Labor pledges $19.5m mental health walk-in centre for Ballarat
Labor will spend $19.5 million on a free walk-in mental health centre in Ballarat with no referral or appointment needed.
Ballarat will get a free walk-in mental health centre if Labor is re-elected, Health Minister Ingrid Stitt announced on Thursday. The $19.5 million commitment also includes a sister centre in Ararat.
Unlike hospital emergency departments, the centre will have no referral needs. People walk in and are greeted by specialist staff and peer workers with lived experience.
The facility addresses a critical gap. Ballarat has suicide rates 40 per cent higher than the state average and longer wait times for mental health support.
Grampians region is the only major regional centre in Victoria without one of these clinics. Currently, one in five acute mental health cases in the region go through emergency departments.
Mind Australia will run the Ballarat facility, with planning to start immediately if Labor wins.
- $19.5 million
- Funding commitment
- 40 percent higher than state average
- Suicide rate gap
Why it mattersIt offers early help and support before people reach a mental health crisis, taking pressure off overstretched hospital emergency departments.
AustraliaBallarat residents will have a free alternative to hospital emergency care for mental health concerns, but only if Labor is re-elected and the plan is delivered.
