Julia Erwin and Pat Flynn, who coordinate the Wagga 'Embrace Mental Health Meetups' peer support group, said the government's doubling of Medicare-funded sessions would help people access treatment.

The Commonwealth-funded program will now allow people with a referral from a general practitioner to access Medicare rebates for up to 20 therapy sessions a year with a mental health professional.

Mr Flynn said this would particularly benefit people who found seeking help cost-prohibitive.

"A lot of people who are struggling financially, the $100 to $150 to see a psychologist is a massive issue for them," he said.

"I'm thinking for really high-risk people, they might need to see a psychologist every week or every two weeks, so it's good to have those extra numbers there for them."

Ms Erwin, who lives with Bipolar disorder and uses a Mental Health Care Plan, said expanding the plan to 20 sessions could also simplify treatment by reducing the number of GP appointments.

She called the expansion a "step in the right direction" towards improved mental health funding.

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National Rural Health Alliance chief executive officer Gabrielle O'Kane has welcomed the government's decision to extend Medicare funding for telehealth psychology until March 2021, a temporary scheme which was originally introduced to combat coronavirus restrictions.

"We are very keen to see the extension of telehealth for well beyond that six months, that would be really good. But I also just want to see a much stronger mental health workforce in rural areas too," Dr O'Kane said.

She said she was pleased by a "number of targeted measures" included in this year's budget to improve healthcare for regional Australians, including the expansion of the rural health multidisciplinary training.

"That's going to help more students train to be health professionals in rural areas [and] the longer they're immersed in those places, the more likely they are to return when they've completed their studies," she said.

If you would like to find out more about peer support mental health you can visit the Embrace Mental Health Meetups Facebook page.

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