Eating disorders are among the most complex and deadly of psychiatric illnesses
The government of Australia is investing an additional $24.3 million through the 2022-23 Budget to implement new community-based treatment services and fund existing support and treatment services for Australians with an eating disorder.
The number of people in Australia with an eating disorder at any given time is estimated to be around one million, and almost a third (31.6%) of Australian adolescents engage in disordered eating behaviours in any given year.
This new funding, combined with the government’s support for innovative new treatment and therapy approaches, will see more care available in more places, improving the chances of recovery for those impacted.
The funding includes $20 million for community-based eating disorder treatment services. These services will focus on local needs, using innovative and evidence-based models of care that are free to those who access them; $1.3 million to the Wandi Nerida residential eating disorder treatment and recovery centre on the Sunshine Coast; $1.6 million for the National Eating Disorders Collaboration for ongoing development of clinical resources, implementation of the National Eating Disorders Strategy, support for clinical workforce development, and provision of independent, expert advice to Government; and $1.1 million for the Butterfly Foundation to continue to develop the eating disorder peer workforce, provide advice to state and territory governments on the establishment of the community-based residential eating disorder treatment centres and build on and expand the Butterfly Body Bright program in primary schools.
