Report Projects Australia Short 230 Child Psychiatrists by 2028 as Government Commits $2.8 Billion in Funding

Abc reported that a new Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists report projects Australia will be short at least 230 full-time child and adolescent psychiatrists by 2028. The same report forecasts Western Australia will be short 37 such positions, one of the largest gaps among states.

Between 2020 and 2024, only 11 doctors began training to become child and adolescent psychiatrists in Western Australia, the lowest intake of any mainland state.

Nine Western Australian practitioners are completing the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Advanced Training Certificate in 2026. Professor Valsamma Eapen, chair of the RANZCP Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, said 85 per cent of child psychiatrists' workload involves acute, severe illness.

She added that young people's mental health needs are increasing while the workforce is not keeping pace, and that psychiatrists now see in 10- and 11-year-olds the complexity previously seen in 14- and 15-year-olds ten years ago.

Perth resident Rachael Burns said she was 16 and already in crisis with an eating disorder before receiving support from Western Australia's mental health system. She now works as a lived experience advocate and said many referrals and acceptance decisions depend on access to a psychiatrist.

A federal government spokesperson said the government is investing over $2.8 billion from 2025-26 to 2028-29 to support the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families.