Next 15 headspace centres on track

A strong response from local and community organisations wanting to run the next round of headspace centres will see high quality centres established next year, CEO Chris Tanti said today.

Mr Tanti said the expressions of interest (EOI) process in November last year generated keen interest from high profile local and community organisations wanting to run the centres.

"The headspace model depends on local centres being owned by the local community and the quality of bids is a reflection of that ownership," said Mr Tanti.

"Importantly, more than a third of bids were contested, further pointing to strong buy in from local agencies."

In June, headspace will announce the agencies that will operate its next 15 youth mental health centres, bringing the total number of headspace centres to 55.

headspace provides mental health support to young Australians aged 12 to 25 and has already helped more than 62,000 people deal with personal issues.

As part of the EOI process, potential agencies were identified and progressed to the tender and business planning stage of the selection process.

All potential operators have now submitted business plans to headspace including information as to where the headspace centre would be located, service partners, staffing profile and budget.

Mr Tanti said that the centre expansion team at headspace is now busy evaluating the plans for each centre.

"The headspace model brings together local services, such as Divisions of General Practitioners and youth health services, to run each of our centres. It's important that we undergo a rigorous assessment process to make sure we are choosing the right agencies for the job."

"Once the lead agency is appointed by headspace the centre set up will commence. This takes about 6 months and includes recruitment, lease agreements and centre fit outs. We're expecting the majority of these centres will have their doors open early in 2013."

The new headspace centres, which were announced in October 2011, will be located in:

  • New South Wales: Tamworth, Lower Hunter (Newcastle), Port Macquarie, Sydney Outer West, Northern Sydney
  • Victoria: Shepparton, Melbourne South East, Melbourne Outer East, Ballarat
  • Queensland: Mackay, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast
  • Western Australia: Bunbury, Perth North East (City of Swan)
  • South Australia: Upper Spencer Gulf

 

headspace media contact:

Carly Wright

Tel: 03 9027 0129

Mob: 0413 025 385

Email: cwright@headspace.org.au