Mental Health and AOD - November 2025

Medicare Mental Health provides free mental health and wellbeing services for anyone in Australia.

If you are looking for mental health support for yourself or someone you care about – Medicare Mental Health is a good place to start.

You don’t need an appointment or a referral to access these services.

Anyone in Australia can call Medicare Mental Health on 1800 595 212 between 8:30am and 5pm weekdays (except public holidays) for free mental health, social and wellbeing support.

This free service can connect you with a range of mental health professionals, this may be a Medicare Mental Health service or a free or low-cost mental health provider.  

For health professionals, Medicare Mental Health saves time for you and your clients. Referrals are accepted from GPs, mental health professionals, other services providers as well as self-referrals. You can contact the Medicare Mental Health phone service on behalf of a client to find a support that would best suit their individual needs.

Medicare Mental Health | 1800 595 212

The Medicare Mental health phone service supports people of all ages who:

• Are experiencing distress, feeling overwhelmed or are worried about themselves
• Do not need urgent medical attention
• Are carers and families of people experience mental health distress

For more information, call 1800 595 212 or view the referral instructions.

What to expect when you contact Medicare Mental Health in country South Australia

When you call or refer to Medicare Mental Health in country South Australia, you will be connected to the local service (operated by Neami National) and speak to experienced staff who can help you access local mental health services and support that are right for you.

As a central contact point, the Medicare Mental Health phone service provides holistic assessment of needs provided by a trained professional using the Commonwealth’s Initial Assessment and Referral (IAR) tool, and service navigation to connect people to the right mental health services to meet their identified needs. It is designed to complement, not replace or duplicate, mental health support lines and services already provided in the community, including crisis support lines and state-funded triage services facilitating intake into tertiary services.

The Medicare Mental Health phone service is staffed and operational during core business hours (8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays). Anyone contacting the phone service out of hours will have the option to request a call back. All call back requests are contacted within 24 business hours.

For more information on the Medicare Mental Health phone service, please visit: Medicare Mental Health services website.

The theme for this year’s Mental Health Month is ‘Connecting When It Counts’. To help celebrate this month-long initiative, all of Country SA PHN staff joined in for a morning tea to emphasise and challenge traditional perceptions of mental health conversations, moving beyond crisis conversations to celebrate proactive wellbeing and community connection throughout life's pivotal moments.

‘Connecting When It Counts’ highlights that mental health is not just about tackling the negative and uncomfortable feelings – it is also about building a foundation of emotional resilience. Many studies on psychological wellbeing demonstrate that one thing consistently emerges as a reliable foundation for happiness – and that is the quality of our relationships.

Connection to others fulfills a basic human need. It is how we are hardwired; how we thrive and not just survive. Connection can happen over a cup of coffee, a walk, or creating space for honest conversations. It doesn't have to be a big gesture; small ones also count.

Connection involves slowing down and seeing people. It is though purposeful connection that our social interactions are strengthened because they are shared. When we connect at crucial times – before small struggles become overwhelming challenges – we create opportunities for support, understanding, and healing.

To assist the staff in slowing down and seeing people, a wellbeing toolbox was gifted to everyone that contained small items to encourage and enable just that.

Paediatrician and author Rachel Naomi Remen highlights, ‘the most basic and powerful way to connect with another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give to each other is our attention’.