Medibank today announced it is investing an extra $50 million over the next 5 years into mental health, with the aim of improving access, innovation and prevention for its customers, as it takes on its responsibility to be a leader in mental health.
The health company will establish research collaborations to increase access to innovative models of care, give its customers more choice when it comes to mental health providers, and unlock a range of new mental fitness prevention initiatives to keep customers well.
Medibank recognises there is no single solution to combat the rising impact of mental ill-health, which is why they are progressively implementing a range of innovative initiatives that aim to improve outcomes, access and experience for customers.
The first of these initiatives are:
- Medibank will fund an innovative psychotherapy program for eligible customers with acute mental health conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, collaborating with ANU to look at the clinical outcomes on the individual as well as the broader health economic impacts on the health system.
- Medibank will pay benefits towards pharmacogenetic testing, which can help determine how a patient may respond to a range of medicines, including medicines prescribed for mental health purposes.
- Medibank has increased the benefit amount it pays for psychology consultations, with the aim to reduce out-of-pocket costs for customers.
- Medibank will improve customer access to mental health professionals, by recognising more than 3,000 mental health social workers around the country and paying benefits towards those consultations.
- Medibank will also offer a number of self-paced digital mental health prevention programs through its Live Better rewards health and wellbeing program, that are focused on building our customers’ mental fitness, including stress and sleep challenges.
- Medibank will be collaborating with mental health organisations including batyr, Black Dog Institute, and Orygen as well as social health organisation Flying Fox so we can work together to find solutions.
Medibank has worked with News Corp Australia's The Growth Distillery, on a national research project to uncover what’s holding Australians back from having conversations about their mental health.
The research, State of Mind: Australia's Mental Health Conversation, shows families are struggling to support each other with mental health and anxiety:
- One in three Australians rate their mental health as below average.
- More than half of Australians have wanted to reach out to someone to talk about their mental health but didn’t.
- Not wanting to burden or worry others is the biggest barrier overall.
- One in three parents of 16-30 year olds have never had a conversation about their own mental health with their children.
- Half of all parents of 16-30 year olds say they would find it hard to tell their children they are struggling with their own mental health.
- Two thirds of 18-30 year olds say they would find it hard to tell their parents they are having mental health challenges.
- Almost half of 18-30 year olds say parents are the number one relationship they wish they could talk to more.
- One in four Australians feel they lack the necessary tools and knowledge to have a mental health conversation with someone.
Medibank Chief Executive Officer David Koczkar said:
“Today we’ve announced we’re investing $50 million over the next five years into a range of mental health initiatives to help improve the state of mental health for our customers as well as for all people in Australia.
“As one of the largest health companies in Australia, we see the human cost of the escalating mental health crisis and want to play a meaningful part of the solution.
“Our mental health system is at breaking point, in many parts it’s broken.
“The number of people with mental ill-health is growing at an alarming rate, despite continued investments and reviews into the sector.
“What we are doing now is clearly not working and is only going to get worse if we continue on the current trajectory.
“Medibank and News Corp Australia's Growth Distillery research has revealed a number of generational gaps with having mental health conversations. While we’re more open to talk about work-related stress and physical health, discussions about mental health are often stifled by stigma and fear of judgement.
“It is concerning that both parents and children find it hard to open up about mental health challenges with each other. This highlights the need for better communication strategies that break down the barriers and encourage understanding and empathy across all age groups, especially within our families.
“The current mental health system is not fit for purpose and is creating bigger societal issues for future generations by not having effective preventative mental health strategies in place. We owe it to future generations to get this right.
“The reality is that mental health services are available to people after they have started to experience a significant mental health condition.
“To help improve mental health outcomes in Australia and alleviate the pressure on an acute sector in crisis we must prioritise investment in preventative care and improve mental fitness and community-based acute care pathways.
“Through our investment we are able to fund innovative treatments, leading the way funding a psychotherapy program and paying benefits toward pharmacogenetic testing.
“We will share our findings from the psychotherapy program, so that the broader community can benefit.
"We recognise that we don’t have all the answers, and we cannot do this alone, which is why we are collaborating with batyr, Black Dog Institute, Flying Fox and Orygen so we can work together to find solutions.
“There is no single solution to this multi-faceted problem.”
Over recent years Medibank has invested to improve its mental health offering for its customers.
All Medibank health insurance customers have unlimited round-the-clock access to registered mental health professionals, to discuss any mental health questions and get guidance on what to do next, with Medibank’s 24/7 mental health support line and webchat.
Medibank and News Corp today launched a mental health campaign called Can We Talk?.
The News Corp editorial series in partnership with Medibank, is about helping families to build mental fitness and better tackle mental health in the home.
The 4-month campaign is underpinned by research, data, insights and expert advice that families can start implementing immediately.
About the research
The research was undertaken by News Corp Australia's The Growth Distillery. Fieldwork was conducted across all states and territories, including metropolitan and rural/regional areas, between 11-25 February 2025, collecting a total of 2,565 responses.