The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (the Commission) deals with complaints about Victorian publicly funded mental health and wellbeing services.
Complaints to the Commission are often about difficulties in accessing publicly funded mental health and wellbeing services, or the treatment and care they provide.
You have the right to make a complaint to the Commission, or to contact the service directly. Every publicly funded Victorian mental health and wellbeing service must have its own process to help you speak up and raise your concerns. We can support you to do this.
There is ‘no wrong door’ at the Commission. Even if we can’t help with your concerns, we will do our best to connect you with people who can. Please get in touch with us(opens in a new window) to discuss your concerns.
Differences between the public and private mental health and wellbeing systems
We deal with complaints about publicly funded mental health and wellbeing services in Victoria.
For more information on Victoria’s public mental health and wellbeing system, visit the Department of Health - About Victoria's Mental Health Services.
The private mental health and wellbeing system in Victoria includes private hospitals and private psychiatrists, psychologists and general practitioners (GPs). The Health Complaints Commissioner deals with complaints about private mental health and wellbeing services and providers in Victoria including GPs.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) can also deal with complaints about the practice or behaviour of practitioners registered by it (such as doctors, nurses and psychologists). See: Ahpra complaints.
The Commission and Ahpra have different roles. The Commission will usually be the appropriate body to seek to resolve a complaint about a publicly funded mental health and wellbeing service. Ahpra's role is to protect the public by ensuring only clinical staff who have the appropriate skills and conduct can work as registered health practitioners.
We are required by law to notify Ahpra if we receive a complaint about a registered health practitioner and to share a copy of that complaint with Ahpra. The Commission and Ahpra then decide which organisation is best suited to deal with those concerns. In some cases, both organisations may investigate different aspects of the same complaint
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