2018 Victorian state budget analysis

2 May 2018

There is considerable funding in this year's state budget for mental health, addiction and family violence.

Included in Tim Pallas's budget yesterday were the following key announcements:

Family violence

  • $49.9 million to continue providing therapeutic and flexible support for victims of family violence. These funds will also go to making sure survivors of sexual abuse will receive additional support, and the statewide sexual assault crisis line will employ additional social workers to address demand pressures
  • $27.7 million for after-hours refuge responses for victims of family violence to continue to provide secure, after hours crisis accommodation for women and children seeking immediate support
  • Behavioural change campaigns and a range of initiatives will receive $24 million to support the implementation of Free from Violence
  • $13.5 million for the implementation of the Aboriginal 10-Year Family Violence Plan to build a strong, integrated Aboriginal workforce and family violence prevention and response sector, which will create better access, and more appropriate family violence services for Aboriginal people
  • $1.3 million for additional crisis properties in the Wimmera South Mallee area for women facing family violence
  • $2 million for the continuation of the  Out of the Dark family violence recovery program and family violence specialist trauma counselling in women’s prisons.

Mental health and addiction

  • Six new emergency department crisis hubs, with ambulatory services and short stay units to be built at Monash Medical Centre, St Vincent’s, Geelong, Royal Melbourne, Sunshine and Frankston Hospital emergency departments
  • Community based mental health services for approximately 12,800 additional Victorians, and supporting 89 new acute inpatient beds
  • Three new residential drug rehabilitation treatment facilities, each with 30 beds, to be built in the Barwon, Gippsland and Hume regions
  • Expanding the Hospital Outreach Post suicidal Engagement initiative to a further six hospitals, supporting an extra 3 000 people per year
  • Providing more treatment options and improve clinical care in six Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) units and developing a 20 bed PARC facility for young people across Melbourne.