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Not For Service: Experiences of Injustice and Despair in Mental Health Care in Australia is the most significant report on mental health care in Australia for over a decade. In 1992 all Australian Governments initiated the National Mental Health Strategy to correct decades of neglect and assure the rights of people with mental illness. In 1993, the Australian Human Rights Commission's National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People with Mental Illness ('Burdekin Report') exposed the devastating personal consequences of grossly inadequate mental health and welfare services.

In response to ongoing community criticism of experiences of care, in 2004, the Mental Health Council of Australia (MHCA) and the Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI, University of Sydney), in association with HREOC initiated a new national review – the subject of this report. The goal of this review was to capture the current critical themes in mental health care from the perspective of those who use and deliver its services on a daily basis. Not for Service is based on national data collected from 2003 to 2005 and utilises a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Our goal was to determine the key concerns of those who have recently sought primary care or specialist mental health services. Additional information was provided by health professionals, non-government organisations and other private health care providers. The nature of the partnership between the MHCA, BMRI and HREOC meant that a particular emphasis was placed on collection of data relevant to the human rights of those with mental health problems.

This is the final report of the Commission's major, five year Inquiry into Australia's human rights framework. It recommends a National Human Rights Act for Australia and a framework to support it. Download the report, the Executive Summary, and a two-page explainer.