Recommendation 37

Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of people in contact with, or at risk of coming into contact with, the criminal and youth justice systems

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Partially delivered and in progress.

What the Royal Commission said

The Royal Commission recommended that the Victorian Government:

  • expands the Assessment and Referral Court to each of the 12 headquarter Magistrates' Courts
  • expands the existing forensic community model
  • establishes a program for people in prison and to transition to mainstream mental health and wellbeing system
  • expands specialist youth forensic mental health programs to a statewide model.

What we’ve achieved

Assessment and Referral Court (ARC)

  • The Assessment and Referral Court (ARC) is now available at 11 Magistrates’ Court locations: Ballarat, Bendigo, Dandenong, Frankston, Heidelberg, Latrobe, Melbourne, Moorabbin, Ringwood, Shepparton and Sunshine.

Regional Forensic Mental Health Service

  • We have invested in expanding Regional Forensic Mental Health Services to better support people with complex mental health and forensic needs. These services are now operating across eight regions in Victoria, improving access to specialist care closer to where people live.

Support for transition to Secondary Mental Health Services

  • A new section for Secondary Mental Health Services (Part C) was added to the Healthcare Services Quality Framework for Victorian Prisons 2025, which includes expectations for structured transition planning prior to release and support continuity of mental health care as people move from custody to community services.
  • Early transition planning is embedded into Secondary Mental Health services for people in prison who require ongoing treatment, to support continuity of care with appropriate mental health and wellbeing services in the community.
  • Transition planning incorporates a coordinated and collaborative approach involving custodial staff, Secondary Mental Health and Primary Healthcare services, to support appropriate referrals and handover for ongoing treatment.

What we’re doing

Assessment and Referral Court (ARC)

  • The Assessment and Referral Court (ARC) will open at two more Magistrates’ Court locations, Broadmeadows and Geelong, during the final phase of the project. This phase is expected to be completed by 2027.
  • This expansion will exceed the Royal Commission’s recommendation of 12, further strengthening access to therapeutic court pathways across the state.

Custodial Forensic Youth Mental Health Service uplift

  • We are expanding youth justice custodial mental health services to better support young people with complex mental health needs in custody. This includes strengthening Parkville Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Service’s (PYMHWS) specialist youth forensic mental health service at the Parkville and Malmsbury Youth Justice Precincts.
  • PYMHWS is leading the development of a detailed service plan to guide this expansion and ensure young people receive safe, high‑quality, and specialist mental health care while in custody.

Updated

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