Mental Health – A Submission in Response to the Productivity Commission’s Draft Report on Mental Health

This submission responds to the Productivity Commission’s draft report from its inquiry into mental health, focusing on chapters 22 (evaluation) and 25 (data and research). Research Australia broadly supports Draft Recommendation 22.5 to make the National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) an independent, interjurisdictional statutory body that leads the evaluation of mental health and suicide prevention programs. It maintains that the health economics and health systems research community can help the NMHC build an integrated evaluation approach and conduct specific evaluations, and asks that the final report recommend the NMHC be required by legislation to publish its evaluation reports, data and methodologies, subject to privacy. It supports Draft Recommendations 25.1 to 25.3 on a mental health data linkage strategy, a national mental health survey at least every ten years and strategies to fill data gaps, adding that data should be available to researchers as trusted users, consistent with the Commission’s report on data availability. Noting that the draft report gives no clear role for research beyond a Clinical Trials Network, it recommends that the NMHC sponsor research addressing gaps found through monitoring and evaluation, citing NMHC-funded SANE Australia research on personality disorder, and research supporting adoption of evidence-based care. It also recommends that the NMHC coordinate with other research funders and use an open, competitive process administered by the National Health and Medical Research Council.