A strong response from local and community organisations wanting
to run the next round of headspace centres will
see high quality centres established next year, CEO Chris Tanti
said today.
Mr Tanti said the expressions of interest (EOI) process in
November last year generated keen interest from high profile local
and community organisations wanting to run the centres.
"The headspace model depends on local centres
being owned by the local community and the quality of bids is a
reflection of that ownership," said Mr Tanti.
"Importantly, more than a third of bids were contested, further
pointing to strong buy in from local agencies."
In June, headspace will announce the agencies
that will operate its next 15 youth mental health centres, bringing
the total number of headspace centres to 55.
headspace provides mental health support to
young Australians aged 12 to 25 and has already helped
more than 62,000 people deal with personal issues.
As part of the EOI process, potential agencies were identified
and progressed to the tender and business planning stage of the
selection process.
All potential operators have now submitted business plans to
headspace including information as to where the
headspace centre would be located, service
partners, staffing profile and budget.
Mr Tanti said that the centre expansion team at
headspace is now busy evaluating the plans for
each centre.
"The headspace model
brings together local services, such as Divisions of General
Practitioners and youth health services, to run each of our
centres. It's important that we undergo a rigorous assessment
process to make sure we are choosing the right agencies for the
job."
"Once the lead agency is appointed by headspace
the centre set up will commence. This takes about 6 months and
includes recruitment, lease agreements and centre fit outs. We're
expecting the majority of these centres will have their doors open
early in 2013."
The new headspace centres, which were announced
in October 2011, will be located in:
- New South Wales: Tamworth, Lower Hunter (Newcastle), Port
Macquarie, Sydney Outer West, Northern Sydney
- Victoria: Shepparton, Melbourne South East, Melbourne Outer
East, Ballarat
- Queensland: Mackay, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast
- Western Australia: Bunbury, Perth North East (City of
Swan)
- South Australia: Upper Spencer Gulf
Round 5 new centres
It is anticipated that the next round of locations for new
headspace centres will not be announced until the second half of
2012.
Please contact newcentres@headspace.org.au
to receive updated information. For all other enquiries please
contact Pat O'Leary on (03) 9027 0107 or Rebecca Walters on (03)
9027 0118.