A4 met with officials in the federal Health Department and presented the brief below. It calls for the following actions:

• Comprehensively monitor and report service needs, service delivery and outcomes for autistic Australians (ensuring unmet need is properly monitored and reported).
• Inclusive health services, especially mental health services – stop treating autistic people as 2nd or 3rd rate citizens.
• Teach graduates in the health sector how to include autistic people in mainstream health and mental health services; that is, how to provide effective health and mental health services for autistic people (and people with other disabilities).
• Improve ASD diagnosis, including ASD diagnoses for adults.
• Recognise autism in mental health patients, provided it does not lead to denial of services (see above).

The brief can be downloaded here.