On April 5 2006, the Prime Minister announced the Australian Government would provide funding of $1.9 billion over five years for the Better Mental Health Services for Australia package as part of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) commitment to reforming the mental health system in Australia. As part of this package, the Australian Government committed to providing $191.6 million over five years in new funding for mental health nurses through the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program.

This initiative aims to encourage organisations such as Divisions of General Practice to employ mental health nurses to assist in the provision of coordinated clinical care for people with severe mental disorders. The aim of the program is for mental health nurses to work in collaboration with psychiatrists and general practitioners to provide services such as monitoring patients’ mental state, medication management and improving patient links to other health professionals and clinical services providers. These services may be provided either in a clinic setting or in the patients’ homes and are to be provided at little or no cost to the patient.