Mental Health must remain a priority as Annual Report shows Victoria faces increasing challenges
29 November 2024
The Victorian community is experiencing significant and increasing mental health challenges according to data and evidence presented in the inaugural Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC) Annual Report.
The report – which brings together information from a suite of state and national sources – indicates a need for the Victorian Government to prioritise its commitment to implement mental health reform, build workforce capacity and embed the voices of people with lived experience.
Data reviewed by the MHWC shows that the Victorian Community is experiencing increasing rates of psychological distress and mental disorder diagnosis, with 40 per cent of young women under the age of 24 experiencing psychological distress in the past reporting year.
The rate of suicide in Victoria is at a five-year high, the rate of mental health-related prescriptions at a 10-year high and the rate of mental health-related WorkCover claims at a five-year high, increasing by 75 per cent during this period.
The number of consumers accessing clinical mental health services increased by 21 per cent over the past four years, which includes 71 per cent increase in specialist services, a 41 per cent increase in child and adolescent mental health services, and a 33 per cent increase in people accessing mental health services for the first time.
Mental health presentations at emergency departments (EDs) in Victoria are at a five-year high, with 101,049 presentations in 2019-20 and 108,696 in 2023-24, and wait times in EDs remain persistently high.
While the report shows that mental health challenges are increasing in Victoria, the most recent information on the implementation of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System – provided by the Victorian Government and included in the report – indicates that a significant number of recommendations are falling behind the timeframes set by the Royal Commission and accepted by the government.
After accepting the recommendations of the Royal Commission, the Victorian Government made a significant investment of $6 billion in mental health, however, our analysis shows that the majority of government funding of mental health and wellbeing initiatives was announced in 2021-22 to cover a four-year period. We encourage the government to release details of its revised reform plan – including funding – as soon as possible to reduce any potential impact this uncertainty might have on service planning and the mental health workforce.
Following the 2024 – 2025 Victorian State Budget, the mental health community notified us of their concerns regarding the timing and funding for reform recommendations. The MHWC responded by putting questions to government about the future of mental health reforms and we look forward to the release of the revised reform plan.
The MHWC will implement our monitoring and reporting plan to ensure we have thorough oversight of system performance and hold the government to account. As part of this, we have committed to undertake a deep dive into measures of quality, safety and performance of the system in 2025, to examine emerging issues and identify any gaps in existing mental health data. This will help to ensure our oversight is as comprehensive and fulsome as possible.
In the 10-month reporting period since the MHWC was established on 1 September 2023 to 1 July 2024, our resolutions team handled 1339 complaints and made 100 recommendations which resulted in 255 reported service improvements. The MHWC also opened one new investigation and progressed two existing investigations. Of these investigations, two concern the use of restrictive interventions and practices and one concerns the making of compulsory treatment orders.
For the first time, the inaugural MHWC Annual Report details the types of recommendations and service reports arising from complaints. The use of Restrictive Interventions accounted for the majority of mental health service improvements, with 75 improvements reported.
The use of restrictive interventions continues to trend downwards, with episodes of seclusion down 24 per cent and bodily restraint reduced from 19.8 episodes to 15.2 episodes per 1000 occupied beds during the past financial year.
In the coming weeks the MHWC will release a report which examines a number of issues related to complaints about the use of restrictive interventions and suggests several improvements services can make.
Embedding the expertise of people with lived experience has been a priority in the MHWC’s establishment year, and our lived experience team – led by a Consumer Commissioner and Carer Commissioner – has actively engaged with consumers, carers, services, sector peaks and other stakeholders to listen and learn. We are developing guidance on how the new Mental Health and Wellbeing principles should be put into practice to promote and protect the rights of consumers, carers, family and kin.
Launching the MHWC Lived Experience Plan and exploring how to best engage with the sector to ensure the voices of people with a lived experience are elevated and enrich the mental health and wellbeing reform process is a priority for the MHWC in early 2025.
Quotes Attributable to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission
“The inaugural Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission report shows that the Victorian community is facing significant and increasing mental health challenges, and now is not the time to let investment and reform pace slip.”
“We are urging the Victorian Government to provide the mental health sector with the answers and certainty they need – and we’re working hard to ensure that mental health and wellbeing remains a priority for Government so that the pace and intent of the Royal Commission is not lost.”
“In the 10-month reporting period since the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission was established, we have progressed three investigations, handled 1339 complaints – with 90 per cent being resolved to the satisfaction of the person making the complaint – and made 100 recommendations that resulted in 255 service improvements.”
Updated