The Department of Health helps Victorians stay safe and healthy. It delivers a world-class health system that leads to better health outcomes for all Victorians.
The department helps manage the public health system. This provides all Victorians with high-quality public hospitals and services for their acute health needs.
The department has leadership responsibility for:
- acute health services
- public health
- primary, community and dental health
- health regulation
- ambulance services
- mental health
- drug services
- ageing, aged and home care.
The department’s Executive Board assists the Secretary with strategic leadership to meet the department’s objectives. This includes its vision, purpose and direction setting.
The Executive Board also works to improve performance and outcomes. It implements complex reform priorities. The board comprises the Secretary, Deputy Secretaries, the Chief Communications Officer, the Chief Aboriginal Health Adviser, and the Chief Executive Officer of Safer Care Victoria.
Each Deputy Secretary leads a division organised by portfolio. In addition, whole-of-department functions support the department’s operations, services, and responsibilities.
Download an organisational chart and further information about the department’s ministers, portfolios and responsibilities.
Our functions
Hospital and Health Services
Provides stewardship to the state’s health, aged care and ambulance services and focuses on ensuring people can access high quality hospital, ambulance, and public aged care.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Leads and delivers Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing reform agenda to build a stronger mental health and wellbeing system for all Victorians, including leading and implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
Community and Public Health
Focuses on keeping people well and out of hospital, driving prevention and early intervention, bringing all aspects of prevention and early intervention closer together, and delivering accessible care in the community to achieve community and population health outcomes.
System Planning
Provides an integrated and joined-up approach to system planning and reform, including a dedicated focus on health system structural reform, intergovernmental relations, and action to address climate change.
eHealth
Provides enterprise technology, data and analytics, digital, and cyber security functions. It drives higher productivity for both the department and the health sector.
Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing
Centred on Aboriginal self-determination, it drives, coordinates, and advises on policy and strategic reform across government to improve the health of Aboriginal people living in Victoria.
People, Operations, Legal and Regulation
Provides expert advisory and corporate functions including human resources, workplace relations, ministerial and portfolio coordination, audit and risk, procurement, privacy, Freedom of Information, planning and reporting, legal services, integrity, and health regulation.
Health Funding, Finance, and Investment
Provides budget, investment and accountability strategies, financial, commercial, and service management, and sector funding, pricing and costing for the department.
Safer Care Victoria
This administrative office works closely with divisions across the department. It engages with clinicians and consumers to help health services deliver better and safer healthcare.
Communications and engagement
Provides strategic advice on functions including strategic communications, marketing, public affairs and stakeholder and consumer engagement.
Future Health Taskforce
Supports the coordination and oversight of departmental activity. It also supports health system improvement and efficiency actions arising from the Health Finance Board.
Hospitals Victoria
Ensures Victoria’s health services are highly efficient in their delivery of care services and back of house operations and provides oversight of hospital finances and financial sustainability of the system as a whole.
Reviewed 29 August 2024