DV Vic and DVRCV statement

Wednesday 3 March 2021

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Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) and the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (DVRCV) welcome the public release of the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and the commitment made by the Victorian Government to implement the 65 recommendations made by the Commission.

The report finds that the current mental health system is failing many people and sets out an ambitious reform agenda for a redesigned mental health and wellbeing system in Victoria.

While the recommendations do not speak directly to family violence, the report focuses on several elements which have the potential to improve outcomes for victim-survivors of family violence:

  • Moving away from a crisis-driven model to community-based models of care and addressing the ‘missing middle’ of the current mental health system. This is of particular significance for victim survivors of family violence and trauma, who are more likely to need more extensive support than is available to them through the current system.
  • Centering the voices of people with lived experience in the redesign and development of the new system and embedding structures to support this into the future.
  • Embedding trauma-informed mental health treatment responses.
  • Integrated approaches to system design and delivery.
  • Reducing barriers to accessing mental health services and increasing the range of service options available to make the system more accessible and inclusive.
  • Increased investment in the mental health workforce and service system to meet existing and forecast increasing demand.

DV Vic and DVRCV CEO Tania Farha said she hopes to see this work approached in a systematic and comprehensive way that considers the reforms required across both mental health and family violence service systems, in order to ensure better safety and wellbeing outcomes for all Victorians.

‘DV Vic and DVRCV will continue to read and reflect on the Commission’s report and recommendations, with a focus on the implications for Victoria’s coordinated response to family violence. We look forward to working with the Victorian Government to ensure the redesign of the mental health system is undertaken in a family violence and trauma-informed way, that complements and leverages the significant family violence reforms currently underway.’

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