31 January 2025 - At a time marked by growing economic, social and health challenges, peak body for psychology, the Australian Psychological Society (APS), has released its 2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission which includes vital measures to support the mental health and wellbeing of the Australian community for immediate and future benefits.
The APS 2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission provides reform solutions through innovative and future-facing investments and is based on three overarching objectives:
Each initiative in the APS submission is projected to generate economic returns far greater than the costs to implement and deliver them.
“Given the significant burden of mental health conditions, the full contribution that the psychology workforce makes to the mental health and wellbeing of Australian communities through prevention, early intervention and treatment programs should not be underestimated,” said APS CEO Dr Zena Burgess.
“Unfortunately, cost is now the biggest barrier Australians face when trying to access psychology services, which is why our advocacy efforts are focused towards areas where it is needed most.
“With the current cost of living crisis, Australians are finding it harder than ever to access vital mental health services.
“We need to see significant reform initiatives to improve access to mental health care and address the concerning levels of violence against women and children.
“In Australia, on average, one woman is murdered by her current or former partner approximately every ten days. We need to invest in further domestic and family violence (DFV) training for health professionals and establish a professional support network.
“We know that our initiatives will have marked psychological and social benefits for the many thousands of Australians who seek care.”
Specifically, the APS is calling on the Government to fund 10 initiatives designed to support effective mental health services in Australia, through:
- Free online 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.
Our proposed initiatives build upon our strong track record of partnering with the Government to successfully deliver training programs, research, and other funded projects. These include our Disaster Response Network, our recent systematic literature review, aged care training for psychologists and other healthcare professionals, and supervisor training amongst others.
“To ensure current and future generations are resilient, we are recommending costed, targeted, fiscally sustainable solutions that allow Government to achieve positive outcomes for the whole Australian community”, concluded Dr Burgess.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) Pre-Budget Submission 2025-26 demonstrates how psychology aligns with Government measures, such as The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and the Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality Including Gender: An APS Guide to Gender Analysis and Gender Impact Assessment to achieve better outcomes in prevention and early intervention through both targeted programs and systemic mental health reform.
The APS is looking forward to working closely with the Government to deliver these important initiatives.
If you would like a copy of the APS 2025-26 Pre-Budget Submission please contact: [email protected]
~Ends~
For more information, or to arrange an interview call the APS Media team on 03 8662 3358 / 0435 896 444, or email. Find the APS Media team on X: @AustPsych
The APS is the largest professional organisation for psychologists in Australia, representing more than 25,000 members. The APS is committed to advancing psychology as a discipline and profession. It spreads the message that psychologists make a difference to people’s lives, through improving psychological knowledge and community wellbeing.