‘Mental health system is in crisis’: Family of woman murdered in Bondi Junction stabbing say they struggled to get vital support

The mother of Bondi Junction stabbing victim Jade Young has called for a national approach to mental health access and trauma care after her family’s experience following the “horror” attack.

Elizabeth Young pleaded for state and federal government to address gaps in complex mental health reform and funding, that places the burden on patients to source their own support.

In April, Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and seriously injured several others inside the Westfield shopping centre in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Ms Young described her architect daughter as a “loved wife and loved mother of two young girls”.

She said there was inconsistency in how her loved ones received support across the country following her death.

Her family members in New South Wales were given “unconditional support” through specialist mental health practitioners but “not all of us have been so fortunate”.

“Our son PJ who lives in Tasmania with his family, received no such treatment,” she said.

He had to navigate finding his own specialist support out-of-pocket after the “sole Hobart provider did not return their calls”.

It took six weeks before he was able to speak to a psychologist, while his young children are yet to see a specialist trauma child psychologist for the first time.

“Please, in the long shadow of the horror of Jade’s death, I beg you … actually do something about the discrepancies, the disparities, the inconsistencies in current mental health funding and management,” Ms Young said.

“Australia’s mental health system is in crisis and now is the time to act.”

Mental health response a ‘patchwork’ 

Independent MP Allegra Spender called for long-term funding and reform between state, territories and federal governments.

The member for Wentworth, whose electorate includes Bondi Junction, said her community was still reeling from the attack.

Ms Spender said Mr Cauchi had a long-term mental health condition, and that he was not the first person to have “ended up in the terrible tragedy that has occurred”.

“Mental health is both about looking after us but also about safety, and a key message from today was also about investment in prevention,” she said.

“If we can get in early, and if we can address the needs as they’re becoming more complex, then we have a chance of minimising the sort of tragedy that we have seen in Bondi Junction.”

A report from NSW Health in May found a nearly 30 per cent shortfall in service capacity for people with severe and complex mental health needs.

In NSW, that equated to 58,000 people who cannot access the care they need, but Ms Spender said that figure was closer to 170,000 nationwide.  

“People aren’t just falling through the cracks, they’re falling through the chasms of mental health support,” Ms Spender said.

“What people are asking for is consistent care, care that they can rely on, care that is going to be there in the long term, not just a moment in time and then hard to access at different points,” Ms Spender said.

She said the breakdown came from differing responsibilities between state and federal governments. 

“The federal government funds the GPs, the state government funds the hospitals, we have Headspace which is federally funded — it’s a bit of a patchwork,” she said.

National Mental Health Commissioner Kerry Hawkins said that hundreds of thousands of Australians were living in “quiet despair” that was leading to emotional, physical and financial exhaustion.

“This is, above all, a human rights issue that we need to attend to, and I look forward to the day when that is foregrounded in these conversations,” Ms Hawkins said.