By Holly Hales and Neve Brissenden in Melbourne

Many young Australians are struggling to enter or stay in the workforce, as a mental health crisis deepens for those under 25.

According to Headspace’s recent National Youth Mental Health Survey, only one in two 12 to 25-year-olds feels confident about achieving their current or future career goals.

Just over half (54 per cent) feel confident about applying for a job and 52 per cent believe they have the necessary skills to succeed.

Thursday marks World Mental Health Day and new research from Headspace shows one in four young Australians are at risk of serious mental illness.

Another Headspace survey found eight in 10 family members held concerns about their young person’s mental health.

The most concerned family members were those caring for an LGBTQI young person (90 per cent) and those who belonged to multicultural communities (85 per cent), the inaugural headspace National Family Mental Health Survey found.

The survey quizzed 2059 family members, including parents, carers, siblings, elders, close friends and step family, who cared for young people aged 12 to 25.

Cost-of-living pressures are also preventing many Australians from seeking mental health support, with one in three sufferers not pursuing treatment.

The data from a WayAhead survey of 1000 people who had experience with a mental health challenge and 1000 who had none, found almost half identified the cost-of-living crisis as the biggest barrier to accessing professional mental health support.

Seven out of 10 people with a lived experience said they could not afford services from a psychiatrist, psychologist or counsellor.

WayAhead chief executive Sharon Grocott said soaring prices for food, fuel and housing were directly impacting how many Australians treated their mental health woes.

“We now have an alarming number of people unable to access the help they need,” she said.

“No one should have to compromise their mental wellbeing due to financial difficulties, which is why we need to make mental health services more affordable and accessible.”

The survey found that 45 per cent of people with mental health conditions could not afford self-care or well-being programs while 33 per cent could not afford medications.

Executive director of the Australian Association of Psychologists, Tegan Carrison, said there was a continued urgency to address money-related access issues.

“Not only is it increasing distress, but it is also preventing those affected from accessing the support they desperately need,” she said.

“To improve access to professional mental health services, we need to increase the Medicare rebate and expand the number of subsidised sessions Australians can access.”

Other advocacy groups have urged a greater need for funding in the area, calling for increased medicare rebates and longer psychiatry consults.

The Royal Australian College of GPs president Nicole Higgins said family doctors are carrying out more mental health consults than any other specialty or clinician.

“It’s the most prominent health issue GPs are helping patients manage,” she said.

“That’s why we’re asking the government … to reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients.”

Mental Health Week continues in Australia until Sunday.