The University of New South Wales has opened two centres specialising in mental health research using $5 million in funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The centres are part of efforts announced in the federal government’s 2011 budget to boost research into mental health. The funding goes to the UNSW Black Dog Institute, which specialises in suicide prevention, and to the UNSW National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.
The centres of research excellence will also focus on better mental health planning, such as ways to encourage people experiencing mental health problems to seek treatment and evidence-gathering on existing services.