Mental Health Victoria consultation - Review of MHCSS Victoria

June 2015

In June 2015, Minister for Mental Health, The Hon Martin Foley, announced a number of significant developments to progress the Andrews Government's commitment to a clear plan for mental health in Victoria including:

• Review of new arrangements for the delivery of Mental Health Community Support Services and Alcohol and Drug Treatment Services.
• Development of a 10 Year Plan for Mental Health.

We were also pleased with the Minister's commitment to mutual support, self-help, peer and carer support, and release of the summary of the 2014 review by Deloittes.

In the communique, the Minister also provided an update on negotiations for the implementation of NDIS across Victoria. The communique provided key messages to the mental health sector on the Government's approach to addressing any gaps and ensuring that the mental health needs of people with mental illness and their families continue to be met:

• The NDIS, when fully operational, will replace the majority of services currently provided under the state funded MHCSS program;
• The Victorian Government will not duplicate services intended to be provided through the NDIS;
  What these services will comprise, and who will deliver them, is not yet determined, however, they will build on the strengths of the existing service system in Victoria;
• The Victorian Government is committed to having an integrated community care system. The system will aim to complement the NDIS and avoid the creation of service gaps.

The MHCSS Review was conducted independently with consultations undertaken in July 2015. The final report and recommendations from the Review was provided to the Government in late August 2015.

The terms of reference for the MHCSS Review are available here.

Mental Health Victoria held a series of consultation forums to canvass views from providers to inform input to the review of MHCSS, and the development of the State Government's 10 year Mental Health Plan.

Information from these consultations was collated and contributed to Mental Health Victoria's feedback to the Review. Click here to read the cover letter, which outlines Mental Health Victoria's feedback, and click here to view the summary of issues.