Health Minister Sussan Ley says Australia's mental health system will soon be overhauled after a review found the current regime was disjointed and must get better at "catching people before they fall".
Ms Ley is on Monday expected to foreshadow the root and branch reform, which would refocus the system on the needs of the individual. The full details would be announced before the end of the year.
The announcement is likely to frustrate some in the mental health sector who wanted urgent action, however Ms Ley has previously said there is no "easy fix".
The structural reform follows a review by the National Mental Health Commission into whether existing services were effective.
In April this year it concluded that despite the dedication and skills of many, and billion of dollars in public funding each year, the mental health system "can and must get better at catching people before they fall".
"The effect of our poorly planned mental health system is a massive drain on the wellbeing of people and families, and on Australia's productivity and economic growth," the commission said.
It recommended a major overhaul to shift the focus from crisis and acute care to community-based services, primary health care, prevention and early intervention. It also called for more support for individuals and families.
An expert reference group was appointed and has presented its report to the government.
On Monday Ms Ley is expected to announce a "significant reform package" is being finalised and would "better support Australians to receive the most appropriate mental health care first time, when and where they need it".
Ms Ley said the review showed the need to re-think mental health provision, moving from a service-centred approach to one where services are organised around the needs of the person.
The review's co-author and psychiatrist Ian Hickie had called for states that cut funding to mental health to be "named and shamed" and layers of health bureaucracy to be slashed.
Instead, the government promised a new expert working group and a number of panels to deal with the report.
Critics said this was a "bureaucratic" response rather than a commitment to action. Others expressed concern that money would be given to primary and community-based mental health care at the expense of in-hospital care.
Earlier this year, the largest ever national survey of youth mental health found one in seven children and young people had experienced a mental disorder in last year – the equivalent of 560,000 people.
The planned reform coincides with Mental Health Week, which Ms Ley said sought to reduce stigma and "encourage help-seeking behaviour".
"Good general health and well-being is important for mental health, and this year people are being encouraged to write a mental health promise to themselves that is achievable, such as eating more healthy meals or getting more sleep," she said.
