Any Australian over 16 will be able to access the service from 1 January without the need for a referral from a GP.
St Vincent’s Health Australia has been awarded a $217 million federal government contract to deliver the Medicare Mental Health Check In digital mental health service from 1 January 2026 for three years.
Formerly called the National Early Intervention Service, the MMHCI service was put out for tender in April this year, building on the original May 2024 budget announcement of a $588.5 million investment over eight years plus $113 million per year ongoing for a “free, no-referral national low-intensity digital service”.
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As reported by HSD exclusively yesterday, the Medical Mental Health Check In website, operated by SVHA, will be live from 1 January 2026 and will provide users with a range of evidence-based, trustworthy and reliable mental health information, tips and tools to help them manage their own stress, distress and anxiety.
From March 2026 the service will be expanded to allow users to book and attend appointments through the portal with mental health professionals.
And then, from May 2026, service users wanting to guide themselves through therapy will be able to enrol in and complete digital programs that are based on clinically validated tools that have been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
This morning federal health minister Mark Butler made the announcement, saying the government wanted “everyone to be able to access the mental health care they need, without cost and referral wait times being a barrier”.
“Medicare Mental Health Check In will help people early before their problems get worse and they need more intensive clinical care,” he said.
St Vincent’s CEO Chris Blake said it was “an exciting step forward”.
“St Vincent’s has a long track record in providing mental health care to Australians,” he said.
“Part of that history includes establishing Australia’s largest and longest-operating digital mental health treatment service – more than two decades ago.
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“We look forward to bringing our depth of experience – along with our strong clinical track record – to making sure that Medicare Mental Health Check In becomes a key service for Australians needing mental health support.”
St Vincent’s established This Way Up , the country’s first digital mental health service based on cognitive behavioural therapy, in 2012.
This Way Up is now Australia’s longest-running and most popular online mental health treatment service, with more than 37,000 registered clinicians (including one-third of all GPs and psychologists in Australia) and 300,000 total program enrolments/users.
The original tender documents from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said the new service – the Medicare Mental Health Check In – would provide two streams of care online:
- low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (LiCBT), delivered by skilled and trained professionals, via phone or video; and
- a curated set of free, evidence-based online tools and resources for people able and willing to try self-guided support.
“Once it reaches maturity in 2029, the NEIS is expected to support more than 150,000 people each year,” said the department.
“The [MMHCI] will be implemented through a staged roll-out, expanding its service footprint over three years.
“The [MMHCI] will require a workforce to deliver LiCBT and a technology solution to support the service delivery including web access, user and practitioner portals, client records, workforce management, content management systems, and telehealth platforms.”
HSD understands that St Vincent’s beat out several other tenderers, including the Black Dog Institute, to provide the service.
