Mental health levy expenditure accountability and transparency
AMA Queensland has written to Health Minister Tim Nicholls in support of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrist’s (RANZCP) correspondence seeking greater transparency of how and where mental health levy funds are being spent.
AMA Queensland to Minister for Health and Ambulance Services the Hon Tim Nicholls MP, Tuesday 10 June 2025
The RANZCP wrote to the Health Minister on 21 May 2025 seeking greater transparency of how and where mental health levy funds are being spent.
We wrote to the minister in support of this.
The former government introduced a mental health levy based on a recommendation of the bipartisan Mental Health Select Committee for a dedicated funding stream for mental health and alcohol and other drug services (MHAOD) in June 2022.
To date, psychiatrists and other health professionals working in the MHAOD sector report a paucity of information on how revenues collected from the mental health levy have been spent. As called for in our Budget Submission 2025-26, there must be full transparency of spending of revenues raised through the mental health levy. Clinicians, patients and the public deserve certainty that the monies have been spent on MHAOD services and infrastructure.
Mental health services across Queensland are in crisis, demonstrated most recently by the failure of Toowong Private Hospital. This will result in more patients presenting to our busy public hospitals seeking mental health treatment.
We reiterate RANZCP’s request for an update on the nature and findings of your investigation into the expenditure of funds raised by the mental health levy and are open to meet should it be of assistance.
