The Victorian Government is implementing a new regionalised approach to mental health and wellbeing services. The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommended regional approaches to mental health and wellbeing services, moving away from centralised decision making towards more localised approaches with the aim of ensuring service responses are tailored to local needs (recommendation 4).
To realise this vision, the Government is implementing a staged approach, with eight Interim Regional Bodies (IRBs) established as a first step in March 2022.
The three metropolitan IRBs are:
- North East Metro
- South East Metro
- Western Metro
The five regional IRBs are:
- Barwon South West
- Gippsland
- Grampians
- Hume
- Loddon Mallee
The IRBs advise the Department of Health on the mental health and wellbeing needs for their region, with the key roles of:
- Building trusted relationships with service providers and establishing strong community participation processes.
- Developing a clear understanding of the communities across the region and what they see as the key needs and opportunities for IRBs and future Regional Mental Health and Wellbeing Boards to address.
- Providing advice to government on issues and opportunities in their region.
- Support the establishment of Regional Mental Health and Wellbeing Boards.
Membership of the IRBs reflect the rich diversity of each region, bringing a range of expertise and experience. Each IRB includes members who identify with a personal lived and living experience of mental illness or psychological distress and/or a lived and living experience as a family member or carer.
The IRBs will be replaced by Regional Mental Health and Wellbeing Boards that will be responsible for providing advice to the Minister for Mental Health on a range of matters related to mental health and wellbeing. In doing so, the Boards will engage with persons receiving mental health and wellbeing services and their families, carers and supporters, mental health and wellbeing service providers and the wider community.
The Boards composition and functions are enshrined in the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022. An amendment to the Act has extended the timeframe for establishing the new Boards to 31 December 2024.
Mental Health and Wellbeing regions
Eight preliminary regions have been used to establish the IRBs. The preliminary regions are for planning and governance purposes – they are not catchments that will restrict access to services. These regions are subject to change.
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The Barwon South West region includes:
- 10 local government areas (Colac Otway, Corangamite, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong, Moyne, Queenscliff, Southern Grampians, Surf Coast and Warrnambool)
- a population of approximately 465,070
- approximately 14.3 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Barwon South West Interim Regional Body membership
- Kathy Wilson (Chair)
- Clare Amies
- Theresa Best
- Eila Lyon
- Gerard Reed
- Bianca Forrester
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The Gippsland region includes:
- 6 local government areas (Bass Coast, Baw Baw, East Gippsland, Latrobe, South Gippsland and Wellington)
- a population of approximately 300,664
- approximately 12.4 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Gippsland Interim Regional Body membership
- Kellie O’Callaghan (Chair)
- Suzanne Miller
- Tanisha Smitherson
- Sam Hodgson
Contact: Gippsland.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
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The Grampians region includes:
- 11 local government areas (Ararat, Ballarat, Central Goldfields, Hepburn, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Moorabool, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, West Wimmera and Yarriambiack)
- a population of approximately 249,670
- approximately 11.1 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Grampians Interim Regional Body membership
- Melissa Field (Chair)
- Louise Mountford
- Faith Hardman
- David Harris
- Mary Hollick
- Mark Lacey
Contact: Grampians.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
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The Hume region includes:
- 9 local government areas (Alpine, Benalla, Greater Shepparton, Indigo, Mansfield, Mitchell, Moira, Murrindindi, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta and Wodonga)
- a population of approximately 309,636
- approximately 11.0 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Hume Interim Regional Body membership
- Emma Reid (Chair)
- Kevin Mack
- Rowena Jonas
- Phillip Hoare
- Janet Chapman
- Roslyn Stewart
Contact: Hume.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
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The Loddon Mallee region includes:
- 9 local government areas (Buloke, Campaspe, Gannawarra, Greater Bendigo, Loddon, Macedon Ranges, Mildura, Mount Alexander and Swan Hill)
- a population of approximately 334,991
- approximately 11.0 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Loddon Mallee Interim Regional Body membership
- Paul O’Neill (Chair)
- Jack Smith
- Abhishek Awasthi
- Jasmine Elliott
- Jo Rasmussen
- Melissa Petrakis
Contact: LoddonMallee.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
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The North East Metropolitan region includes:
- 15 local government areas (Banyule, Boroondara, Darebin, Hume*, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Melbourne*, Merri-bek, Monash*, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea, Yarra and Yarra Ranges)
- a population of approximately 2.30 million*
- approximately 35.5 per cent of residents were born overseas.
North East Metropolitan Interim Regional Body membership
- Malcolm Hopwood (Chair)
- Tara Laursen
- Nicole Rees
- Peter Ruzyla
Contact: NorthEastMetro.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
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The South East Metropolitan region includes:
- 12 local government areas (Bayside, Cardinia, Casey, Frankston, Glen Eira, Greater Dandenong, Kingston, Melbourne*, Monash*, Mornington Peninsula, Port Phillip and Stonnington)
- a population of approximately 1.57 million*
- approximately 37.3 per cent of residents were born overseas.
South East Metropolitan Interim Regional Body membership
- Angus Clelland (Chair)
- Silvia Alberti
- Janice Munt
- Josh Fergeus
- Juliette Alush
Contact: SouthEastMetro.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
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The Western Metropolitan region includes:
- 8 local government areas (Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Hume*, Maribyrnong, Melton, Melbourne*, Moonee Valley and Wyndham Vale)
- a population of approximately 963,971*
- approximately 42.0 per cent of residents were born overseas.
Western Metropolitan Interim Regional Body membership
- Jim Williamson (Chair)
- Nicole Bartholomeusz
- Mary McGorry
- Christopher Carter
- Leah McKenner
- Andrea Polari
Contact: WesternMetro.IRB@health.vic.gov.au
* Where part local government areas are included in a region the whole local government area population is included.
* Population data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting.
Reviewed 03 April 2024