The Federal Government has responded to an inquiry into support services for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Senate launched the inquiry in March 2023 and handed down its final report in November that year. The Government’s response was due in February.
It’s supported a recommendation to introduce “uniform prescribing rules” for ADHD medication. The Government gave in-principle support to nine other recommendations.
ADHD Australia said the Government’s response “falls short”.
ADHD
ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, impacts around one in 20 Australians. It can make it difficult to concentrate or control impulses.
ADHD symptoms usually present in childhood and the condition is currently more commonly diagnosed in boys.
Diagnosis requires a thorough behavioural assessment.
In most cases, medication is only prescribed by psychiatrists and paediatricians.
ADHD Inquiry
The Senate’s Community Affairs Committee handed down its final report into an ADHD inquiry in November 2023.
It found Australians with ADHD were facing disadvantages in schools, workplaces, and when seeking medical help.
The report’s 15 recommendations include overhauling ADHD services to make them more accessible for the estimated one million Australians with ADHD.
Government’s response
The Government’s formal response to the ADHD inquiry was handed down last week, ten months overdue.
It gave its support, in full, to prioritising “uniform prescribing rules” for ADHD medication nationwide.
The inquiry also recommended a review of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, (which subsidises the cost of medications) to “improve the safe and quality use of medications by people with ADHD.”
The Government said it would “consider” this recommendation.
When responding to an inquiry, the Government can give what’s known as ‘in principle’ support to recommendations.
This means it agrees with a proposal’s overarching policy intent, but may consider different approaches to implementation.
Several recommendations from the ADHD inquiry have received the Government’s ‘in principle’ support.
This included a campaign “to shift social attitudes and stigma associated with ADHD” and improving training programs to address the needs of people with ADHD in workplaces and schools.
The Committee recommended the Government work with people with lived experience, and relevant community and health organisations, “to identify additional supports to improve access to ADHD healthcare and support.”
It also called for similar consultation to develop a national ADHD framework.
The Government accepted both recommendations in principle, but said funding for the framework “would need to be considered as part of broader reforms”.
Response
ADHD Australia said the inquiry’s recommendations “strongly illustrated that the ADHD community is chronically underfunded”. It said the Government’s response to the inquiry “does little to address these key issues.”
People with Disability Australia echoed this, saying the Government’s response “is a tentative step in the right direction but doesn’t go far enough.”
Interim President Trinity Ford said investments in “community-based and targeted services for people with ADHD” are needed.
The ADHD Foundation said ADHD is “notably absent” from policies like the National Disability Advocacy Framework.
It said this means people with ADHD face accessing receive support from certain Government disability services.
It also said that funding put towards “upskilling health professionals… lacks ADHD-specific training.”
Greens
Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John proposed the inquiry.
He said the inquiry “was a historic acknowledgement of the reality of life for the one million Australians with ADHD.”
Steele-John said the Government’s delayed response is “disappointing” and “does not reflect the urgency of the situation”.
