WayAhead’s response to the 2020 Federal Budget

WayAhead has welcomed the focus on mental health in this year’s federal budget, handed down by Treasurer Josh Frydenburg last night.

In particular WayAhead is very pleased to see funding set aside for the permanent extension of telehealth services so more Australians can access the health services they need in the way they choose and the doubling of Better Access sessions from 10 to 20, meaning more people will have access to psychology visits funded by Medicare.

WayAhead is disappointed that the budget did not take the opportunity to permanently increase the New Start allowance. WayAhead is a committed member of the Raise the Rate campaign and does not believe the pre-COVID rate of New Start, $40 per day, is adequate for people to live off. WayAhead joins its colleagues across the sector in encouraging the federal government to permanently raise the rate of the New Start allowance.

WayAhead would also like to see a renewed emphasis on social housing in future state and federal budgets so that more people can access social and affordable housing in their community. This investment would also boost the construction sector which will continue to struggle due to the severe reduction in migration during COVID.

Finally, WayAhead believes now is the time to invest rather than cut the funding of service providers in mental health and human services. As Australia reopens and we all work through the economic recovery period the services provided to local communities by the mental health and human services sector will be greatly needed so no Australian gets left behind. Taking money out of these sectors only serves to weaken our recovery efforts and society as a whole.