Mental Health and Wellbeing Local

About Mental Health and Wellbeing Local

Mental Health and Wellbeing Local is a new service that supports Victorian adults to get mental health and wellbeing treatment, care and support closer to home.

Support is free of charge, and you don’t need a referral from your doctor or health professional.

Services will focus on listening and understanding your concerns so they can work with you and, if you are comfortable, your family, carers and supporters, to design a care plan that meets your goals and preferences. This may involve connecting you to other health and social services if you need them.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals are for anyone aged 26 years and over experiencing mental health or wellbeing concerns. This includes anyone who is experiencing mental health and substance use concerns at the same time.

If you are a family member, carer, friend or supporter of someone with mental health concerns, you can also access support to help you in your caring role, or for your own mental health needs.

If you or someone you support is between 12 and 25 years old, please visit or contact your local headspace centre for mental health and wellbeing support.

To find out more about headspace services, please visit headspace.

Getting support

Getting the support you need is free and easy through Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals.

You do not need a referral from a doctor or any other health professional to access support. You also do not need a mental health care plan or a Medicare card to use the service.

On your first visit to a Mental Health and Wellbeing Local, you will talk to a mental health worker (this may be in person, online or over the phone). This worker will simply ask you “How can we help?”

This worker will focus on listening and understanding your concerns so they can work with you and, if you are comfortable, your family, carers and supporters, to design a care plan that meets your goals and preferences.

Your plan might include a mix of supports and therapies based on your needs. Some of these supports might be provided on your first visit, and others on later visits.

Peer workers will also be available to guide and support you as well as your family, carers and supporters.

Support is delivered in a range of ways including in-person, telehealth, and outreach, depending on what you feel comfortable with.

If you wish to remain anonymous you can call 1300 375 330 and ask for support without providing your personal details.

Find your nearest service

Contact details for Local services currently open are listed below:

New services are planned to open in the areas of Dandenong, Shepparton, Melton, Mildura, Lilydale, Bendigo-Echuca and Orbost-Bairnsdale by the end of 2023. By the end of 2026, 50 services will be open across Victoria.

If a Mental Health and Wellbeing Local is not yet open near you, you can still call 1300 375 330 to talk to someone about your needs and be connected to a Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub or other supports that are close to where you live.

The providers for each Mental Health and Wellbeing Local are:

• Benalla-Wangaratta-Mansfield: Wellways Australia (lead), with Albury Wodonga Health and ACSO
• Brimbank: cohealth (lead), with Clarity Health Care and the University of Melbourne
• Frankston: Wellways Australia (lead), with Peninsula Health and Mentis Assist
• Greater Geelong-Queenscliffe: Barwon Health (lead), with Wellways Australia, ermha365 and Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative
• Latrobe: Neami National (lead), with Drummond Street Services and Uniting Vic Tas
• Whittlesea: Neami National (lead), with Drummond Street Services, Uniting Vic Tas and Victorian Aboriginal Health Services.

Information for Area Mental Health Services, community mental health services, and primary and secondary care providers is on the Department of Health website.

Support for young people

If you or someone you support is between 12-25 years, it is recommended that you contact your local headspace for mental health and wellbeing support. To access headspace services, please visit headspace.

If you are a young person, Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals may provide support in some situations, such as:

• you contact a Mental Health and Wellbeing Local looking for help
• you are having difficulty getting support through headspace or a hospital and need immediate assistance
• you are a family member, carer, friend or supporter of a person receiving support from a Mental Health and Wellbeing Local.

Looking after yourself as a family member, carer or support person

All services are family and carer inclusive and will provide education and support to families, carers and supporters of individuals experiencing mental illness and/or substance use concerns.

Whether you would like to receive help for you in your caring role, or for your own mental health and wellbeing needs – you will be able to get the care, support and advice you need, when you need it.

For free support, call 1300 375 330.

Transforming Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing system

The way mental health and wellbeing services are delivered in Victoria is being redesigned to create a mental health and wellbeing system that provides holistic treatment, care and support for all Victorians.

The new system will be integrated and structured around a community-based model of care, where people can access treatment, care and support closer to their homes and support networks.

Importantly, people with lived experience of mental illness or psychological distress are central to the design and delivery of the new mental health and wellbeing system.

Local Adult and Older Adult Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, now known as Mental Health and Wellbeing Local are one of the flagship reforms recommended by the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.

If you would like to learn more about mental health reform in Victoria, visit Mental health and wellbeing reform.

If you would like to stay updated on the progress of the establishment of Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals, visit Local adult and older adult mental health and wellbeing services.

Transitioning your support from a Hub to a Local Service

As the Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals (Local Service/s) are established, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs (Hub/s) in the same area will slowly phase down.

People aged 26 years and over who are being supported by a Hub in an area where there is a Local Service will have the option to transition across to a Local Service or another appropriate provider.

Staff from the Hubs and Local Services will support and work with consumers and their families, carers and supporters to develop and implement a consumer centred transition plan that will focus on achieving continuity of care for people transitioning from a Hub to a Local Service.

Crisis support

Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals are not crisis services.

In an emergency which is life-threatening or where there is immediate risk of harm to anyone, call Triple Zero (000). For 24-hour crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Information in your language

If you need help in your language, you can call TIS National on 13 14 50 and ask for an interpreter, then ask to be connected to your closest Mental Health and Wellbeing Local on 1300 375 330.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals are respectful of and responsive to your cultural needs.

Delivered in partnership with the Australian Government, as part of the Head to Health initiative.