Recommendation 23

What the Royal Commission said

The Royal Commission recommended the Victorian Government establish a Mental Health Statewide Trauma Service to deliver the best possible mental health and wellbeing outcomes for people with lived experience of trauma.

The new Mental Health Statewide Trauma Service will:

• conduct trauma research
• support the mental health and wellbeing workforce to provide trauma-informed care
• create a digital peer-led support platform
• coordinate and facilitate access to trauma experts.

In the future, the service will be part of the new Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing.

The Royal Commission highlighted that many mental health consumers experience trauma. It found the current system does not meet the mental health and recovery needs of consumers affected by trauma.

There is not enough early support for people affected by trauma. Instead, the focus is on helping people who are at crisis point. For some consumers, contact with the current mental health system has worsened the impacts of trauma.

The new Mental Health Statewide Trauma Service will enable more mental health services and workers to provide early support to people experiencing trauma.

Trauma-informed services foster a sense of safety and trust, and this will be the focus of the new system.

What are we doing?

In October 2022, a group of organisations led by Phoenix Australia was appointed to design and deliver the Mental Health Statewide Trauma Service.

The service has been re-named Transforming Trauma Victoria. The following organisations are leading its design and development:

• Phoenix Australia (lead agency)
• Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA)
• Australian Psychological Society (APS)
• Austin Health
• Berry Street
• The Bouverie Centre
• Foundation House
• Mindful
• The Royal Women 's Hospital - Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA House)
• The Royal Melbourne Hospital
• Orygen
• SANE Australia
• Thorne Harbour Health

Trauma can have a significant impact on people 's mental health and wellbeing. Transforming Trauma Victoria is currently designing and developing this new and innovative service to provide the best possible outcomes for people with lived and living experience of trauma.

Read more about the new approach to addressing trauma on the Recommendation 24 page.