Mental health app that cost Australian taxpayers $33m did not result in ‘clinical outcomes’, study finds

A mental health monitoring and maintenance app known as Project Synergy was scrapped after health workers at pilot sites found it to be an administrative burden. Photograph: Solskin/Getty Images

A government-funded mental health platform, primarily owned by PwC and the University of Sydney, “does not seem to have demonstrated clinical outcomes of healthcare value”, a study has found.

Despite receiving $33m from the government via a non-competitive grant, transparency and mental health advocates expressed concern about the closed grant process and argued an open and competitive tender for the $33m investment would have ensured value for money.