Victoria's Mental Health Services

What's New

Rural Workforce Innovation Grant Program

The Department of Health has funding available in 2013 for innovative workforce redesign and reform activities that focus on workforce utilisation and sustainability. For more information, please visit the web page.

Consumer Partnership Forum

The Minister for Mental Health (the Minister) invited Victorian clinical and non-clinical mental health services to nominate a consumer workforce member to engage directly in a new Mental Health Consumer Partnership approach. The Victorian Government is committed to a program of important reform for mental health that includes a strong consumer and carer voice. As a consequence, the Department of Health (the department), Mental Health Drugs and Regions Division (MHDR) have established the Consumer Partnership Dialogues (Consumer Partnership) to facilitate collaboration across the Department, the consumer workforce and the peak, the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council. The regular dialogues will establish an ongoing opportunity for engagement with the consumer community in relation to the implementation of mental health initiatives to improve outcomes for mental health consumers and their families.

For further information contact Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council www.vmiac.org.au or email: mhconsumers@health.vic.gov.au.

Carer Partnership Forum

The Minister for Mental Health (the Minister) invited Victorian clinical and non-clinical mental health services to nominate a carer workforce member to engage directly in a new Mental Health Carer Partnership approach. The Victorian Government is committed to a program of important reform for mental health that includes a strong consumer and carer voice. As a consequence, the Department of Health (the Department) Mental Health Drugs and Regions Division (MHDR) have established the Carer Partnership Dialogues (Carer Partnership) to facilitate collaboration across the Department, the carer workforce and the peak, the Victorian Mental Health Carers Network. The regular dialogues will establish an ongoing opportunity for engagement with the carer community in relation to the implementation of mental health initiatives to improve outcomes for mental health consumers and their families or other carers.

For further information contact Victorian Mental Health Carers Network carersnetwork.org.au or email mhcarers@health.vic.gov.au

Enhance Community Mental Health initiative - request for submissions for 2012-2013 capital funding – New Projects.

The Victorian Government is committed to enhancing the capabilities of community based non bed based clinical mental health services and Psychiatric Disability Rehabilitation and Support services to support optimum outcomes for people with mental illness. In order to assist service providers to strengthen and extend service capabilities, $3 million additional capital funding has been made available. The Department of Health is now seeking submissions for these initiatives.

Victorian Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Support Service Workforce Census 2012

The purpose of the Census is to develop a profile of the workforce employed to provide PDRS services in Victoria. With your support, the 2012 census data will provide a benchmark to monitor changes in the PDRSS funded workforce over time and will inform and complement the proposed reforms in the PDRSS funded sector.

Victoria’s New Mental Health Act

New mental health legislation is a central element in the Victorian Government’s agenda for mental health reform.

The government has undertaken extensive public consultations to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Mental Health Act 1986 and people with a mental illness, families, carers, clinicians and service providers expect of mental health legislation for Victoria. These consultations were extremely useful, with the community and government working in partnership to shape what a new Mental Health Act in Victoria could look like.

Mental Health Professional Online Development

Mental Health Professional Online Development (MHPOD) is an evidence-based online learning resource for people working in mental health. There are about seventy hours of material on forty-five topics, written and produced in Australia. The topics range from recovery, to legislation and dual disability. The content of MHPOD is linked to the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce.

 Improving the physical health of people with severe mental illness: No mental health without physical health

The Improving the physical health of people with severe mental illness: No mental health without physical health report examines the role specialist public mental health services should play, as part of the broader health care system, in reducing the prevalence of common physical health problems, chronic disease and associated risks experienced by people with a severe and enduring mental illness.

The Mental Illness Research Fund (MIRF)

The Mental Illness Reaserch Fund (MIRF) is a Victorian Government initiative aimed at supporting multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaborative research that has the potential to be translated into tangible improvements for Victorians with mental illness and their carers. The Victorian Government is now seeking Victorian researchers, treatment and support providers and other relevant stakeholders to inform the development of research priority areas for the MIRF.

Mental Health Reform in Victoria

The Psychiatric Disability Rehabilitation and Support Services Reform Framework Consultation paper proposes a significant, staged set of changes to improve outcomes for people with a severe mental illness, and their families and carers. It proposes specific systemic and service delivery improvements needed to build a more efficient and effective system of psychiatric disability rehabilitation and support services. The paper has been developed to seek a range of stakeholders' views and input on the proposed framework.