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Ministry of Health
Parliamentary QA

MENTAL HEALTH DISCLOSURE SAFEGUARDS

3 November 2026

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1462

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE PARLIAMENT SITTING ON 3 NOVEMBER 2026


Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo

MP for East Coast GRC


Question No. 3228

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health with the redesignation of the Institute of Mental Health as the National Centre for Mental Health Singapore in 2027 (a) what other policy gaps remain in protecting youths and adults seeking mental health support, particularly around disclosure practices in schools, workplaces and insurance contexts; and (b) how safeguards will be strengthened to reduce stigma and deter care avoidance.


Answer

          Concerns about confidentiality, stigma and possible discrimination are barriers to individuals seeking mental health support. Young people, in particular, may hesitate to seek help because they fear being judged or disadvantaged. They are concerned that it would leave a permanent mark on their records which may in turn affect their future employment or educational opportunities.

2          Public service agencies do not ask applicants about their mental health conditions, unless the nature of the job requires this, such as for an RSAF pilot or a uniformed serviceman, which specifically require a medical assessment of whether the applicant can carry his or her duties safely.

3          The Workplace Fairness Act, which will come into effect later next year, will strengthen protections across more employers. The Act will disallow employers from making adverse employment decisions based on one’s mental health conditions, unless there are genuine, job-related requirements.

4          The same principle applies to healthcare and in schools. Medical and counselling records are kept for a professional reason, to help healthcare professionals and school counsellors understand the young person’s history to provide better care and better support. Our healthcare institutions and schools will continue to rigorously safeguard patient and student confidentiality and the information will not be used to disadvantage the patient for academic or employment pursuits and in buying insurance.

5          Parental consent is closely linked to confidentiality, which is another important consideration when young people seek help. Today, practices around parental consent vary across schools, community services and healthcare settings. Schools provide counselling support to students with consent from their parents. The national mindline 1771 allows callers to stay anonymous. Young people who seek help from Community Care Organisations can request for parents not to be informed, although counsellors will always advise that parents will need to be involved at some point of the treatment and recovery journey. So, the practices are not uniform across settings. For some young people, concerns about involving their parents may make them hesitant to seek counselling support.

6          MOH is therefore developing a set of guidelines to provide clearer guidance on this. The aim is to give a young person a safe way to seek initial help, while involving the family at the right time as care progresses. A young person stepping forward to seek help should not have to worry that their parents will be informed immediately. Our key consideration must always be the well-being of the young person. We will be seeking the public’s views on our proposed guidelines. Our aim is to ensure that concerns about confidentiality do not become barriers to seeking appropriate mental health support.