Recommendation 22

What the Royal Commission said

The Royal Commission recommends that the Victorian Government:

• Establish a responsive and integrated mental health and wellbeing service stream for older Victorians, that focuses on improving their mental health and wellbeing outcomes.
• Ensure older Victorians have access to the same mental health treatment, care and support as the rest of the adult population.
• Establish older adult mental health and wellbeing specialist multidisciplinary teams in Adult and Older Adult Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services (refer to Recommendation 3 (2)(b)), to:

1. Provide specialist mental health treatment, care and support for people with complex and compounding mental health needs generally related to ageing; and
2. Assist primary and secondary care and related services that support older Victorians, including aged care, through primary consultation, secondary consultation and shared care.

What we're doing

Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) program

• Intensive Community Treatment (ICT) is the main form of community‑based mental health care for adults aged 65 and older experiencing serious mental health challenges.
• ICT provides an alternative to hospital care, offering treatment and support at home or in the community. ICT teams include staff from different professional backgrounds and work as part of Older Adult Mental Health community services. They are closely connected to inpatient units and residential care services.
• ICT has been operating for more than 20 years and supports the Royal Commission’s reforms by providing specialist, age‑appropriate care that helps older people receive intensive support while staying in their own homes or communities.
• An evaluation of the ICT program was commissioned as an early step toward implementing Recommendation 22. The findings from the evaluation will help guide future improvements to mental health and wellbeing support for adults and older adults.
• We will continue to work closely with Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services and people with lived and living experience as reforms progress. This includes ongoing work to improve older adult mental health services and the design and delivery of home‑based care programs.