National Standards for Mental Health Services

The National Standards for Mental Health Services and associated guidelines for non-government agencies were released in late 2010. These replaced the previous 1996 National Standards upon which the 2004 PDRSS Standards are based. The National Standards apply to all mental health services and are aimed at promoting recovery, consumer and carer rights. They set a benchmark for quality services and provide an indication of what people should expect when interacting with the service system.

VICSERV, in conjunction with the Department of Health, hosted a series of regional workshops in February and March 2011 to explore how the revised Standards will impact on the community-managed mental health sector. The high attendance reflected the sector's interest in quality improvement. The presentation slides are amongst some of the resources provided below. Further resources are in the process of being developed to assist members in implementing as well as integrating the National Standards into their quality practice.

Resources

National Standards for Mental Health Services
Implementation Guidelines for non-government community services
Implementation Guidelines for public mental health services and private hospitals
Implementation Guidelines for private office based mental health practices

Department of Health National Standards Workshops 2011