The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) SA Branch welcomes the growing cross-college support for establishing a South Australian Centre of Excellence in Neurodiversity.

First recommended by RANZCP SA in its 2024–25 State Budget submission, the Centre has since become a shared priority across South Australia's medical colleges, with the RANZCP, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) united in their support.

The proposed Centre would provide state-wide, multidisciplinary support for neurodivergent South Australians of all ages, bringing together psychiatrists, psychologists, GPs, nurses and allied health professionals to deliver integrated and holistic treatment and care. It would also include a training function to build workforce capacity and a research component to drive continuous improvement.

RANZCP SA Chair Dr Patrick Clarke said the groundswell of support from across the medical community reflects the urgency and scale of the unmet need. 

"Neurodivergent South Australians who have overlapping mental health conditions can and do respond very well to the right treatment provided at the right time.,” Dr Clarke said.

“But right now, neurodivergent people tell us they are stuck on long waitlists, and when they do access care, they're often forced to navigate separate diagnostic and treatment pathways for each condition rather than receiving the holistic, integrated support they need to stay well. 

Dr Clarke said neurodevelopmental conditions rarely exist in isolation. 

“People with ADHD, autism and related conditions face significantly elevated rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, and other mental health challenges. We must do better to support them.

“A Centre of Excellence would not only deliver the wraparound, multidisciplinary care they need, it can also train the next generation of psychiatrists and other health professionals to feel confident and equipped to work in this space. 

‘RANZCP SA Branch has long advocated for the establishment of a statewide Neurodiversity Centre of Excellence as an investment in people’s wellbeing, as well as the long-term sustainability of the entire mental health system."

RANZCP SA has called for the Centre to:

•    Serve South Australians across the full age spectrum, closing the gap between paediatric and adult services that currently leaves many people without support at critical life transition

•    Provide care across all levels of need - not only the most complex cases, but the large and underserved group of people with milder neurodiversity who currently have nowhere to turn in the public system

•    Be co-designed with consumers, carers and people with lived experience

•    Operate as a genuine hub and spoke model with outreach to regional and rural communities

•    Include dedicated training rotations for psychiatry registrars and allied health professionals, directly addressing the workforce confidence gap that drives clinician reluctance to work with neurodiverse patients

•    Incorporate a research and outcomes function to drive continuous quality improvement

Enquiries: For more information, or to arrange an interview call Dishi on +61 437 315 911 or email media@ranzcp.org.  

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is a membership organisation that prepares medical specialists in the field of psychiatry, supports and enhances clinical practice, advocates for people affected by mental illness and advises governments and other groups on mental health care. For information about our work, our members or our history, visit www.ranzcp.org.

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