Mental Health in Tertiary Curricula for Dietitians: Phase 2 - Final Report

The 2006 Federal Budget included $1.9 billion for a mental health reform package to improve services for people with a mental illness, their families and carers. This funding also represented the Australian Government’s commitment to the Council of Australian Governments National Action Plan on Mental Health. As part of this package, the Mental Health in Tertiary Curricula Program included approximately $5.6 million over 5 years to enhance the mental health skills of the newly graduating health workforce by expanding the mental health components of undergraduate health training. The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) was previously funded under the Mental Health in Tertiary Curricula Program to identify the current and future needs of dietitians in relation to mental health issues; review Entry Level Competencies for Dietitians and supporting documents in relation to mental health; and review the DAA course accreditation requirements to include a minimum mental health component. A subsequent project, Mental Health Curricula Project for Dietitians: Phase 2, has been funded under the same Program through the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to share the learnings from the first project with other disciplines and to assist the universities operating the 17 nutrition and dietetic programs accredited by DAA in Australia to deliver revised curricula