Is headspace making a difference to young people’s lives?

Appendix B
The current model of headspace centre allocation
The current model of headspace centre allocation, as developed and used by the Department
of Health and headspace National Office (hNO), aims to achieve a network of coverage which
maximises youth access. The allocation of centres in each round takes into account the youth
population across states and territories, the presence of existing centres, and potential alternative
methods of access via outreach-type centres. In addition, the allocation formula aims to take into
account local capacity and existing infrastructure with the aim of supporting the development of
required services and maximising sustainability. While the allocation of new centres is guided by
population modelling, the Department’s final decision regarding the location of centres and the timing
of implementation is also informed by expert knowledge of community capacity and readiness to
provide the headspace model of service.
Creation of new headspace centres is determined through a three stage process (DoH, hNO, 2011).
1. Population modelling is used to determine priority regions. Priority is determined based on
the youth population within the area with greater weight given to disadvantaged and remote
areas. Allocation is determined at three levels, including the relative distribution between
states and territories, distribution between capital cities and other areas, and the weighted
youth population within each capital and non-capital city group. For those living in the
capital cities, the area is defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)
Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) boundaries. For young people living in other areas, the area is
defined by the ASGS Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) boundaries.
2. Candidate areas are reviewed, and planning at this stage incorporates local knowledge or a
‘human intelligence’ component.
3. The Minister for Health makes a decision regarding recommended areas for future centre
sites. A staged roll-out is then managed by the hNO.
The evaluation team have been given enough information to replicate only stage 1 of this process in
their assessment of the current model of centre allocation. Information underpinning stages 2 and 3
has for practical reasons not been made available to the evaluators. The outcomes of our analysis of
the current centre allocation model should be considered with this limitation in mind.
This section describes how the evaluation team have used the Department’s current headspace
centre expansion formula (that is, stage 1 from the process described above) to model the current
and hypothetical future expansion profile, costs and population coverage of the headspace centre
model of service. We follow the model as developed and used by the Department in conjunction with
hNO.
The purpose of this section is twofold: first, to demonstrate the population coverage achieved by the
current centre allocation model, including all existing centres and those announced up to the end of
the evaluation reference period; and second, to apply the Department of Health formula underpinning
the current centre allocation model to its hypothetical natural conclusion, thus providing an estimate
of the costs and population coverage possible under the existing formula.
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headspace Evaluation Final Report
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