Recommendation 33

Supporting Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing

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Status: Partially delivered and in progress

What the Royal Commission said

The Royal Commission’s interim report identified the urgent need to address mental illness in Aboriginal communities and the central role of self-determined services in promoting Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing.

The interim report recommended expanding the delivery of multi-disciplinary social and emotional wellbeing teams across Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations.

It also recommended the establishment of Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing scholarships and a new Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Centre to support the transformation of Aboriginal mental health care across the state.

The Royal Commission’s final report recommended a suite of reforms to provide children and families with early, culturally safe and flexible support through Aboriginal-led organisations in partnership with mental health services.

Aboriginal children and young people will be able to access specialist mental health services, family-oriented therapeutic care and intensive multidisciplinary care delivered within community settings. These reforms focus on care being delivered through Aboriginal organisations.

The Royal Commission called on the Victorian Government to:

  1. build on Interim Recommendation 4 to support Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing, and resource the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Centre to establish two co-designed healing centres.
  2. resource Infant, Child and Youth Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services to support Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations by providing primary consultation, secondary consultation and shared care.
  3. resource Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations to commission the delivery of culturally appropriate, family-oriented, social and emotional wellbeing services for children and young people.
  4. resource the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), in partnership with an Infant, Child and Youth Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, to design and establish a culturally appropriate, family-oriented service for infants and children who require intensive social and emotional wellbeing supports.

What we've achieved

Establishment of the Balit Durn Durn Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing

Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Scholarship Program

  • The Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Scholarship Program was launched in 2022 to upskill and grow the social and emotional wellbeing workforce. In 2026, VACCHO and the Department of Health have awarded 78 Scholarships to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples studying a mental health related discipline at undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing teams

  • 25 Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing teams established across the state, so they can deliver multidisciplinary community-based support that is self-determined and addresses local community priorities.

Healing Centres

  • The Balit Durn Durn Centre led a co-design process to develop a service model for two Aboriginal healing centres.
  • This work included setting up an Expert Advisory Group and consulting closely with the Aboriginal community‑controlled sector. Aboriginal communities, services, and knowledge holders were central to designing the healing centres, ensuring a self‑determined, culturally led approach.
  • This co‑design process is an Australian first and reflects a strong commitment to Aboriginal leadership, culture, and knowledge in shaping healing and wellbeing services.

Supporting Aboriginal children and young people with intensive social and emotional wellbeing needs

  • The Balit Durn Durn Centre also led the co‑design of a service model to support Aboriginal children and young people with intensive social and emotional wellbeing needs.
  • Through this Aboriginal‑led co‑design process, Balit Durn Durn worked with an Expert Advisory Group to create a service framework known as the Nest.
  • The Nest provides clear guidance for health services on how to deliver consistent, high‑quality care for Aboriginal children and families who need intensive social and emotional wellbeing support.
  • It also guides how infant, child and youth mental health services can work in partnership with local Aboriginal community‑controlled organisations. This supports shared care, strong relationships, and wrap‑around support for Aboriginal children, young people, and their families.

Infant, Child and Youth Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services

  • We provided ongoing funding for 10 Koori Mental Health Liaison Officer (KMHLO) positions within selected infant, child and youth mental health and wellbeing services.
  • These positions are based at Eastern Health, Orygen, Austin Health, Monash Health, Bendigo Health, Albury Wodonga Health, Alfred Health, Goulburn Valley Health, and Grampians Health.
  • KMHLOs play a vital role in supporting Aboriginal children, young people, and their families by providing culturally safe support. They also help services work together through primary consultation, secondary consultation, and shared care, strengthening partnerships between mental health services and local Aboriginal community‑controlled health organisations.
  • These roles complement the 11 KMHLO positions already in place within adult mental health services, helping ensure culturally responsive care across age groups.

What we're doing

Building on Interim Recommendation 4 to support Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing, we are working to deliver better access to healing and social and emotional wellbeing services for Aboriginal infants, children and young people through family focused services.

Healing Centres

  • Following the co-design process, VACCHO are working in partnership with the Department of Health to develop a pathway for the establishment and operation of the Healing Centres. We remain committed to working with the sector to progress this initiative.

Supporting Aboriginal children and young people with intensive social and emotional wellbeing needs

  • Following the co-design process, VACCHO has been working in partnership with the Department of Health on planning for establishment and operation of local Nests within Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.
  • From the 2026-27 State Budget, we are investing $13.2 million over four years to establish the Nest Aboriginal Family Wellbeing Service Model. Two local Nests will be funded as a pilot program to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and families. The Nest will provide improved social and emotional wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal children and families through culturally safe Aboriginal early intervention supports. The Nest’s health professionals will assist Aboriginal children experiencing developmental, emotional, relational and behavioural challenges, with intensive social and emotional wellbeing support.

Commissioning the delivery of culturally appropriate, family-oriented, social and emotional wellbeing services for children and young people

  • We are providing funding to Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations so they can commission and access primary and secondary consultations. This funding supports Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations to bring specialists into their services to work alongside social and emotional wellbeing teams.
  • Some Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations have partnered with mainstream services to provide continuous shared care for young people to support transitions to and from mainstream acute services (such as infant, child and youth mental health and wellbeing services), where necessary.

Updated

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