Increased mental health spending in my home state

Yesterday the government of my home state announced that it has started delivering on its commitment to meet (and actually slightly exceed - 144, as opposed to the recommended 135 beds) the recommendations for increased bed numbers from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System ^{[Note 1]} - see https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/more-mental-health-beds-and-better-trained-doctors. 

This phase of work features consultation with people with lived experience of mental illness, and psychiatry rotations as part of the training of doctors.  

It is also interesting to look at per capita spending prior to this announcement. The figure below has been prepared from the spreadsheet cited at https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-contents/expenditure-on-mental-health-related-services, with population densities added from Wikipedia.

 

As can be seen, Victoria's per capita mental health expenditure has increased since 2015-16, and now is only exceed by states with: 

• lower population densities (Western and South Australia) , which increases costs just as it often does for issues such as transport; or 
• significantly smaller populations (the ACT), which contributes to a loss of economy of scale; or 
• both (Tasmania and the Northern Territory).
  

The announced increase in spending constitutes an extra $77 per Victorian, but construction will likely be spread across several years, so the increase in annual expenditure will be less - around $20, if spread over four years, which is sufficient to move above the current national average.

More importantly, however, additional responses are underway, including the vitally important work of a new Mental Health Act. 

Notes 

1. See https://finalreport.rcvmhs.vic.gov.au/, https://www.health.vic.gov.au/mental-health/mental-health-reform, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mental_Health_Royal_Commission&oldid=1051082837, and https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/victorian-mental-health-royal-commission-final-report/13203938.