We commend the government for its efforts to address intergenerational inequity, including changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing. These reforms go some way toward addressing the financial stress and uncertainty being felt by young people across Australia right now, particularly when it comes to housing affordability and long-term financial security.

We also applaud the investment in youth-focused social housing, which is a critical step toward addressing housing insecurity - a major contributor to poor mental health outcomes in young Australians. Continued support for culturally appropriate services such as 13YARN represents an important investment in First Nations social and emotional wellbeing. We further welcome the establishment of two new First Nations headspace centres, alongside the $112 million investment to address online gambling harms.

Despite these welcome measures, we are deeply concerned that this Budget does not adequately respond to the scale of the youth mental health crisis currently facing this country.

Young people are experiencing increasing levels of psychological distress, suicide rates remain deeply concerning, and the mental health workforce is struggling to keep up with demand. Yet this Budget does not deliver the significant new investment needed to strengthen prevention, early intervention, or youth mental health services at scale.

While it is encouraging to see the continuation of existing programs and targeted supports, the overall approach relies heavily on short-term extensions rather than the sustained investment required to build a more accessible, preventative and future-focused mental health system for young people.

batyr's pre-budget submission called for urgent investment to fix the growing inequities in the mental health system - particularly those facing regional, rural and remote young people. We are disappointed to see that no funding will be provided for the critical work of supporting young people in this area.

While this Budget contains important and positive measures that address some of the underlying drivers of mental ill-health, it ultimately falls short of the bold, long-term investment needed to meaningfully shift outcomes for young people across the country.

batyr is available for comment. Please get in touch with us at [email protected].