Submission to the Inclusive Communities Fund consultation

In August 2026, Mental Health Australia made a submission to the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s consultation on design of the Inclusive Communities Fund (the Fund).

Mental Health Australia supports the Inclusive Communities Fund's goal of improving access to community activities for people with disability. However, this Fund is deeply inadequate in the context of significant cuts to personalised NDIS Social, Civic and Community Participation (SCCP) supports supports from National Disability Insurance Scheme packages.

People with psychosocial disability are likely to be disproportionately affected by these changes and must be specifically considered in the Fund's design. While community grants can improve accessibility, they cannot replace the personalised supports many people need to participate fully in community life.

For many people, particularly those with high support needs, ongoing funded individual support is essential to ensure genuinely accessible and sustainable inclusion in community activities. The limited general resourcing offered to organisations through the Inclusive Communities Fund grant cannot replace this. Governments must prioritise addressing the unmet need for psychosocial supports outside the NDIS to deliver effective and efficient personalised community participation support, and ensure that they are well established before the SCCP cuts come into effect.