2. Submission and delivery of MHE NMDS data files

Submission, delivery and validation of the 2020-21 MHE data (version 3.00) will occur through the MDS Validator. AIHW and the Department of Health will obtain jurisdictional DAT files directly from the Validator using the download functionality available to reviewers.

2.1. Timelines

All jurisdictions must submit a stage 1 compliant file using the online Validator by 29 April 2022. The AIHW and Department of Health are aiming to have Stage 2 validation completed by 30 September 2022 in accordance with the schedule in Table 2.1. This permits the updating of the MHE data on the Mental health services in Australia website in by early 2023.

Table 2.1 MHE NMDS 2020-21 data validation
Progress point description Responsibility Completion Time Completion date
Stage 1 submission Jurisdictions 29 April 2022
Submitter comment on all issues within the issue list Jurisdictions 4 weeks 27 May 2022
Reviewer reply to all issues within the issue list AIHW 6 weeks 8 July 2022
Resolution of any remaining issues AIHW/Jurisdiction discussion as required 6 weeks 19 August 2022
Supplementary report AIHW 19 August 2022
Jurisdictional response to supplementary report Jurisdictions 2 weeks 2 September 2022
Resolution of outstanding issues raised by the supplementary report AIHW/Jurisdiction discussion as required 4 weeks 30 September 2022

2.2. File type and naming convention

DAT files should be a single Fixed Format data file, with each record in the file being terminated with Carriage Return (CR) and Line Feed (LF) characters.

The data file will have the naming convention of MHESSSYYYYNNNNN.DAT where:

  • MHE denotes ‘Mental Health Establishments’
  • SSS is the abbreviation for the State name, using the following convention:
    • New South Wales = NSW
    • Victoria = VIC
    • Queensland = QLD
    • Western Australia = WAU
    • South Australia = SAU
    • Tasmania = TAS
    • Australian Capital Territory = ACT
    • Northern Territory = NTE
  • YYYY indicates the reporting year covered in the file, using the convention where financial years are abbreviated by referring to the last calendar year of the pair (for example, 2020-21 is identified as 2021)
  • NNNNN represents an incremental batch number (leading zeros present).

Adherence to this approach requires that any resubmitted files should have a batch number greater than the file they replace. For example, the first MHE data file submitted by the Australian Capital Territory covering the 2020-21 year would be named ‘MHEACT202100001.DAT’.

2.3. Department of Health supplementary non-government organisation information

To assist in validating the 2020-21 MHE NMDS data, states and territories are requested by the Department of Health to provide a supplementary file relating to NGO payments that provides details of organisations funded. As in previous years, this file is to be used as the basis for ensuring consistency between jurisdictions, and across years, in the reporting of NGO data.

The supplementary file should provide details on NGO payments administered in 2020-21 through both health and non-health portfolios. Data should be prepared in an Excel workbook, following the basic tabular structure below (Table 2.2).

Table 2.2 Supplementary NGO excel file
NGO name Level at which funds are allocated to NGO (Health central, Region, Non health portfolio) Region ID (if applicable) Funding amount (whole Dollars)

The supplementary NGO Excel workbook should be sent via email to the Department of Health and the AIHW, when DAT files are submitted to the Validator. Please use the following email address: mentalhealth@aihw.gov.au

2.4. Additional information and queries

AIHW and Strategic Data staff are available to answer any queries regarding changes to the Validator’s MHE module and validation rules. In order to obtain a coordinated response, requests should be sent to the following parties simultaneously:

AIHW

Email: mentalhealth@aihw.gov.au

Strategic Data

Email: support@validator.com.au