The Andrews Government has released the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Mental Health.
ANMF (Vic Branch) attended one of the government’s more than 20 roundtable meetings held across the state to provide feedback on the draft terms of reference in January.
More than 8000 Victorians also made a submission online to help shape the terms of reference, which include:
- how to most effectively prevent mental illness and suicide
- how to deliver the best mental health outcomes and help Victorians navigate the system
- how to best support the needs of family members and carers of people living with mental illness
- how to improve outcomes for those in the community at greater risk of experiencing poor mental health
- how to best support people living with mental illness and problematic alcohol and drug use.
The royal commission will deliver a preliminary report by November 30 2019 and a final report in October 2020.
The government has appointed public policy expert Penny Armytage as the chair of the royal commission, with Associate Professor Alex Cockram, Professor Allan Fels AO and Professor Bernadette McSherry as the other commissioners.
The government has already committed to implementing each one of their recommendations.
Ms Armytage most recently served as the chair of the Transport Accident Commission and president of Berry Street (child and family services organisation) . She is a former secretary of the Department of Justice.
Associate Professor Cockram has 30 years’ experience in health, including clinical and academic experience. She is an associate professor in the University of Melbourne’s Department of Psychiatry and a former chief executive officer at Western Health.
Professor Fels is the former chair of the National Mental Health Commission and a leading Australian economist and lawyer best known for his role as chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Professor McSherry is an internationally-recognised legal academic in the fields of criminal law and mental health law, and president of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.
