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We welcomed The Hon Emma McBride MP and Rowan Holzberger MP to headspace Upper Coomera for an exciting funding and service announcement for the Gold Coast. The visit highlights a significant boost for youth mental health on the Gold Coast and a major expansion of free, accessible care for the whole community.
Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Hon Emma McBride MP underlined the government’s commitment to placing mental health “at the heart of Medicare.” As she said at the press conference, “headspace is Australia’s national and trusted place for young people to seek mental health and support.” In practical terms, that investment means headspace Southport is joining the new headspace Plus model, designed to meet more complex, clinical and social needs, while headspace Upper Coomera has been awarded over $462,000 in demand management funding to support staffing, reduce waiting times and improve cultural responsiveness.
Those earlier investments have already supported local innovations at Upper Coomera. Staff described how demand funding has been used to recruit a new mental health worker and a cultural coordinator, and to trial a single-session approach that helps young people get immediate, focused help on their first visit. The result: faster access to support and fewer barriers for young people seeking help close to home.
Perhaps the biggest announcement was the confirmation that a Medicare Mental Health Centre will be established on the northern Gold Coast, due to be operational by mid-next year. Minister McBride explained this new model will deliver free walk-in mental health support without the need for a referral or a Mental Health Treatment Plan, and will be linked to a national virtual network of psychologists and psychiatrists.
Rowan Holzberger, Federal Member for Forde, spoke from personal experience about the life-saving role headspace played for his son and praised the accessibility of local services “headspace saved my son’s life… having it there so close that he could actually walk there and find it is why he is here today.”
After the announcements, the delegation was shown around headspace Upper Coomera by a member of the Youth Advisory Council and the community engagement teams from both Upper Coomera and Southport. It was a valuable chance to showcase how the centres operate day-to-day and how this new funding will strengthen local supports.
These announcements position the Gold Coast to better meet growing mental health demand — particularly for young people — by improving immediacy, cultural safety and pathways into ongoing care. For more information about mental health services we provide in the region, visit liveslivedwell.org.au/our-services/mental-health
