Joe Ball CEO of Switchboard @Switchboard_Vic says in the studio, “While Switchboard Victoria welcomes the ongoing funding for mental health in the 2022 Federal Budget, key priority groups including LGBTIQA+ populations have once again been overlooked. In a conservative estimate, 10-15% of all suicide attempts in Australia are made by people who are LGBTIQA+. If the government is serious about their toward-zero suicide target, we would expect at least 15% of Commonwealth funding to go toward LGBTIQA+ peer-based and lived-experience suicide prevention programs. In this case, we received 0% of national funding. We need a targeted LGBTIQA+ response from the national government. More of the same has not worked, and will not work for our communities.”