Regional Services

Our Community Operations  have been funded by the Victorian Government for the statewide expansion of services as a key recommendation of the Victorian Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System (2021). Our Regional Forensic Mental Health Services (RFMHS) have been established with operations commencing in the Barwon Southwest region in September 2023, and the Hume region in May 2024.

Our RFMHS strengthen the provision and access of Forensic mental health services in the state of Victoria by:

• provide consistency in treatment, care, and support to people in contact with, or at risk of coming into contact with, the criminal justice system
• promoting care continuity and coordination between different parts of the mental health and criminal justice systems;
• diverting people from the criminal justice system;
• reducing demand for costly and restrictive forensic mental health beds.

The RFMHS is staffed by multi-disciplinary teams including consultant psychiatrists, mental health nurses, psychologists, social workers and other allied and mental health professionals. Our teams work closely with area mental health and wellbeing services and wider community services to ensure consumers receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time, by the right people.

Improving access to care by providing services near where people live support consumers living in the community with a mental illness and who are at risk of offending, or reoffending in their recovery. Our RFMHS improves outcomes for consumers, carers and families, builds the capabilities of staff and the sector, provides professional and lifestyle opportunities for staff, and helps keep the community safe.

For more information, please read our brochures: Barwon South West, Hume