Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has spoken out about the deep impact mental health is having on the workforce at an annual awareness-raising conference in Canberra.
The Beyond Blue chair used her address to the CEDA’s State of the Nation Summit on Thursday to highlight the economic and personal costs of these illnesses.
"Eight million working days are lost due to mental ill-health in Australia each year,” Ms Gillard, who has become a stauch advocate for mental health awareness, told the conference in Canberra.
"Poor mental health imposes costs estimated at $60 billion annually on individuals and their families, workplaces, [and] the health and welfare systems.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Source: AAP
Ms Gillard's address came as a published by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners found mental health concerns remained the most common reason for patients to visit their GP.
The latest survey of 1,200 GPs showed an upward trend in people seeking help for mental health conditions with two in three doctors saying these are the most frequent concerns they handle.
Ms Gillard cited research showing the deep impact of mental health concerns on the workplace and the extent it affects those struggling with these conditions.
She said that at any one time, 60 per cent of the community is mentally well, 23 per cent is at risk of mental health concerns, while 14 per cent are affected by moderated conditions, and 3 per cent suffer from severe ones.
“The annual cost of poor mental health to the economy is about 4 per cent of GDP,” Ms Gillard said.
“Around one million Australians aged between 16 to 85 are currently living with depression.”
Julia Gillard was Australia's 27th Prime Minister. Source: AAP
Ms Gillard's testimony included her pushing for an overhaul of the system around the provision of mental health services.
She used evidence from , showing investment in mental health prevention can yield “substantial positive returns”.
She said report found investing $50 million in the prevention and early intervention could achieve up to $442 million in long-term savings to the national economy.
“We know people with mild to moderate anxiety or depression who get the right support, at the time can and do recover and stay well,” she said.
“About half those who are diagnosed with anxiety or symptoms of depression never seek treatment, or spend years struggling before they reach out.”
Julia Gillard spoke out about the impact of mental health conditions on the work force. Source: AAP
The World Health Organisation has forecast that depression will become the leading contributor to the global burden of disease by 2030.
While has estimated that for “every dollar” spent on investing in ‘mentally healthy" workplaces there could be an average $2.30 benefit to businesses.
Ms Gillard said companies should take up the mantle of supporting those in their workplaces dealing with mental health conditions.
“A mentally healthy workplace supports its one in five people who will be affected by a mental health issue, in any given year especially when they are not coping,” she said.
Julia Gillard called for reform of the system around mental health service provision. Source: AAP
The 27th Prime Minister of Australia said there needs to be an understanding that careers will not be “jeopardised” if people open up about their struggles.
“They won’t be shunted off to special projects – instead there are conversations about reasonable adjustments to keep them connected and at work,” she said.
She praised the approach of Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make mental health a priority for his government, which has seen it set the ambitious target of a zero goal for suicide prevention.
Ms Gillard called on workplaces needed to support their employees through mental health struggles. Source: AAP
Ms Gillard also recognised a commitment made by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to take up all the recommendations of the state's Royal Commission into its Mental Health System.
The first of its kind inquiry in Australia is expected to deliver an interim report in November this year.
“Now is the time to do the deeper dive and wholly reform our system of mental health,’ Ms Gillard said.
“Today [it] has all the problems of fragmentation that come when different Commonwealth and state funding schemes do not work together.”
“The cost of failure is too great.”
