Regulating digital mental health services in Australia: Strengthening oversight and clarifying complaints mechanisms

Abstract

Digital mental health services in Australia have grown rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to attract public and private investment. Yet, ambiguity remains about which regulatory bodies are responsible for addressing the ‘significant risks’ noted in Australia's National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards. These risks include threats to privacy, safety, and data security. This Practice and Policy note makes recommendations based on a mapping of Australian regulators potentially involved when a digital mental health service is found to pose such a risk. In practice, an average of three regulators may be relevant for each area of risk, and more than double in some i..