Australian teenagers are waiting months on average for critical mental health support and experts agree it’s too long.
New research has shown that lengthy wait times are associated with increased psychological distress and poor coping behaviours, putting young Aussies at greater risk while they wait for help.
Research from The University of New South Wales, Black Dog Institute, and Flinders University found that teens wait an average of 99 days for mental health support across all treatment providers.
Milly Rose Bannister, founder of youth mental health charity ALLKND, is devastated but unsurprised by the data.
“For a young person to reach the point of asking for help takes a lot of courage and then being told to wait three or four months can feel like being told you don’t matter,” she told 9news.com.au.
“In a world where so many teens already feel unseen, unheard, or overwhelmed, that wait time can be the tipping point.”
The study was based on based on a survey of 375 Australians aged between 13 and 17.
It found that teen participants who initiated care with psychiatrists waited an average of 127.5 days, the longest wait time of any provider.
Those seeking support from psychologists waited an average of 100.1 days, while the average wait time for paediatricians was 121.9 days, and the wait for national youth mental health foundation Headspace was 107.6 days.
Long wait times can be attributed, in part, to a shortage of key providers like psychiatrists and higher demand for mental health support among young people.
“We hear stories from young people who’ve waited months for a first appointment, been turned away, or given referrals to services they can’t afford or even get to,” Bannister said.
“Some say they’ve just stopped trying […] because the system feels impossible to navigate, especially when you’re already struggling.”
Most teen participants did not receive support from healthcare providers during that wait time and reported that their mental health worsened while waiting.
Longer wait times were associated with increased psychological distress, with more than two-thirds of participants reporting that feelings of sadness worsened while waiting.
Many also reported engaging in unhealthy coping behaviours while waiting for care.
More than 92 per cent of participants reported engaging in maladaptive coping behaviours like spending more time alone, sleeping, or scrolling social media.
A further 75 per cent reported engaging in risky behaviours such as self-harming, skipping school, drinking alcohol, vaping and smoking.
Long wait times can also lead to teens not attending treatment when the time finally comes.
More than half of the 14.7 per cent of participants who reported that they were likely to attend their first treatment session said it was because “the wait time was too long”.
There were some positives, like the fact that almost nine in 10 participants employed help-seeking behaviours while waiting for care, such as looking up mental health information online.
But overall the research highlighted the urgent need for systemic reform in the delivery of youth mental health services according to Professor Bridianne O’Dea, one of the lead researchers.
“We are now in the midst of a crisis where the demand for youth mental health care has increased rapidly in the past two decades,” she said, via Scimex.
“The first line of treatment is psychological therapy. There is a huge demand for it and we do not have the number of clinicians required to meet that demand.”
Young people who took part in the study called for better communication and regular check-ins from service providers to help address the burden of waiting for care.
O’Dea called for the introduction of evidence-based, government-backed national wait time benchmarks to help reduce how long Australian teens wait for critical support.
“We don’t accept delayed response times for physical injuries, so why do we still tolerate it for mental health?” Bannister said.
Through ALLKND, she advocates for early intervention and funding towards youth-specific mental health services and community-based, integrated care including peer workers, school programs, and youth-led initiatives.
“Everyone needs someone safe to talk to. If we can lighten the load at the crisis end, the whole system becomes more sustainable,” she said.
While the 2025-26 federal budget released this week promised to inject billions into Australia’s healthcare system, Black Dog Institute reported that the mental health sector remains critically underfunded.
The budget included an $8.4 billion investment over four years to boost bulk billing for GP appointments, which are usually the first port of call for young people seeking mental health treatment.
More than $784 million will go towards capping PBS medication costs over the next four years, including mental health medications.
A further $46 million will go towards delivering free digital mental health tools over four years, which young Australians are already looking to for support during wait times.
WATCH: Chris Kohler’s two-minute guide to the 2025 federal budget
Bannister says that while the figures sound promising, the current budget measures will have a limited impact on the youth mental health crisis.
“This is a national emergency and we cannot solve it with small-scale, long-term gestures,” she said.
Without long-term investment into accessible services, youth mental health literacy programs, and culturally safe care for marginalised youth, Bannister fears young Australians struggling with mental health will continue to fall through the cracks.
”Mental health support needs to meet young people where they are, not ask them to climb mountains to access it.”
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636. Under-25s can contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.
