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 and wellbeing services
- alcohol and other drug services
- ageing, aged and home care.
We work with health services, agencies and other partners to clarify responsibilities, reduce overlap where possible, and improve the experience of patients, families and the health workforce.
We are also implementing changes to bring some functions currently delivered through portfolio entities into the department or other parts of the portfolio, to reduce duplication and strengthen service delivery.
The executive board assists the Secretary with strategic leadership to meet the department’s objectives (including vision, purpose and direction setting); improve performance and outcomes; and implement complex reform priorities.
The executive board operates under terms of reference and comprises the Secretary and the following departmental representatives:
- all deputy secretaries
- the chief executive officer of Hospitals Victoria
- the Chief Communications Officer and
- the Chief Aboriginal Health Adviser.
The chief executive officer of Safer Care Victoria, an administrative office of the department, is also a member of the executive board.
Our functions
Health System Reform and Partnerships
The Health System Reform and Partnerships Division leads the commissioning, stewardship and oversight of Victoria’s hospitals and health services.
The division leads system reform, policy and program design and implementation, issues management, system improvement and cross sector collaboration across ambulance and emergency, planned care, system access, aged care services, end of life care, cancer and specialist services, specialist programs, health workforce capability and strategy, and whole of system planning with a focus on improving integration, equity and outcomes for priority communities.
The division is the department’s primary liaison and engagement partner for health services and works collaboratively with them to inform policy and program design and implementation, commissioning and funding decisions and supports continuous improvement in service delivery and system performance.
The division also leads health service governance and accountability and leads the delivery of the Local Health Service Network reforms to strengthen collaboration between health services and improve how care is delivered to local communities.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Division leads the commissioning, stewardship and oversight of Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing services and alcohol and other drugs services.
The division provides system level leadership, upholds quality and safety in clinical services through the Office of the Chief Psychiatrists, leads priority alcohol and other drugs and harm reduction and reform initiatives from design through to implementation, and provides system wide monitoring, analysis and performance reporting.
The division stewards mental health reform governance, service planning and system design, leads prevention and promotion initiatives including mental health prevention, suicide prevention and gambling harm, embeds lived and living experience, and supports culturally informed approaches to improve equity and outcomes across the mental health and wellbeing system.
Community and Public Health
The Community and Public Health division provides system wide leadership on public and community health policy, protection, prevention and promotion to improve population health and reduce preventable illness.
The division provides statewide public health expertise and responses to communicable diseases and environmental health risks, delivers regulatory policy and public health programs, and provides advice, performance oversight and governance for public health activities and programs.
The division drives prevention strategy and health promotion initiatives, oversees community and women’s health programs including maternal and child health, leads emergency management preparedness and response, and supports population health outcomes through coordinated, evidence informed policy and system improvement.
eHealth
The eHealth Division leads the department’s digital health, data, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and cybersecurity functions.
It is responsible for setting system-wide direction and standards for digital platforms, data governance and security, and for delivering the core digital infrastructure and data and analytics that underpin how the health system operates. This includes shared services for the department and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).
Through this role, eHealth enables data-driven decision-making, supports quality, safety and performance oversight, and drives digital integration and transformation across the department, Safer Care Victoria and public health services.
Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing
The Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Division works in partnership with the Aboriginal community, health and wellbeing sectors and governments to support the development of a health and wellbeing system that is equitable, culturally safe and driven by Aboriginal self-determination.
It delivers strategic initiatives and reforms, including funding and legislative reform, Aboriginal budget strategy, and Treaty preparedness and implementation. In addition, the division engages in whole of government approaches to improving outcomes for First Peoples in Victoria.
The division demonstrates leadership through close collaboration with Aboriginal communities and organisations, driving improvements in health outcomes and equity for Aboriginal Victorians through culturally informed policies, programs, and system reform.
Corporate Strategy and Operations
The Corporate Strategy and Operations division provides strategic, legal, governance and corporate leadership to support effective departmental operations and decision making.
It leads communications and public affairs, provides authoritative legal and governance advice, and oversees audit, risk and integrity functions to ensure lawful, ethical and accountable practice.
The division drives enterprise strategy, performance and evaluation, delivers improvement and capability building initiatives, and provides people, industrial relations and workforce support to strengthen organisational and health sector performance and future readiness.
Budget, Finance and Investment
The Budget, Finance and Investment division aims to provide assurance of all investments, through financial governance, control and strategic advice to support sustainable departmental and system operations.
It oversees budgeting, appropriations, financial reporting and procurement frameworks, supports divisions to align proposals with whole of government financial strategy, and leads intergovernmental funding negotiations.
The division develops and governs commissioning and investment frameworks, identifies and drives investment reform, and provides oversight of commercial and infrastructure planning to ensure effective stewardship of public resources and delivery of long-term system priorities.
Hospitals Victoria
Hospitals Victoria stewards health service sustainability and performance through system-level funding, and accountability.
The division leads systemwide strategy, planning and performance oversight for Victorian health services, with a focus on driving efficiency, financial sustainability and service performance.
The division leads and coordinates efficiency initiatives, provides oversight, quality assurance and risk management, and delivers insights and analytics to monitor progress across the system. It oversees health service performance assessment, funding policy, costing and pricing arrangements, and systemwide financial governance, supporting health services to implement improvement programs and informing executive decision making to ensure sustainable, high-quality hospital services.
Safer Care Victoria
Safer Care Victoria is the state lead for quality and safety in publicly funded health services and across the sector. We drive safety and quality of care improvements in partnership with health services, the department, clinicians, consumers and carers, safety bodies, research bodies and other key stakeholders.
Safer Care Victoria is an Administration Office of the Department of Health and works towards three strategic priorities:
- Leadership – As Victoria’s lead for quality and safety, we work to improve care across the state by providing and enabling leadership, and influence reforms nationally
- Insights – We work with our partners by harnessing a range of insights to reduce avoidable harm across the Victorian healthcare system.
- Improvement – We work with our partners to drive continuous improvement in the quality and safety of health care by enabling effective accountability, acting on insights and focusing on what matters most.
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