Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (04:34): (2568) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Mental Health. Will the minister take urgent action to ensure that more mental health beds are made available for young people in regional Victoria? I understand that in the entire state there are only 58 dedicated inpatient beds for adolescents with mental health issues. All but four of these are in metropolitan areas – two are in Traralgon, and two are in Mildura. That leaves a large part of the state without any dedicated beds for young people in the regions who face mental health issues and need specific inpatient care.

Recently a young lady from Wodonga in my electorate, Katie, publicly shared her story of trying to find help for her mental health issues. The closest available acute adolescent mental health inpatient bed was at Eastern Health’s Box Hill Hospital, more than a three-hour drive away, and securing a bed was never guaranteed. I commend Katie for her bravery in speaking to the media in the hope that services may be improved and other young people do not go through the same trauma.

I also note the Beyond Beds campaign has been advocating for at least eight dedicated adolescent inpatient beds in the Hume region, but the fact remains that in the absence of appropriate care in the regions our young people are presenting to emergency departments or being admitted to adult mental health units. These environments are far from ideal for a young person experiencing a severe mental health crisis. There is a severe geographical imbalance in services. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics there was a 50 per cent increase in mental health conditions among young people between 2007 and 2021. Vulnerable young Victorians are suffering, and I ask the minister to urgently address this issue.