The Prime Minister, John Howard, has announced a $1.8-billion funding boost to mental health care over the next five years.
Mr Howard says the funding will help meet a critical need for extra primary health and clinical services, counselling and more mental health workers.
New Medicare funding will also let doctors and psychiatrists refer patients with a mental illness to bulk-billed psychology services from 1 November.
Mr Howard says another key element is a new respite service to help elderly parents caring for adult children with profound mental disabilities
"A wealthy community such as ours should be doing more for these poor, unfortunate people whose adversity in relation to the disability of their children has been compounded by a lifetime of having to care for them in very stressful circumstances without adequate respite."