The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-02 · by Grant McArthur, Kieran Rooney
Victoria’s mental health watchdog stopped investigating systemic issues including the availability of beds for young patients and the illegal use of restraints after successive state government cuts to its powers, budget and staff.
asserted
watchdog → stop → powers
Outraged mental health groups have warned of major safety issues for vulnerable Victorians and are demanding the state government explain who is now overseeing the mental health system, after an investigation by The Age uncovered a prolonged undermining of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC).
asserted
investigation → warn → Commission
Hundreds of pages of confidential documents outline the impact of budget cuts and legislative overhauls inside the MHWC, culminating in its December 2025 decision to scale back investigations into systemic failings that impact thousands of vulnerable people relying on Victoria’s psychiatric services.
asserted
that → outline → services
In recent months, The Age has laid bare a system in crisis, with two recent youth suicide clusters, services failing to meet their targets for admitting acutely mentally unwell patients, escalating violence against workers, and the resignation of the fly-in, fly-out boss of the state’s flagship youth mental health service.
asserted
services → lay → service
The MHWC was established in 2022 as an independent watchdog to monitor the government’s progress in implementing the mental health royal commission’s recommendations, as well as systemic issues and complaints about mental health services.
asserted
MHWC → establish → services
Legislation demanded it be headed by four independent commissioners.
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it → demand → commissioners
But changes to that legislation introduced to parliament on December 4, 2025, sought to replace the MHWC’s independent leaders with a single minister-appointed commissioner.
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changes → introduce → commissioner
New laws also limited the watchdog’s remit to investigate the government’s post-royal commission reforms and systemic failings, and instead required it to focus on complaints about individual health services.
asserted
laws → limit → services
Internal records from that meeting, seen by The Age, reveal the commissioners and executives discussed their diminishing capabilities and how they would reprioritise the issues they would continue to scrutinise, and those that would instead be placed on a watch list or ignored altogether.
asserted
that → see → list
“Legislative changes are likely to see the remit of the MHWC focus on systemic issues arising from complaints and investigations (ie focus on service providers) likely be set out in a ministerial letter of expectations provided to the Commission by the Minister for Mental Health,” the MHWC’s December 18 meeting heard.
asserted
meeting → see → Health
“The commission has a legislative and moral obligation to review these issues and progress those that warrant further exploration and align to the commission’s review function as set out in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022.
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that → have → Act
“Changes within the MHWC including budget constraints mean very limited resourcing will be available to support process to identify and prioritise systemic issues or conduct systemic reviews or inquiries.
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resourcing → include → reviews
Through its “Interim Approach to Addressing Systemic Issues”, the meeting worked through the MHWC’s list of priority systemic issues and put a line through seven major areas it believed it no longer had the power to examine.
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it → address → power
Those scrubbed out included: the rollout of new dedicated mental health beds for young people, particularly in rural areas; pay disparities between mental health workers amid a workforce crisis; the impact of working with children check requirements for drug and alcohol workers; and the use of restrictive practices outside the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act.
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Those → scrub → Act
The commissioners were left with a colour-coded table of priorities, including a purple “short list” of issues they deemed suitable for inquiries in the next six to 12 months.
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they → leave → months
They included difficulties accessing alcohol and drug services; patients being chemically restrained; and the misuse of hospital “code grey” security procedures.
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They → include → procedures
Issues listed as blue were consigned to a “watching brief” rather than receiving immediate examination.
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Issues → list → examination
They included the availability of existing inpatient mental health beds for young people; services not taking carer complaints seriously; legal risks when patients or staff are harmed; a review of Koori mental health liaison officers; the frequency of patients being discharged into homelessness; the use of code greys to prevent patients “absconding”; and follow-ups for people denied access to mental health services.
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patients → include → services
The priority list also included a teal category for ad hoc issues – such as requiring all mental health services to hold security camera footage for longer – which would generate a simple response, such as a letter.
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which → include → letter
The final green category would see direct requests receive an immediate response, such as endorsing another organisation’s campaign or providing a comment.
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requests → see → comment
Even when it did have full powers to investigate any systemic issue the MHWC failed to launch a single own-motion investigation, the watchdog conceded in its 2024-25 annual report.
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watchdog → have → report
As a consequence, it had pledged to identify a list of appropriate issues to examine.
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it → pledge → issues
After their remit was cut, the commissioners’ “Interim Approach to Addressing Systemic Issues” was intended to scale back that list further to hold the fort from December until the health minister appointed a permanent mental health commissioner.
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minister → cut → commissioner
But within a month, the MHWC’s ability to safeguard even the parts of the system it still had jurisdiction over was also buckling.
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it → safeguard → jurisdiction
At their January 29, 2026 governance meeting, MHWC leaders shared concerns that high vacancy rates in the complaints and resolutions team were impacting performance standards, as each resolution officer dealt with between 25 and 30 cases.
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officer → share → cases
Mitigation controls had been put in place to address “psychosocial risks” for those staff, the meeting heard.
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meeting → put → staff
Brief notes from the ensuing discussion “voiced that is not a reasonable expectation for complaints and resolutions staff to continue to meet the benchmarks and performance standards set for the previous larger staffing levels”.
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staff → ensue → levels
“AB [commissioner Anabel Brebner] emphasised the need of temporary revised benchmarks and clear messaging to staff on expectations in the current state,” the discussion notes continued.
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notes → emphasise → state
The meeting resolved to notify the Department of Health it had moved its benchmarks to reflect its diminishing situation, and that “there is no expectation set on current staffing levels to absorb additional work to the current workload”.
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it → resolve → workload
When The Age this week questioned the MHWC about scaling back investigations, it conceded it had “navigated a period of significant organisational and governance change following the introduction of the new legislative framework, alongside the impacts of broader fiscal pressures across the public sector”.
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it → question → sector
In a statement, the MHWC maintained it upheld its independent role while adapting to forced changes and remained focused on handling complaints; monitoring and reporting on system performance; and reporting on the implementation of the royal commission’s recommendations.
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it → maintain → recommendations
Victoria’s new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commissioner Jennifer Black – who took up her role this week after being appointed by Health Minister Ingrid Stitt – said she was focused on working with the state government to ensure the commission was well-placed to deliver its functions and drive change.
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commission → take → change
“The commission plays an important role in protecting rights, and it is vital that it is positioned to effectively perform its core functions, to support positive outcomes for all Victorians who access the public mental health and wellbeing system,” Black said.
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Black → play → system
A Department of Health spokesperson said the MHWC remained an independent and critical part of Victoria’s mental health oversight framework.
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MHWC → say → framework
“Recent changes strengthen leadership and accountability, focusing the commission on where it can have the greatest impact – safeguarding rights, resolving complaints and helping improve the mental health system,” the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → strengthen → system
Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council chief executive Vrinda Edan said some of the sector’s biggest problems were systemic and not necessarily visible through individual complaints.
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some → say → complaints
“What’s important to us is the consequence for independent oversight.
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’s → ’ → oversight
Whatever the underlying reasons for the changes, any reduction in the capacity to identify and report systemic problems should be taken seriously,” Edan said.
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Edan → underlie → problems
Phillipa Thomas, the chief executive of peak body for public and private health providers Mental Health Victoria, said the latest revelations raised concerns about the MHWC’s ability to respond to complaints, with some of the issues on short lists “alarming”.
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some → say → lists
“These documents clearly foreshadow planning for the removal of mechanisms for independent oversight and accountability of royal commission implementation and contradicts reassurances provided to the sector,” she said.
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she → foreshadow → sector
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
