A Queensland’s Auditor General report has found the state’s Mental Health Levy was mismanaged and was funnelled into non-mental health projects under the former Labor Government.
The Queensland Audit Office’s Managing Funding from the Mental Health Levy report, tabled in Parliament on Friday, found the former Government did not establish effective governance arrangements when the now multibillion levy was introduced in 2023, resulting in the ineffective management of Queensland taxpayer dollars.
Key findings include:
- A lack of governance structures meant the former Labor Government didn’t know whether the funds were even being used for mental health services;
- There was no assessment or evaluation of whether the funds were being used to maximum benefit for Queenslanders;
- There was no coordinated approach to manage the Levy under the former Government.
Health and Ambulance Services Minister, Tim Nicholls, separately directed Queensland Health to conduct a mid-term review examining the Department’s Mental Health Levy investment through Labor’s Better Care Together plan.
The internal review, conducted last year, found:
- several initiatives announced and even commenced under the former Labor government had not been funded;
- the Mental Health Levy was used to fund programs out of scope; and
- many initiatives were significantly delayed, leading to funding deferrals.
The Government says it will consider the Auditor General’s report and recommendations over the coming months to determine how the approach to oversight, allocation, management and monitoring of the Mental Health Levy can be strengthened and how these critical services deliver for Queenslanders.
Minister Nicholls said both reviews outlined a lack of fiscal responsibility.
“I was disappointed, but unfortunately not shocked, to read the levy had been mismanaged under Labor,” he said.
“It was also no surprise the independent Queensland Audit Office made the decision to conduct its own review into the management of the Mental Health Levy.
“We’ve seen this time and time again since coming into Government, including with the scathing independent report into Labor’s failed Capacity Expansion Program which cited a lack of proper planning and oversight led to $7 billion in cost blowouts and major delays on key hospital build projects.
“The Crisafulli Government has turned the tide on hospital infrastructure with our fully-funded Hospital Rescue Plan, and now we are ensuring the Mental Health Levy is actually being used for its intended purpose.”
Read the report.
