Your Full Name
Your Address
your email address

Date

The Hon Member’s Full Name MP
Electorate Office Address

Dear Member’s Name

Subject: Aligning Medicare mental health access with national counselling standards

I am writing as a constituent to raise an issue relating to access to mental health care and the role of registered counsellors within Australia’s current policy settings.

Demand for mental health support continues to grow, yet many people experience barriers to timely and affordable care. Under the Medicare Better Access arrangements, rebates are limited to a narrow range of professions, which constrains access despite workforce shortages and long waiting times.

In 2023, the Australian Government committed to developing national standards for counsellors and psychotherapists. These standards were delivered in October 2025 and set clear, nationally consistent expectations for education and training, supervision, ethics, informed consent, confidentiality, digital practice, and client safety.

With this framework now in place, there is an opportunity to consider how Medicare-funded mental health pathways might better align with the contemporary counselling workforce. Registered counsellors provide evidence-informed, relational care across a wide range of presentations, including grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, and life transitions, and often work in community, regional, and preventative settings.

Aligning access policy with the national standards would support:

Improved affordability and earlier access to care

Reduced pressure on overstretched services

More sustainable use of Australia’s mental health workforce

Greater choice for individuals seeking support

I respectfully encourage consideration of how existing Medicare arrangements might evolve considering the national standards now governing counselling and psychotherapy practice.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely

Your Full Name
Your Electorate
Optional: brief personal or professional connection, if you wish. Please delete if not.