Vic public to shape mental health inquiry

Victorians can help influence the scope of the state's royal commission into mental health through public submissions.

Everyday Victorians will influence the scope of the state's royal commission into mental health.

Public submissions on the terms of reference will be accepted from Friday until January 27 at engage.vic.gov.au, while consultation with organisations has already started.

"Every year, one-in-five Victorians experiences a mental illness and the truth is we can do more to improve the system," Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said.

"I encourage anyone who has experience with mental illness or our state's mental health system, to take this opportunity to have their say on the terms of reference and help us set the tone for this life-changing reform."

Commissioners for the $13.2 million inquiry, the first of its kind in Australia, are still being sought.

The royal commission will begin in March.

This week, annual reports for both the Coroner's Court and Mental Health Complaints Commissioner were published, touching on issues within the system.

Last financial year, 688 people took their own lives, according to the Coroner's Court, up from 672 the year before.

The report also highlighted four case studies of people taking their own lives while they were inpatients at mental health units.

Three of the cases raised concerns about access to ligatures and hanging points within the units.

More than 2120 inquiries and complaints were made to the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner in 2017-18, up 21 per cent on the year before.

Most were about people's recent experiences in the public mental health services, according to the commission's annual report.

Prisoners also made 688 calls to the office, concerned about mental health treatment in the corrections system and were mostly about immediate access to treatment and medication when being held on remand.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636


Share
Published 21 December 2018 10:28am
Updated 22 February 2022 5:24pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world