Over a dozen organisations sign open letter opposing cuts to Victoria’s mental health services

Australian Health organisations are concerned the quality of Victoria’s mental health services could be on the chopping block as the government looks for $4 billion in savings.

What happened: More than a dozen organisations have signed an open letter to the Victorian government opposing changes to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (WHWC), which oversees feedback and complaints to the state’s mental health services.

The changes: As part of a review to find $4 billion in government savings, a bill has been put before parliament that will cut the number of commissioners from four to one and remove the requirement that its leadership include people who have been impacted by mental illness.

• The bill will also remove the ability for the commission to access information about the 2021 Royal Commission recommendations. 

Gippsland resident and Senior Lecturer in Rural Health from Monash University, Dr Rochelle Hine, told the Monitor the changes could strip the WHWC commission of funding and give fewer opportunities for people who use mental health services to raise concerns when things go wrong.

• 🗣️“The result will be that quality will be compromised,” she said.

Hine said that less free access to the commission will mean “less accountability, less transparency and fewer recorded complaints. That's how insidious this is”.

What is the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission? The independent authority commenced operating in September 2023.

🗣️“It’s essentially a watchdog on the mental health service system,” Hine said. “It receives, investigates and manages any feedback from people who use mental health services.”

• The establishment of the commission was a key recommendation of the 2021 Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.

The open letter: A jointly signed letter from leading Victorian mental health organisations and advocacy groups pushed back against the proposed changes.

“These roles were not symbolic. They were structural safeguards designed to ensure reform did not drift back to decisions being made about people, rather than with them,” the letter said.

• Amongst the organisations that signed the letter were: The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, Tandem, the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre, the Health and Community Services Union, Mind Australia, the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance, Each, and Youth Support + Advocacy Service.

Who will be impacted?

“At least 45 percent of us, almost half of us, will have a mental health challenge at some point in our life,” Hine told the Monitor.

• “One in five of us will need to use a mental health service this year and you've got one commissioner to deal with all of the people who want to give feedback or make a complaint.”

Hine said the cut in funding will adversely impact people who are already disadvantaged. 

• 🗣️ “People with mental health challenges have higher rates of social health issues like homelessness, unemployment, experience of family violence, sexual assault and public violence,” Hine said. “Without a well resourced avenue for support and redress, when they experience poor practice within the mental health system, their voices will be silenced.”

Gippsland services

Hine pointed out that in rural areas like Gippsland, there are fewer options for mental health support services.

• “They're not going to have a choice if they have a poor experience at that place, and they now won’t have the opportunity to give any feedback.”

“People will be struggling with really acute symptoms, they'll be in crisis, and they'll be fearful of actually going to the one service they can go to because of previous experiences. That's the disadvantage that Gippsland will have.”