Mental health issues for rural and remote Australia.

The burden of mental health problems and disorders is high and rising both in Australia and globally. In response, the Commonwealth Government has moved to implement a national mental health strategy as the basis for a coordinated national approach to underpin initiatives designed to promote mental wellbeing and address mental ill health. This article outlines the nature and extent of mental health problems, provides an overview of changes in mental health policy and service delivery in Australia over the past decade, highlights issues in these areas of particular relevance for rural and remote Australia and calls for the development of a National Rural Mental Health Strategy.