In 2021, the Victorian Government released the final report and recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.

The report outlined 65 recommendations, in addition to the nine recommendations in the Interim Report.

It sets out a 10-year vision for rebuilding our mental health system from the ground up, with communities at the centre.

The Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA) is assisting through delivering infrastructure projects and new models of care.

We're delivering projects to create better access to safe, modern and high-quality mental health care for Victorians.

• Recommendation 19: Supporting infant, child and family mental health wellbeing.

The Victorian Government is delivering three Statewide Child and Family Centres to support more children and families in Victoria.

Designed as safe, welcoming, and healing environments for young families, with a focus on self-determination.

The centres improve access to mental health services for children up to 11 years of age. Children can have their families stay with them in the safe and supportive residential setting. While receiving specialist mental health treatment.

In June 2023, first of three centres were delivered in Macleod, in Melbourne's north. The Victorian Government invested $7.3 million to deliver the Victorian-first centre, which features:

• 12 beds (accommodating three families at any time)
• shared living spaces including kitchen, dining, lounge, laundry and activity areas
• outdoor living, family and garden areas
• clinical consulting areas
• staff support areas.

Find out more about the Statewide Child and Family Centre

Increased support for young people

• Recommendation 20: Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people
• Recommendation 21: Redesigning bed-based services for young people

Mental health challenges affect young people differently. That's why the Victorian Government is delivering five new 10-bed, and three refurbished, Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) centres. 

The $141 million investment will double the capacity of Victoria's YPARC network. The centres are delivered across the state, so young people can access mental health services closer to home.

The centres provide treatment, care, and support to young people aged 16-25 years experiencing mental health challenges.

Young people can have different needs or preferences on their recovery journey. By engaging young people with lived experience of mental health challenges in the co-design process, we can better meet their needs.

Find out more about the YPARC expansion and upgrade program.

Expanding mental health beds

• Recommendation 11: New models of care for bed-based services
• Recommendation 12: Developing new bed-based rehabilitation services

The Victorian Government is investing $801 million to deliver a Mental Health Beds Expansion Program. The program is delivering new acute mental beds across Victoria at:

• Northern Hospital, Epping
• Sunshine Hospital, St Albans
• The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville
• McKellar Centre, Geelong
• Goulburn Valley Health, Shepparton
• Footscray Hospital
• Melton Hospital
• Frankston Hospital
• Warrnambool Hospital.

These extra beds provide more support for people experiencing mental illness who require immediate treatment in a contemporary, safe and high-quality setting.

It also increases mental health capacity and reduces pressure on emergency departments.

A new mental health facility was completed at Northern Hospital in Epping in February 2023.

Since opening, it continues to provide residents in Melbourne's northern suburbs access to immediate mental health treatment.

The centre was designed in consultation with people with lived experience of the mental health system. This includes consumers, carers, clinicians and staff.

The multi-million dollar project delivered:

• an acute mental health facility with 30 single person bedrooms with ensuites
• a sensory room
• de-escalation room
• internal courtyards and enclosed garden areas
• multi-functional rooms
• spiritual rooms
• staff and family lounges
• treatment rooms.

Find out more about the Mental Health Beds Expansion Program.

Transforming Victoria's forensic mental health system

• Recommendation 38: Providing safe and appropriate mental health treatment, care and support at Thomas Embling Hospital

The Victorian Government is also transforming the mental health system for people living with a serious mental illness in, or at risk of entering, the justice system.

A $515.7 million upgrade of Thomas Embling Hospital is delivering an extra 82 secure mental health beds. The project is delivering:

• a dedicated 34-bed women's precinct
• a 48-bed medium security men's facility
• a new entry complex
• an onsite carpark
• administration facilities.

The project will ensure Victorians most at risk can access mental health services in a secure, contemporary and recovery-focus environment.

Find out more about the Thomas Embling Hospital Expansion.

Continuing to support better mental health for Victorians

The Victorian Government is continuing to improve Victoria's mental health system to benefit all Victorians.

In September 2023, a new Mental Health Act came into effect. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 replaces the Mental Health Act 2014.

This Act aims to give Victorians the right to safe, inclusive, and accessible mental health and wellbeing services. It includes new laws to strengthen Victorians' say in what treatment and support they want.

Our work continues to support this vision through delivering infrastructure project and new models of care to meet the current and future needs of all Victorians.

Find out more about our mental health projects.

Getting mental health support

Mental health helplines can provide support if you are experiencing mental ill health:

• Beyondblue - call 1300 224 636 for telephone support, information and resources for people dealing with depression or anxiety
• Lifeline - call 13 11 14 for this free, 24-hour Australia-wide crisis support and suicide prevention service
• Kids Help Line - call 1800 55 1800 for free counselling and advice for young people between the ages of five and 25.

A comprehensive list of counselling, online and phone supports for mental illness is available on the Better Health Channel website.

VHBA is including sustainable features in new and existing health, mental health and aged care infrastructure across Victoria.

Victoria’s Climate Change Strategy sets out to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

A net zero target means that by 2050 Victoria will reduce its emissions as far as possible, and any remaining emissions will be offset.

By installing lower energy alternatives now, we can ensure that our healthcare system delivers world class healthcare with the lowest possible footprint.

Investing in our health and our planet together

Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy is at the forefront in making our healthcare more sustainable. For all new hospitals being built in Victoria, 60 per cent of the roof space is designed for solar panels. This involves several design considerations including roof spaces that face the right direction for maximum exposure to the sun and allowing for the electrical infrastructure for solar panels.

The solar panels installed in Victorian hospitals have already made a significant impact. In 2018-19, solar arrays on Victoria’s public hospitals generated 1.4 gigawatt-hours of electricity. In 2020-21 this increased to 9.8 gigawatt-hours and we are on track to generate more than 10 gigawatt-hours of solar power in 2022-23. The increase in solar energy reduced carbon emissions by some 9,500 tonnes.

Protecting our biodiversity

Additionally, by taking steps to increase biodiversity around facilities and campuses, we enhance patients, staff and visitors experience and lighten the facility's environmental footprint.

Our sustainability guidelines aim to deliver a net biodiversity increase to the site from landscaping. We do this by using locally indigenous flora, planting for habitat and enhancing biodiversity.

These sustainable design choices will contribute to lower environmental impacts and operating costs, and support the creation of healthier, healing environments for patients, visitors and staff.

VHBA’s latest projects will be ready to take advantage of the shift to renewables.

It may be surprising, but currently approximately 40 per cent of the energy hospitals use comes from natural gas. Gas creates more emissions than renewable electricity, and it is not a renewable energy.

The Victorian Government has committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity from 2025 for all its operations, including public hospitals.

In Frankston, we are building our first all-electric powered addition to an existing hospital.

The Frankston Hospital redevelopment will include a new all-electric 12-storey clinical services tower. It will provide:

• a new main entrance
• 130 new beds
• new spaces for treating mental health
• new spaces for oncology services
• expanded women’s and children’s services
• 15 new operating theatres.

The redevelopment will also incorporate innovative energy-saving technology to reduce energy and water consumption and minimise resource use.

While our new projects may be leading the way in sustainability, what does this mean for all the hospitals that are already built?

While Victoria’s existing hospitals and healthcare facilities aren’t yet all-electric, we’re working on other ways to improve the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability across the public health system.

Making hospitals more efficient

We are continuing to invest in lighting replacements, energy efficiency upgrades and installing on-site solar to reduce dependency on the electricity grid in Victorian hospitals.

In hospitals that are being refurbished, we’re investing in efficient heating and cooling. We also support the replacement of gas appliances and equipment with electrical equipment and provide grants to help eligible health services upgrade.

At Ballan Health and Care, high efficiency boilers have been fitted in the facility. Funded through the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, these boilers will reduce the footprint of the hospital on the environment.

Greening our smaller health facilities

At smaller healthcare facilities, we’re supporting refurbishments to enable buildings to go all-electric. These facilities tend to require less energy to operate given that they are physically smaller. This makes it easier to heat and cool with all-electric equipment.

The Regional Health Solar Fund (2019-2021) installed around 8.8 megawatt-peak of solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays across 79 Victorian health facilities.

We have removed gas infrastructure and installed solar panels at Lismore Community Health Centre and Macarthur Community Health Centre in regional Victoria. The two community health centres are now operating without using liquified petroleum gas.

Another recent project was switching the steam boiler kettle, hot box, and bain marie in the Colac Hospital kitchen from gas to electric, allowing the removal of a gas boiler.

Beaufort and Skipton Hospital has installed biomass boilers that burn wood chips and olive pips to provide heating and hot water.

When we design our hospitals and healthcare buildings to be more environmentally sustainable, the benefits aren’t just to the environment. Sustainable practices create healthier, healing environments for patients, visitors and staff.

Learn more about our sustainability projects.

This page was updated 2 October 2023.

Ebony Gilbert was one of the hospital’s first patients. She came in for an ultrasound as part of her regular monitoring.

‘I was born with some issues with my heart,’ Ebony explains. ‘I came here for a check-up, just to see how things are going.

‘When you come into a heart hospital, you take comfort in knowing you will get properly checked out, by the very best.’

Your new Footscray Hospital has reached its highest point. The main hospital building and inpatient unit have 'topped out'. 

Let's look what's been happening over the past few months.

Dennis and Elsie, both in their 80s, have been married for over 60 years. After meeting in Cobram aged 15 and 16, they went on to live, work and raise children in the close-knit border town in Victoria’s Hume region.

Community life played a central role, with Dennis and Elsie active in local sporting clubs and their church.

So, when Elsie developed dementia and her condition worsened, it was fitting that community ties helped find a way forward.

Dennis's son suggested he talk to a woman he knew through local football who worked at NCN Health’s Irvin House, a public residential aged care facility.

Rural and regional Victoria has a higher proportion of people over 60. That’s why investment in building public residential aged care facilities in areas like Cobram is so important.

A $2.1 million refurbishment of Irvin House was completed in 2022, funded through the Victorian Government’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.

The refurbishment included:

Upgraded communal spaces help residents and visitors nurture social ties – as well as build new ones.

'Everyone who comes here is just like, “wow!”. 'You can tell a lot of thought has gone into it,' says Dennis.

He enjoys the variety of spaces for him and Elsie to spend time during his visits.

The couple enjoy sitting in the internal courtyard to enjoy the fresh air. He says it's also nice that they can choose between social or quieter spaces depending on their mood.

The large kitchen area means residents and visitors can relax together comfortably. At the same time, it provides an opportunity to socialise.

'Not everyone has regular visitors,' explains Dennis. 'But because we often know something about their family - part of living in a rural community - it's not hard for me to strike up a conversation.'

Moving a loved one into residential aged care can be a difficult decision. But Dennis says being able to access quality aged care within his own community makes the world of difference.

'I often see new residents come in and I know it can be confronting for them and their family,' says Dennis. 'I try to talk to them a bit and let them know it's a great place to be.'

Dennis and his family already knew some of the Irvin House staff, many of whom live locally. And being only a 15-minute drive away, it's also easy for Dennis to visit.

He also likes that the couple can continue to enjoy their meals together.

'Actually, I consider Irvin House a second home'.

Visit the Dementia Australia website.

Find resources for ageing and aged care on the Department of Health website.

Learn more about our public residential aged care projects.

This page was originally published on 27 April 2023.