As we join Queensland Mental Health Week 2024, Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ) reaffirms its commitment to empowering individuals, fostering innovation, and promoting collaboration with integrity. This year’s theme, “Connect for Mental Health”, resonates deeply with EDQ’s core values, emphasising the importance of self-care, community support, and the power of meaningful connections. Together, let’s nurture mental well-being, build stronger communities, and make lasting, positive changes that reflect our shared mission of empowerment and holistic mental health care.
About EDQ:
EDQ, funded by Queensland Health and a Commonwealth Government Grant, provides essential services to individuals, families, and carers affected by eating disorders. Our comprehensive support includes individual treatment, psychosocial support, coaching, and community connections, focusing on early intervention through education on a sustainable relationship with food and body image. We are dedicated to eradicating weight stigma and diet culture, aiming for a more inclusive and supportive healthcare environment.
Advocacy Message: An Urgent Call to Sustain Funding for EDQ’s bITE Program
Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ) is at a pivotal moment, highlighting the urgent need for sustained investment in early intervention programs, particularly our Brief Intervention/Therapy for Eating Disorders (bITE) program. With Commonwealth funding set to conclude in 2026, this essential service is at risk of discontinuation, jeopardising the care of hundreds of Queenslanders impacted by eating disorders.
In 2019 alone, over 200,000 Queenslanders were estimated to have an eating disorder, a number that continues to rise. EDQ’s waitlist now extends 6–8 months for individual counselling, growing by the week. This delay in access to care is not just a human tragedy—it’s an economic burden. The cost of eating disorders in Australia reached a staggering $66.9 billion in 2023, underscoring the urgent need for continued funding and expansion of community-based treatment options like bITE.
Economic sense meets compassion: EDQ provides 3–6 months (135-day stay) of client care at just $1,342 per person—less than $10 per day. This is a fraction of the $1,227 per day cost of a 28-day stay in a Queensland Health facility. By supporting community-based programs like bITE, State and Federal Governments have an opportunity to not only deliver compassionate, person-centred care but also save taxpayers millions.
While tertiary services are critical for acute care, long-term, sustainable recovery happens in the community, with services like EDQ’s bITE program offering ongoing support that clients desperately need. Discontinuing funding will only lead to longer waitlists, further burdening our overextended hospital system and delaying recovery for those in need.
EDQ calls on State and Federal Governments to act now: Sustain funding for bITE, invest in early intervention, and ensure Queenslanders living with eating disorders can access timely, effective care.
Without continued support, the future of affordable, accessible, and life-changing treatment is at risk. We stand ready to collaborate, but we need your commitment to protect these vital services post-2026.
Media Contact: Belinda Chelius- CEO
07 3844 6055 | [email protected]
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