The federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt this morning announced $70.2 million to establish six residential eating disorder centres across Australia.

EDV CEO Jennifer Beveridge said the announcement was the culmination of years of advocacy from eating disorder organisations.

“We know that accessing treatment for eating disorders often comes down to postcode lottery. The state you live determines the type of treatment you have access to. Moving to a more equitable system of care through a coordinated, national approach such as this is a big step in the right direction.”

Two of the six residential centres have already been assigned to WA and the ACT respectively, with the other four locations yet to be announced. The Butterfly Foundation has been tasked with helping guide the establishment of the centres around Australia.

“We welcome the establishment of a residential eating disorder centre. We look forward to working with our colleagues at The Butterfly Foundation and other partners with the roll out of a centre here in Victoria.” Ms Beveridge said.

This latest announcement is in addition to the historic $110 million investment into the new MBS item numbers for eating disorders announced in December last year.