Victoria's Coalition promised new youth mental health services on Tuesday if it wins the November state election, including planning for a standalone facility in Parkville. The ABC reported that the opposition would also commission an independent review of the implementation of the state's mental health royal commission recommendations.
The Coalition pledged $5 million to masterplan the Parkville facility, according to the ABC. The proposed service would host up to 50 specialist inpatient beds for people aged 12 to 25, alongside prevention and recovery care. The funding commitment is for masterplanning, rather than the cost of building the facility.
A separate workforce strategy would be developed within 100 days of the Coalition being elected, backed by a targeted $50 million fund to address skills and staffing gaps, The Age reported (subscription). The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists also listed the strategy and fund among the opposition's commitments.
The Age reported that the Coalition would develop a Youth Mental Health Centre of Excellence overseen by Orygen. The proposed centre would bring together research, clinical expertise and innovation to improve care for young people across Victoria. The centre forms part of the opposition's broader proposed overhaul of youth mental health services.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists welcomed the focus on accountability, workforce and access. Its Victorian Branch Chair, Dr Simon Stafrace, said substantial investment in mental health reform needed to translate into timely, connected and effective care wherever Victorians live.
The college cautioned against another wholesale redesign of the mental health system. It said additional youth capacity should sit within a connected statewide system spanning prevention, early intervention, community and crisis care, specialist inpatient treatment and recovery. It also called for a long-term workforce approach that strengthens training and supervision.
The Victorian Department of Health says the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System published its final report in 2021 and made 65 recommendations. The department says the Victorian Government has committed to delivering every recommendation. The Coalition's proposed independent review would examine the implementation of those reforms.
The college's account of the Coalition commitments also included auditing mental health reform expenditure and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy. The opposition would review the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission to strengthen its independence, powers and oversight, and publish a reform blueprint setting out priorities, responsibilities, timeframes, funding and measurable outcomes.
Stafrace said the college would seek similarly substantive commitments from all parties contesting the election. Its position was to complete the existing reform agenda rather than begin again. "It is to finish what Victoria started," he said in the college's statement.
