However, advocates have warned the measures only offer band-aid solutions, with no new investments for preventative measures.

Mental Health Council of Tasmania chief executive Connie Digolis said in light of COVID-19, it was another missed opportunity to invest in a system that helps people before they become unwell.

"There's no question our mental health is being impacted and challenged, but that's not to say that it should reach a point where we are unwell and might be unwell for a length of time," she said.

"While it's great to see funding going towards services and support ... we certainly would have liked to have seen a greater focus on how we actually keep people well. Not how we respond once they become unwell."

Among the funding measures announced in the budget, the number of annual Medicare-subsided sessions with a psychologist will double from 10 to 20.

While welcomed, Ms Digolis said she was concerned about a growing rhetoric emerging from COVID-19 that everyone's mental health would suffer.

"The response is to get people into the system - into a system that is designed for people with mental ill-health. Not people with situational distress," she said.

"There is no question that for some people this [COVID] will impact their mental health and there is going to be some people who are going to be more susceptible to mental ill-health than others.

"But for the broader population, we are really seeing a reaction to a situation that is impacting us in ways we are all feeling that heighten anxiety or stress."

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Ms Digolis said the pandemic offered the opportunity to put effective support measures in place, but it would take a long-term commitment.

Meanwhile, Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer says she is confident a $10 million mental health hub for Northern Tasmania, announced in the 2019 federal election, will be operational by the time the next election comes around.

"It's progressing positively, even throughout COVID. They released the consultation framework to the mental health stakeholders," she said. "From what I understand now, the [health] minister will hopefully sign off on that, and then it'll come back to the primary health network to run a wider consultation process.

"I think our focus with mental health should be to provide a suite of options for people. We can also make sure there are other supports available that are low-cost or free - I really hope that's what the mental health hub can achieve."