On 5 April 2006, the Prime Minister announced the $1.9 billion Better Mental Health Services for Australia package.

As part of this package, the Australian Government will provide $191.6 million over five years in new funding for mental health nurses through the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP).

MHNIP will provide funding for eligible organisations to engage mental health nurses responsible to coordinate the clinical care of patients with severe mental disorders during periods of significant disability.

Mental health nurses will work with psychiatrists and general practitioners to provide services such as:

monitoring patients’ mental state

• monitoring patients' mental state
• medication management and
• improving patient links to other health professionals and clinical service providers.

Eligible organisations must be community based and have the services of a general practitioner with a Medicare Australia provider number or a psychiatrist registered with Medicare Australia. They may include:

• general practices
• private psychiatry practices and
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care Services funded by the Australian Government through the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.
• In addition, Divisions of General Practice can contract the services of mental health nurses to work with general practitioners with a Medicare Australia provider number or other medical officers (as approved by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing) working within their Division.

Payments will be made to approved MHNIP organisations on a quarterly basis through Medicare Australia.

In addition to this initiative, General Practitioners are able to access a range of mental health care items through the MBS.

Mental health care items