Question – Gambling and Mental Health
Questions asked by Hon Meg Webb MLC on 31 Oct 2019 answered for the Govt by Hon Jeremy Rockliff MP Minister for Health and Wellbeing on 26 Nov 2019
According to recent Victorian research, gambling harm is estimated to account for 22 per cent of costs to Victoria’s mental health sector.
With the Government intending to keep poker machines in Tasmanian local communities for a further 20 years beyond 2023 –
Question (1) Has the Government assessed and quantified the extent to which gambling harm has contributed to date to the level of mental ill-health and the cost of mental health services in our state?
Answer: There has been no assessment of the impact of gambling harm on the level of mental ill-health or the cost of mental health services in Tasmania.
Question (2) Has the Government modelled the likely contribution of gambling harm to our state’s future level of mental ill-health and cost of mental health services under the proposed new licensing model?
Answer: There has been no modelling of the likely contribution of gambling harm to the state’s future level of mental ill-health and cost of mental health services.
Question (3) (a) Do Tasmanian mental health services collect data about co-occurrence of gambling harm for people attending state-funded mental health services; and (b) if not, why not?
Answer (3)(a) No.
Answer (3)(b) Gambling-related activities are not part of the standard national minimum dataset for mental health services.
Question (4) Does the Government have other data sources that quantify or indicate the co-occurrence of mental ill-health and gambling harm in this state?
Answer: The Department of Health is not aware of any data sources that would quantify or indicate the co-occurrence of mental ill-health and gambling harm in Tasmania.
Question (5) Does the Government have data on the co-occurrence of gambling harm with suicides in this state?
Answer: The Department of Health in partnership with the Department of Justice and the Tasmanian Coroner’s Office is developing the Tasmanian Suicide Register, which will provide the capacity to analyse information captured as part of coronial investigations of suicide. This information will include identified stressors, including any financial stressors.
