QUICK FACTS
- Investing $45.2 million in Child and Youth Mental Health support.
- Extending child and youth mental health in regional areas, and after hours in each region.
- Youth-specific Mental Health Hospital in the Home, involving home visits and telehealth.
- New Mental Health Hub in Devonport to be built, offering Safe Haven (for those in suicidal or situational distress), Recovery College (free education to improve mental health and recovery) and Integration Hub (brief interventions, support and navigation).
- Safe Haven, Recovery College and Integration Hub to be offered at the new Mental Health Precinct in Launceston.
- Emergency Mental Health Co-Response Service for Launceston.
- New 40-bed modern mental health complex for older persons at St John's Park Health and Wellbeing Precinct.
- 27-bed Mental Health Centre built by 2025-26, including 15 short-stay beds and 12-bed residential Eating Disorders Treatment Centre.
- Driving impactful action on suicide prevention at the grassroots level.
- New eating disorder community clinics on the North-West.
- Statewide intensive treatment for eating disorders, including individual psychological interventions.
Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Deliver new child and youth outreach clinics in Kingston, Brighton and the North-West.
- Complete the 27-bed mental health centre at St John’s Park, and mental health precincts at the NWRH and LGH.
- Implement the Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2027.
- Expand Eating Disorder community clinics to the North-West.
- Establish a statewide community-based intensive treatment program for eating disorders, including group and day programs.
- Provide a new after-hours child and youth mental health service at the LGH and NWRH.
- Deliver a youth Mental Health Hospital in the Home in the North-West.
- Build a new $7.6 million Mental Health Hub in Devonport.
- Establish a Safe Haven, Recovery College and Integration Hub in the new Mental Health Precinct at the LGH.
- Pilot an Emergency Mental Health Co-Response Service in the North.
- Build a new $82.5 million 40-bed Older Persons Mental Health complex.
Our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania's Future is about taking action, right now, on issues affecting Tasmanians, including delivering more mental health services.
Over the past decade, the Liberal Government has invested an additional $410 million into Tasmania's mental health and alcohol and drug services system.
We created the first dedicated Cabinet Ministry for Mental Health and Wellbeing, demonstrating our strong commitment to improving the mental health and wellbeing of all Tasmanians.
More mental health support for children and adolescents
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is investing $45.2 million to implement the extensive recommendations of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Review, which our government commissioned.
A suite of new specialist services is in development including a Youth Mental Health Service, an intensive Mental Health Service for Children in Out of Home Care, and a Youth Forensic Mental Health Service.
We have commenced a new Child and Youth Mental Health after-hours service at the Royal Hobart Hospital, established Tasmania's first Multisystemic Therapy Program which is operating state-wide, established a new Patient Flow Program to ensure consistent intake, referral, and assessment processes across the State, and established a new state-wide leadership structure.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Extend Child and Youth Mental Health outreach clinics in rural and remote areas of the State.Clinics have already commenced in Huonville, Scottsdale, St Helens, and George Town.New clinics will be established in Kingston, Brighton, and a suitable location in the North West.
- Deliver a new Child and Youth Mental Health after-hours service at the Launceston General Hospital and North West Regional Hospital.In June 2022, we introduced a new after-hours service for Child and Youth Mental Health at the Royal Hobart Hospital, ensuring a presence at the hospital with extended hours, seven days a week.Over the next four years, and dependent on successful recruitment, we will deliver a similar service in the North and North West of the State.
- Deliver a youth-specific Mental Health Hospital in the Home.A two-year trial is already being established in the North West to commence this year, providing hospital-level treatment delivered by a multi-disciplinary team to young people in their place of residence as an alternative to hospital admission, or as part of an inpatient discharge plan.
In addition, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will continue to work with the Australian Government to establish three regional Head to Health Kids (H2HK) services through our partnership under the Tasmanian Bilateral Agreement for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
These services will operate out of three of the State’s Child and Family Learning Centres.
More mental health support for adults
The Tasmanian Mental Health Reform Program began in 2019 to transform Tasmania’s mental health system.
The Reform Program builds on Tasmania’s overarching mental health plan, Rethink 2020, and provides for a range of new mental health services. This includes establishing Acute and Continuing Care Teams, more innovative community-based supports such as the Peacock Centre, Mental Health Hospital in the Home, the Mental Health Emergency Response service, establishing the Lived Experience Workforce and the new Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Strategy.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Invest $7.65 million to construct a new Mental Health Hub in Devonport, which will offer a Safe Haven, Recovery College, and Integration Hub in the North West. These are all new services for Tasmania. This was first put in place in the newly redeveloped 12-bed Peacock Centre, which has assisted over 1,750 Tasmanians since opening in 2023.Recovery College provides Tasmanians with a chance to improve their mental health and wellbeing and personal recovery through free education. Safe Havens are open extended hours and provide support for people in suicidal or situational distress, and Integration Hubs bring together community organisations to provide mental health and wellbeing support, help to navigate services, and provide brief interventions.
- Establish Safe Haven, Recovery College, and Integration Hub in the North after the new Mental Health Precinct is constructed at the LGH.
- Pilot an Emergency Mental Health Co-Response Service in the North. In 2021, the Tasmanian Liberal Government put in place the $5.1 million PACER program - a co-response service involving mental health clinicians, paramedics and Tasmania Police.The PACER program assisted 1,568 Tasmanians in 2022-23, with 75 per cent able to remain in the community, rather than be transferred to hospital. This new health service was made permanent in the south and renamed as the Mental Health Emergency Response Service, acknowledging that a police response was sometimes, but not always, required. In 2023, a trial of the Service in the North-West was launched. A re-elected majority Liberal Government will now pilot the Service in the North of the State, in a two-year trial commencing in 2025.
A new mental health complex for older Tasmanians at the new St Johns Park Health and Wellbeing precinct
The Liberals are committed to improving the lives of older people with mental illness and complex dementia through our Older Persons Mental Health Reform Project.
We have already provided an additional $20.5 million to develop new, contemporary models of care and increased recruitment of new staff including clinicians, psychiatrists, nurses, ward aides, community-based case managers, and allied health staff.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will invest $82.56 million over the next four years to establish a new purpose-built 40-bed Older Persons Mental Health facility as Stage 2 of the St Johns Park Health and Wellbeing Precinct.
The services currently delivered at the ageing and outdated Roy Fagan Centre at Lenah Valley, including inpatient and day program services, will be transferred to the new facility in 2029.
More mental health beds
The Liberal Government has already built the 12-bed Peacock Centre, which opened in 2023.
We have also built a brand new 33-bed Mental Health Inpatient Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital and recently put in place three public mother baby beds, and we have delivered new mental health safe beds for children and young people at the RHH and LGH, established a six-bed Short Stay Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and put in place 12 Mental Health Hospital in the Home beds in the South.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Deliver the new 27-bed Mental Health Centre at St Johns Park, New Town. A tender has been awarded for the construction of this facility, which will include 15 short-stay mental health beds, a 12-bed residential Eating Disorders Treatment Centre, Safe Haven supporting people in suicidal or situational distress, an Integration Hub bringing together community services organisations, and a Recovery College classroom providing opportunities for people to learn about and improve their mental health, wellbeing and personal recovery through free education.
- Deliver two new purpose-built mental health precincts, including new inpatient units, at the Launceston General Hospital and the North West Regional Hospital. The new facilities will be completed in 2027-28 and 2025-26 respectively.
Suicide Prevention
Building more connected and compassionate communities is at the heart of the Liberals’ work to reduce the rate of suicide in Tasmania.
We have set up the Premier’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Council, with specialist working groups under the Council focusing on priority populations such as men, LGBTIQA+, and young people.
We have established Tasmania’s first Suicide Register to ensure we have access to a detailed dataset to inform suicide prevention policy and planning.
We are supporting communities to understand and safely talk about suicide through the Tasmanian Communications Charter and are supporting the growth and development of our Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Community Network by providing funding for learning events.
We remain committed to empowering local communities through small grants via Relationships Australia Tasmania to drive impactful action at the grassroots level.
We have opened Tasmania’s first Safe Haven for people in suicidal distress at the Peacock Centre, and we will continue to roll out the Connecting with People suicide mitigation approach across our State Service, in primary health care (such as GPs), and in frontline community services.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will continue to roll-out the Tasmanian Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2027 with annual implementation plans published to drive priority actions.
Eating disorders
The Liberal Government established the Tasmanian Eating Disorder Service (TEDS) in 2023. Multidisciplinary Community Clinics are underway in Hobart and Launceston. The clinics provide short term, holistic care with the aim of transitioning from hospital services into community treatment and reducing length of stay in hospital.
A re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Expand multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Community Clinics to the North West.
- Establish a state-wide Community Based Intensive Treatment program, which will provide individual psychological interventions, group and day programs, medical monitoring, and meal support.
- Deliver the new 27-bed Mental Health Centre at St Johns Park, New Town in 2025-26, including a 12-bed residential Eating Disorders Treatment Centre.
Net Cost: $90.21 million in capital infrastructure
Some policies are costed elsewhere.