Shaping a Better Crisis Response System Together
Lived Experience Workforce have been contributing to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Crisis and Emergency Response Reforms.
Fri, June 06
Rita Brown, our Associate Director of Lived Experience Workforce and Advocacy, has been contributing to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Crisis and Emergency Response Reforms. This has been through a series of service design workshops specifically focusing on clinical assistance and telehealth and outreach.
These workshops are part of the Victorian Department of Health’s efforts to transform the way we respond to people in mental health crisis. Aware that many people who may currently utilise crisis service experience inappropriate care she has been advocating strongly to ensure any new services meets the needs of people experiencing BPD and complex trauma.
These reforms stem from Recommendations 8, 9, and 10 of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, which highlighted the urgent need to shift away from an over-reliance on emergency departments and first responders.
Too often, people in distress end up in hospitals or with police - not always the best place for mental health support. The vision? A system that is inclusive, compassionate, and tailored to people’s needs—so that every Victorian can access the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
The reform is unfolding in three phases:
- Phase 1 is all about redesign—imagining new services like crisis outreach, telehealth support, and safe drop-in spaces.
- Phase 2 will prepare frontline workers to deliver these models.
- Phase 3 (pending funding) is about rolling them out across the state.