Medicare Mental Health is a national service than connects our community to mental health and wellbeing support. Anyone can call Medicare Mental Health from 8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Please note the service is not a crisis service and only operates during business hours.

For urgent support, 1300 MH CALL (1300 642 255) or Lifeline 13 11 14 are available. If someone needs immediate help or is at risk of self-harm, they should call Triple Zero (000).

Medicare Mental Health is a national phone service that connects people across the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay and Central Queensland regions with mental health support.

Medicare Mental Health Centres can provide in-person and telehealth mental health support from their Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Gladstone and Rockhampton locations.

Medicare Mental Health operates during business hours from 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Medicare Mental Health is not a crisis service.  Protocols for responding to people experiencing high levels of distress (including suicidal crisis or acute mental illness) are in place to ensure the swift identification of individuals experiencing a crisis or needing urgent treatment or support. Upon identification, Medicare Mental Health will provide immediate support over the phone.

Medicare Mental Health provides initial clinical assessment, using the Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST) as required, and service navigation to connect people to the right mental health tools and services to meet their health needs.

It is designed to complement, not replace or duplicate, mental health support lines and services already provided in the community, including crisis support lines and state-funded triage services facilitating intake into tertiary services.

Not everyone will require an IAR assessment, it is for those wanting more than information or assistance with identifying appropriate services. Medicare Mental Health has mental health professionals trained to use the Initial Assessment and Referral Decision Support Tool (IAR-DST).

Using this tool while asking a few questions about the person’s need and current support provides a clearer picture for both the person and the clinician to discuss the types of services available and the preferred service for a warm referral.

Once a referral has been received and an assessment completed, Medicare Mental Health will undertake a warm handover of consumers to suitable services in the local system. Warm transfer includes securely transferring the person’s information through confidential digital solutions to the treating service provider.

With consumer consent, any outcomes of a patient referred to another mental health provider will be reported to the referring service.

All people referred to services will be followed up by Medicare Mental Health team via phone or SMS within seven business days of the initial assessment.