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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsHealthcareStarted 13yrs agoActive 23hrs ago

Should the government increase funding for mental health research and treatment?

Since 2009 federal funding for mental health has increased over the past seven years by $1.5 billion. Australia spends 8% of it’s health budget on mental health services. This is less than the majority of developed countries who spend between 12% and 18% of their budget on mental health. Proponents of more spending on mental health point out that schizophrenia is a major problem in Australia’s Aboriginal communities where it is three times higher than in cities.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 101k Australia voters.

91%
Yes
9%
No
84%
Yes
8%
No
6%
Yes, our mental healthcare system needs more funding to provide a higher quality of care and services
0%
No, incentivise private companies to address this issue instead
1%
Yes, but only increase funding for personalised care instead of subsidising pharmaceutical companies
0%
No, and too many people are abusing the system by making false disability claims
0%
No, and the government should not be involved in healthcare

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 101k Australia voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 101k Australia voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from Australia voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @4Z87MLMfrom Queensland  answered…6yrs6Y

If they re-introduced the Bible we would have far less mental health problems!

 @4THNSYZfrom Victoria  answered…6yrs6Y

Don't really care about this, most nutcases bring it upon themselves by abusing drugs.

 @5G3N99Vanswered…6yrs6Y

This issue runs back to basics. Early childhood is where a majority of issues stem. Relieve pressure on families and a lot of mental health care issues are removed

 @4WTTYNJfrom Victoria  answered…6yrs6Y

No, Introduce a policy of euthanasia to improve our gene pool

 @4ZFNRLDfrom Western Australia  answered…6yrs6Y

Yes there needs to be more funds allocated for better treatment. The research is already out there. 93% of people in mental institutions don't belong the as they are suffering from sub-clinical nutritional deficiencies.

 @4ZG2RJBfrom Victoria  answered…6yrs6Y

More research should be done into food interaction with mood

 @4VC2SDDfrom New South Wales  answered…6yrs6Y

people need to take control of their own mind

 @4ZDSBX6from Victoria  answered…6yrs6Y

I would prefer to see a question that asks me if I'd like to increase the funding into research for childhood cancers. If I can lose my 5 year old niece to a brain tumour that has NO federal funding for research and also has a 0% survival rate, suggests to me that something is wrong with where we allocate research funding.

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 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...…2yrs2Y

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Yes

▲  1.4k6 replies5 disagree

About This Data

Based on 101k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

iSideWith is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.

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Cite This Poll

iSideWith. (2026). “Should the government increase funding for mental health research and treatment?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 26, 2026, from https://australia.isidewith.com/polls/287142613

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