SANE Australia is among the organisations and advocates calling for potential changes to music and art therapy funding to be paused.
It follows NDIS Minister Bill Shorten’s announcement that funding for the therapies, previously supported by the NDIS, will be reduced by 64 per cent if certain criteria are not met. The gap will be passed along to participants to pay out of pocket.
Therapy helps people “express themselves”
The DAX Centre, a subsidiary of SANE Australia, is a leader in the use of art to raise awareness and reduce stigma towards mental illness and psychological trauma and was founded on the belief that art therapy is an effective treatment option for improving mental health and fostering recovery for people with psychosocial disabilities.
“SANE and the DAX Centre are world leaders in using art to destigmatise mental health conditions,” said Rachel Green, CEO of SANE Australia.
“We also use art as a way of giving people the opportunity to express themselves, build connections, and develop social participation and capacity skills to engage in the community.
“SANE and the DAX Centre stand in support of affordable access to art and music therapies. We urge the NDIS to pause the proposed changes, review its decision, and provide transparent reasoning.”
Art therapist and university lecturer Eliza Mary Wells said these changes will create a financial barrier to access for an evidence-based treatment options, as well as a financial strain for art therapy practitioners.
“Disabled participants have previously benefited from the mental and physical health advantages of art therapy. Cutting this support without proper consultation risks leaving vulnerable people without help and threatens the future of art therapy practices.
“Art therapy has been recognised since the 1980s as a valuable approach, supported by growing research. Reviews show it offers a unique, creative method with many health benefits beyond just psychological ones. There’s really nothing else like it.'”
Therapists left “reeling”
Meanwhile, the Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA), said the profession is “reeling” from the poor process, lack of consultation and differing advice provided by the NDIS on the changes.
The peak body said the unexpected removal of art therapy from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) approved services list will leave hundreds of Australians living with a disability without access to crucial therapeutic support.
Dr Kate Dempsey, CEO of ANZACATA, said the organisation and its members are shocked and dismayed at the lack of transparency, poor process, absence of fairness and the lack of communication surrounding this change.
“We were not consulted and the reason given for our sudden exclusion (that art and music therapy are not evidence-based therapies) is incorrect. We have been given nothing in writing to explain why after more than a decade, art therapy is to be excluded from the NDIS. There has never been mention of a review and no paperwork has been provided to us,” Dr Dempsey said.
Art Therapy has been a funded therapeutic support since the NDIS commenced.
“This decision will have devastating consequences for NDIS participants who rely on arts therapy as their primary means of therapeutic support,” Dr Dempsey said.
“Many of our members’ clients cannot effectively engage with traditional talk-based therapies, making arts therapy their vital link to therapeutic support.”
ANZACATA is calling on the government to:
1. Maintain arts therapy as an approved NDIS service
2. Engage in consultation with practitioners and service users
3. Review the extensive evidence base supporting arts therapy’s effectiveness
4. Consider the broader economic and social impacts of this decision.