The federal opposition has pledged to make telehealth mental health support accessible via Medicare, reversing a Coalition cut late last year.

Telehealth services were drastically expanded in early 2020, when COVID-19 arrived on Australian shores, and has mostly remained a feature of Medicare.

But the Coalition in December announced over-the-phone mental health support would no longer be accessible through Medicare, leaving many in regional Australia struggling to afford and access a psychologist.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the cut had come at the worst time, pledging to reverse it in regional and rural areas if Labor wins the May poll.

"Scott Morrison's cuts to regional mental health consultations during a pandemic which has seen people struggling with mental health issues are unconscionable," he said.

"Labor will restore these vital mental health services, making them affordable and accessible to people wherever they live."

READ MORE:

Psychologists have warned Australia's mental health system is "crying out for help", with a pre-existing crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government in 2020 and 2021 introduced pop-up mental health clinics, including in the ACT, accessible to Australians suffering during and after lockdowns.