Recommendation 36

What the Royal Commission said

The Royal Commission’s Final Report recognised the need to integrate mental health and alcohol and other drug support. It calls for a new statewide service for people living with mental illness and substance use or addiction.

The statewide service will:

• lead research into mental illness and substance use or addiction
• support education and training activities for workforce in these sectors
• provide specialist treatment and care to people with the most complex support needs.
• provide expert advice to support the mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) workforce.

The Royal Commission also recommends increasing the number of addiction specialists in Victoria. We will work with the Commonwealth Government to explore opportunities for funded trainee positions for addiction specialists.

The statewide service will support Recommendation 35 of the Royal Commission. Recommendation 35 calls for all Mental Health and Wellbeing Services to provide integrated treatment, care and support. This will improve outcomes for people living with mental illness and substance use or addiction.

What we've achieved

Established The Hamilton Centre

• The Hamilton Centre is a network of five services. Four are based in major hospitals and provide specialist advice and support to mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) services. They help people who experience both mental health challenges and substance use issues. These services also support and train the workforce, including new addiction specialists.
• The Hamilton Centre, operated by Turning Point, leads research, workforce development and coordination across the network, and provides administrative support to ensure the network works effectively.
• The Hamilton Centre has received more than 4,500 referrals in the three years since its opening.
• Through a statewide integrated approach, the Hamilton Centre addresses prolonged stays in emergency departments and improves care for people with both mental health and substance use needs by supporting earlier and more effective treatment pathways.
• In 2025, the Department of Health completed a formal evaluation, which found the Hamilton Centre is delivering its core functions, particularly in building workforce capability. The evaluation also identified the need for clearer governance, stronger coordination, and more consistent service delivery across the network to show system‑wide impact.
• An Implementation Plan will be developed in 2025–26 to respond to the evaluation findings. This plan will set clear actions and responsibilities, strengthen how the program operates, and focus on achieving measurable outcomes in the next phase of delivery.

Growth in addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry training programs

• We have grown the addiction medicine and addiction psychiatry training pipelines within Victoria’s public health services.
• This aligns with Victoria’s Health Workforce Strategy, which aims to increase the supply of priority roles.

What we're doing

We are working with our partners to deliver the following projects:

Establish addiction specialist services

• New addiction specialist services are being introduced to provide direct support to Mental Health and Wellbeing Services.
• These services will operate across eight regions in Victoria and help grow the specialist workforce. This means people can access specialised treatment, care, and support closer to home, without needing to travel long distances.

Grow the addiction specialist workforce

• The Department of Health is supporting training positions to increase the number of addiction psychiatrists and addiction medicine specialists working in Victoria. Most recently, the 2026 Victorian Medical Specialist Training Program has funded additional addiction medicine trainee places for 2026 and 2027, helping grow the specialist workforce.
• Victoria also continues to advocate at the national level, including through forums such as the Health Workforce Taskforce, to support initiatives that improve the supply and availability of priority specialties, such as addiction medicine, across the country.