Prof Stuart Kinner submits witness statement to Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System

Prof Stuart Kinner, Head of the Justice Health Unit, has provided a witness statement to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Witness statements are formal evidence before the Commission that will inform ongoing work and the final report. The purpose of the Commission is to provide the community with a clear and ambitious set of actions to improve Victoria’s mental health system and enable Victorians to experience their best mental health.

Prof Kinner’s witness statement included proposed reforms for improving the interaction of, and outcomes for, young people and adults living with mental illness with the justice system. Among the proposed reforms were: (1) independent funding and oversight in relation to consumer input to improve the provision of mental health services in the criminal justice system; (2) improving the cultural capability of custodial mental health services, especially in relation to Indigenous people; and (3) rigorous evaluation of interventions to improve health outcomes among people released from prison and youth detention.

The witness statement submitted by Prof Kinner is available here.