Victorian Acute Mental Health Facilities

The Victorian Acute Mental Health Facilities, a $492 million component of the $801 million Mental Health Beds Expansion Program, will see four new facilities delivered across sites in Melbourne and Geelong and provide 120 additional mental health beds in total. It is also known as the 'pathways to 144 Mental Health Bed Expansion'. 

The additional 120 beds are to be spread across the four facilities as follows:

• 52 beds at the Sunshine Hospital in Albans (complete September 2023)
• 30 beds at the Northern Hospital in Epping (complete February 2023)
• 22 beds at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville (expected completion early 2024), and
• 16 beds at the McKellar Centre in North Geelong (complete September 2022).

The facilities provide support to approximately 2,500 people per year and will include:

• internal courtyards for relaxation and exercise,
• family visiting areas, sensory rooms and spiritual rooms, and
• increased consulting areas.

The facilities have been provided as part of the Mental Health Beds Expansion Program, which will see 260 new mental health inpatient beds across Victoria. This includes the 120 beds in the four new mental health facilities, 24 home-based beds, and 166 hospital beds across five other health facilities. 

The four new acute mental health facilities are being prioritised in response to a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System (March 2021).