Bondi mental health support extended at Jewish House

The federal government will extend mental health support for those affected by the Bondi terror attack, Health Minister Mark Butler announced at the Jewish House Gala Dinner at Le Montage in Lilyfield on Thursday night.

Butler, who attended on behalf of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said the mental health package announced after the December 14 attack would be extended so that organisations including Jewish House could continue their work.

Under the extension, the government will continue funding targeted mental health services for the Jewish community delivered by Jewish House and JewishCare. The Bondi Medicare Mental Health Centre in Bondi Junction, which works with both organisations, will become permanent.

In his speech, Butler said lessons from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, when he was a junior mental health minister, had shaped the response. Funding after the bushfires had been for a fixed period, but “we realised at the end that the trauma wasn’t over; it wasn’t resolved,” he said.

He praised Jewish House staff and volunteers: “People who have been traumatised themselves doing such incredible work to support a traumatised community.”