Tuesday, 14 May 2024

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:09): (517) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. Minister, the 2024–25 budget papers state:

In order to deliver this reform, Victoria will require an additional 2,500 mental health workers – from psychologists to psychiatrists, mental health nurses to support workers.

Minister, how many of the 2500 mental health workers needed will be recruited through initiatives in the 2024–25 budget?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:09): I thank Ms Crozier for her question, and of course at the outset I would like to thank all of our mental health workers right across the system, whether that is in community mental health or in our acute settings. They do very challenging but incredible work every day. Like a number of workforces around the country and indeed around the globe, they have faced significant challenges coming through the pandemic. There have been some workforce shortages that the government is very mindful of, and that is why we have invested over $600 million in programs that are all designed to attract and retain the mental health workforce that we know we are going to need given the scale of the reforms that the government is implementing as a result of the recommendations of the royal commission. 2500 new early-career roles have been funded across the mental health sector between 2023 and 2026, and that includes roles across nursing, lived experience, medical, psychology, social work, occupational therapy, speech pathology, exercise physiology, physiotherapy and clinical pharmacy disciplines in both graduate and transitional programs.

There are many, many different initiatives that we are pursuing. Between 2021 and 2023 we added around 1700 additional FTEs to our reformed mental health and wellbeing system, and that is an increase of more than 17 per cent. But of course we know we have more work to do to continue to build that strong pipeline of workers to be able to staff the critical service uplift that we are providing through the work of implementing all 74 recommendations of the royal commission.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I want to thank the minister for that level of detail, but the question was really specific around this year’s budget and how many will be actually recruited from the 2024–25 budget.

The PRESIDENT: I thought the minister was relevant to the question, but I will call the minister to continue.

Ingrid STITT: Thank you, President. I was outlining for Ms Crozier not only in relation to the budget we have just announced, but the forward estimates do provide a number of ongoing programs, which I was in the process of detailing. Of course Ms Crozier would be aware that we have also in this year’s state budget invested $15.8 million to continue to build that dedicated workforce for a number of initiatives, including our mental health and wellbeing local services. I think I have given quite a bit of detail in response to Ms Crozier’s question, and let me make it very clear: the government understands the pressures on the workforce in the mental health system, and that is why we will continue to invest in the initiatives that will ensure that we are building the workforce of the future.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:13:203:): I note the minister’s answer, and she did not actually answer the question, so I will ask: Minister, the royal commission delivered its first interim report five years ago, and of the nine recommendations, over half related to the urgent need to increase the mental health workforce to ensure the final recommendations could be implemented; why did Labor fail to build Victoria’s workforce when five long years ago the royal commission was so specific that without the workforce, mental health reform would fail?

The PRESIDENT: I am concerned that that should have been the substantive question, but I will call the minister.

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:14): In the 1 minute that I have got to answer Ms Crozier’s question, I would just point her to the answer I gave to her substantive question, which was to outline a number of important investments – $600 million worth of investments, including an additional $15.8 million in the 2024–25 budget. I have already indicated that of the 2500 jobs that have been targeted and we have invested in delivering, we have already to date delivered 1700 FTEs across the system.