The following symptoms describe the general presentation / history of an individual for this level of care:

• Typically no risk of harm, experiencing mild symptoms and/or no/low levels of distress - which may be in response to recent psycho-social stressors.
• Symptoms have typically been present for a short period of time.
• The individual is generally functioning well and should have high levels of motivation and engagement.

The individual would generally be suited to evidence based digital intervention and other forms of self-help.

The following symptoms describe the general presentation / history of an individual for this level of care:

• Typically minimal or no risk factors, mild symptoms / low levels of distress, and where present, this is likely to be in response to a stressful environment.
• Symptoms have typically been present for a short period of time (less than 6 months but this may vary).
• Generally functioning well but may have problems with motivation or engagement. Moderate or better recovery from previous treatment.

The individual would generally be suited to services that can be accessed quickly and easily and include group work, phone and online interventions and involve few or short sessions.

The following symptoms describe the general presentation / history of an individual for this level of care:

• Likely mild to moderate symptoms / distress (meeting criteria for a diagnosis).
• Symptoms have typically been present for 6 months or more (but this may vary). Likely complexity on risk, functioning or co-existing conditions but not at very severe levels.
• Also suitable for people experiencing severe symptoms with mild or no problems associated with risk, functioning and co-existing conditions.

The individual would generally be suited to moderate intensity, structured and reasonably frequent interventions (e.g. psychological interventions).

The following symptoms describe the general presentation / history of an individual for this level of care:

• A person requiring this level of care usually has a diagnosed mental health condition with significant symptoms and/or significant problems with functioning.
• A person with a severe presentation is likely to be experiencing moderate or higher problems associated with risk, functioning and co-existing conditions.

The individual would generally be suited to periods of intensive intervention, typically incorporating multi-disciplinary support, psychological interventions, psychiatric intervention and care coordination.

A person requiring this level of care usually has significant symptoms and problems in functioning independently across multiple or most everyday roles and/or is experiencing:

• Significant risk of suicide; self harm, self-neglect or vulnerability.
• Significant risk of harm to others.
• A high level of distress with potential for debilitating consequence.

The individual would generally be most suited to specialist assessment and intensive interventions (typically state / territory mental health services) with involvement from a range of mental health professionals.

When using the IAR-DST, a person seeking mental health assistance has their experiences understood in the context of holistic assessment domains. The eight domains help to distil essential assessment information and identify key signals (e.g. red flags) that are critical for decision making.

A person’s treatment needs, and recovery goals are understood and matched to a service type and intensity based on the least intensive and least intrusive evidence-based intervention that will likely lead to the most significant possible gain. 

Pictured: the eight initial assessment domains that are used to match clients to one of five appropriate levels of care.

The Department of Health and Aged Care's IAR Project Team has released five videos about the IAR program. These videos provide information and guidance from the GP, consumer and training officer perspectives. The aim of using the tool is to connect the person seeking support with the right care as early as possible in their journey.

You can find these videos on the new IAR YouTube channel or view each of them below:

What is the IAR-DST?

How is the IAR-DST used?

How will the IAR-DST help my practice?

How will the IAR-DST help the people I work with?

A lived experience perspective on the IAR-DST