violence services to First Nations women, children and communities.
2) National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
There was limited new funding for the NDIS, with most of the funds directed towards fraud and compliance measures. We would have preferred funding be allocated to securing necessary supports for participants and reversing the cuts to psychology services that our members have seen.
The Government has committed to:
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$364.5m over five years, then $150m per year ongoing, for general supports (one type of Foundational Supports being re-developed at the moment) to provide information and guidance, peer supports, and capacity building for people with disability. This is an extension of the previous Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program.
3) Suicide prevention
- An additional $69 million will ensure support is available for Australians affected by suicide and distress. This includes additional funding for suicide prevention services, community support programs, health promotion campaigns and research.
- This funding is in addition to the $16.6 million investment in First Nations activities under the National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program announced in December last year.
We are pleased to have contributed to the development of the National Suicide Strategy, and look forward to collaborating with the Government on the development of the National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework.
4) Aged care
- $47.6 million over four years from 2025–26 (and an additional $12.7 million in 2029–30) to support First Nations organisations to deliver culturally appropriate aged care assessments for First Nations people.
- $24.4 million in 2024–25 for additional Commonwealth Home Support Programme assessments to meet new requirements under the Aged Care Act 2024.
- $5.7 million in 2025–26 for the National Centre for Monitoring Dementia to provide dementia data and monitor progress with the National Dementia Action Plan.
- $3.6 million in 2025–26 to support an evaluation and stakeholder engagement in a review of the Aged Care Quality Standards.
- $2.4 million in 2025–26 to extend the Care Together Program to support the start‑up and development of cooperative and mutual enterprises, and deliver business resources and professional support to the aged, disability and veterans’ care sectors.
5) Disaster recovery
- Extensive funding commitments for community recovery and resilience programs in rural and regional Australia.
- Investment towards improving our resilience to natural hazards and preparedness to respond to disasters.
- We welcome further commitment to mental health for first responders but would like to see ongoing investment in our Disaster Response Network (DRN), as a tried and tested model.
Our DRN supports frontline and emergency support workers with proactive mental health checks. Learn more or become a volunteer today.
6) Veterans and families’ wellbeing
- The Government will provide $47.6 million in 2025–26 to address the additional increased demand for downstream services following the increase in the determination of veterans’ claims. This includes additional resourcing for the Veterans’ Access Network, Veteran Support Officers, complex case management, information access and mental health support.
- The Volunteer Training in Suicide Recognition and Intervention Program will also be extended for one year.
We recently made five recommendations to strengthen the draft Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024-2029.
7) National Autism Strategy
After consultation with our members, we played a key role in advocating for changes that would directly impact the psychological profession and the Autistic community.
8) MBS
9) First Nations Communities
10) Digital mental health
Other wins include additional funding for LGBTQIA+ programs in Queensland, mental health support for those impacted by conflict in the Middle East, a previously announced $8.5 billion boost to bulk-billed GP visits, and $2 million towards research, policy and educational activities in regional Australia.
Lastly, it is important to note this Budget also announced a ban on non-compete clauses for workers. While more details are required, we know the change would apply to workers earning less than $175k a year and would commence in 2027.
Non-compete clauses have been difficult for psychologists to interpret and enforce, so this move will likely provide clarity for all parties involved. We will continue to keep you informed as more information becomes available.
Our next steps
We know psychology is worth investing in.
As we head into next month’s Federal Election we will continue to work hard to ensure our proposed solutions — developed with input from our members and the broader sector — receive the attention they deserve.
“We have and will continue to take member concerns directly to the Government,” says Dr Quinn.
“This Budget outcome is very disappointing and does not reflect the advocacy we’ve undertaken on behalf of our members and the broader community — but our work continues.”
Further reading