As a result of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommendation 56(3), Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), together with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) and Mental Health Legal Centre (MHLC), are expanding mental health legal services across the state by implementing a new co-designed Mental Health Legal Rights Service model. In addition, with the introduction of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic), which came into effect 1 September 2023, VLA IMHA services have also expanded, and its non-legal advocacy functions are now detailed in the Act, it has been named the primary nonlegal advocacy provider and responsible for non-legal advocacy opt-out register.

The Department of Health (DH) is funding two service expansions:

1. Expansion of the Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) non-legal service across the state via an opt-out model, delivered by VLA.
2. The Mental Health Legal Rights Service (MHLRS), a new service delivered across the state by VLA, VALS, and MHLC.

Please refer to the Specification Documents (RFP) for further information about the two services, the partner organisations, and the scope of the evaluation required.