Thursday, 15 May 2025

Northern Victoria Region

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (12:40): (1571) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health, to ask that the appropriate funding be provided in the state budget for the valuable work of Lifeline Loddon Mallee. Lifeline Loddon Mallee provides critical mental health and crisis support services across Northern Victoria from Kyneton to Mildura, including Bendigo. In addition to operating a local call centre for the national Lifeline crisis line, they also offer face-to-face counselling. These services support people in crisis and help build long-term community resilience by training local volunteers, who bring their skills back into their communities. Despite Victoria generating nearly 30 per cent of Lifeline’s national call volume, only 12.5 per cent of those calls are answered in Victoria. Unlike other states, such as New South Wales and Queensland, Victorian Lifeline centres receive no direct state funding to build local capacity, and this urgently needs to change. Will the minister support Lifeline’s state budget proposal and provide funding to enable Victorian Lifeline centres to recruit and train more local volunteers and improve local crisis support?