Mental health royal commission hearings get underway

Victorians impacted by mental health issues will be the first to tell their stories as public hearings for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System start at the Melbourne Town Hall today.

Mental health royal commission hearings get underway

Jerome Doraisamy

Last Updated: 02 July 2019 Published: 02 July 2019

The royal commission is the “first of its kind in Australia to address our broken mental health system”, the Victorian state government said in a statement.

“It will map out a plan of action that drives major changes to the state’s system to support the Victorians’ with mental illness, including those at risk of suicide.”

The hearings will run from today until 26 July, with around 90 people expected to give evidence, including people living with mental illness and carers, service providers and their workforce, experts and government representatives.

There will also be a dedicated day of rural hearings in Maryborough on 15 July, the government continued, and the commission will consider issues specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities at a hearing in Thornbury on 16 July.

More more than $13 million has been put into the establishment of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and funded an additional $3.5 million through the Victorian budget 2019-20.

The Labor government has pledged to implement all the royal commission’s recommendations.

Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley said: “We’ve established the royal commission because we know the system is broken.”

“The powerful stories we will hear during these hearings will help drive change, so we can make sure people get the services they need, when they need them.”

“Every year, one in five Victorians experience mental illness. This royal commission is a once in a lifetime opportunity to remove stigma and improve supports for Victorians experiencing poor mental health.”

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Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is a senior writer for Lawyers Weekly and Wellness Daily at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in early 2018, Jerome is admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales and, prior to joining the team in early 2018, he worked in both commercial and governmental legal roles and has worked as a public speaker and consultant to law firms, universities and high schools across the country and internationally. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines self-help book series and is an adjunct lecturer at The University of Western Australia.

Jerome graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Social Inquiry).

You can email Jerome at: [email protected]