New collaborative centre for mental health a step closer

The Victorian Government has today announced the lead partners for the new Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing, a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.  

Victoria University (VU) is one of 20 support partners in the consortium which will be led by The Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne.  

The centre is the first of its kind in Australia and will bring together people with lived experience, researchers, and health professionals to lead critical improvements in the mental health system.  

The centre will provide treatment, care and support to adults, lead cutting-edge research and serve as the ‘engine room’ for reform across the mental health sector and its workforce. 

VU joins seven other academic partners who will help provide world-leading translational research into mental health and wellbeing to drive change in Victoria. 

“This is an important and significant initiative which Victoria University is proud to be part of,” Institute for Health and Sport Executive Director, Professor Alex Parker said. 

VU has strong research expertise in demonstrating the benefit of exercise and diet on mental health and wellness, we are well-placed to provide an evidence base to improve Victoria’s mental health system.

The Victorian Collaborative Centre’s board includes at least four members with lived experience and a dedicated Lived Experience Advisory Panel, ensuring lived experience is at the heart of all the centre’s work.