Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council
Submission 
Productivity Commission
National Disability Insurance Scheme

Preamble:	The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC) is the peak consumer organisation for people who have experience with mental illness or emotional problems.  As the peak organisation we receive funding (albeit grossly inadequate) from the state and commonwealth governments to provide information, individual, group and systemic advocacy, education and training, research and development.  

Concerns:	While the VMIAC supports and is excited about the prospect of having a national disability insurance scheme we have major concerns that the Productivity Commission is giving consideration to excluding people with a mental illness from this project.  To be blunt, it is our view that to exclude psychosocial disability from the scheme would be outright discrimination.    	

	While there is still much work to be done to ensure people who experience all forms of disability receive holistic, respectful, responsive support services at a time when they need them, it is our view that psychosocial disability is thirty years behind other disability reforms.  Put simply, this is largely because of a lack of genuine understanding of psychosocial disability and a lack of genuine commitment to it.

Recommendation:	That the Productivity Commission work closely with the Mental Health Council of Australia and the National Mental Health Consumer Carer Forum to enhance their understanding of psychosocial disability and work through the issues of concern the Commission has in regard to including people with a psychosocial disability.

	
Isabell Collins
Director