Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Canberrans often talk to me about the need for mental health services in our community, particularly for young people. So, yesterday, I was really proud to join Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride and ACT Minister for Mental Health Rachel Stephen-Smith to officially launch the new youth services hub in Lyneham. This new hub is actually an Australian first model, and it brings together three vital services for young people in Canberra: headspace Canberra, the headspace Early Psychosis Program and the newly established ACT Youth Trauma Service. Co-located at one site on Northbourne Avenue, these services represent a major step forward in providing accessible, co-located and trauma informed mental health care for young people in our community.

headspace Canberra, which relocated to Lyneham last year, provides mental health, physical health and wellbeing support for young people aged 12 to 25. The co-location with headspace early psychosis allows for seamless early intervention for young people who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing their first episode of psychosis, ensuring they receive the right care at the right time.

The launch also marked the official opening of the ACT Youth Trauma Service—a free, multidisciplinary service supporting young people who are living with or are at risk of moderate mental ill-health and complex need, including experiences of trauma. This service has been co-designed with the local First Nations community and with young people, and it was great to hear from some of those people at the launch yesterday. Operated by Uniting NSW.ACT and jointly funded by the Commonwealth and ACT governments, this service fills a critical gap in our youth mental health system. Too many young people carry the impacts of trauma without the support that they need, and this new hub recognises that mental health care works best when services are collaborative, community based and centred on the needs of young people themselves.

I acknowledge Capital Health Network for its role in supporting these services through the Australian government's Primary Health Network program, as well as the dedicated staff and clinicians who have made this work possible. Most importantly, I want to acknowledge the young people and families who trust these services during some of the most challenging moments of their lives. This youth services hub is a strong example of what can be achieved when two Labor governments work together with the community sector to improve outcomes. It reflects the Albanese Labor government's commitment to strengthening mental health care and ensuring no young person in Canberra is left without support when they need it most.

See this speech in context