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An independent report that found just 54 of the government\u2019s 270 promised mental health reforms had been completed was reworked ahead of its publication to credit it with doubling progress on royal commission recommendations.<\/p>\n
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission\u2019s original report also had its judging criteria changed, its ratings improved, and its most critical findings removed in the months after it was first presented to the government.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The delayed release and reworking of the report has drawn criticism over the stalled overhaul of the sector following the royal commission and raised concerns that the government is undermining the independence of bodies meant to hold it to account.<\/p>\n
Even the original report\u2019s author, former Commissioner Annabel Brebner, cast doubt over the credibility of the re-worked findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initial method emphasised transparency of reporting of progress in implementing the recommendations, and the categories used to assess progress reflected this,\u201d she said in a short statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my view, the difference in methodology raises questions about the overall reliability and validity of the assessments made.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Brebner added she had not contacted the MHWC or sought and explanation on why the report\u2019s content had altered so dramatically.<\/p>\n
The commission\u2019s long-awaited status update<\/a> into Victoria\u2019s mental health reforms was presented to the government in December 2025. However, it was not published until June 24, 2026, and, during the six-month delay, at least 75 of the independent commissioners\u2019 original 270 status ratings were improved.<\/p>\n A leaked draft of the commissioners\u2019 original report, which was sent to the Department of Health and some key stakeholders, reveals huge changes were made to the MHWC\u2019s assessments to favour the government\u2019s position.<\/p>\n Many of the strongest concerns raised in the original draft \u2013 including the impact of budget cuts, a lack of evidence to support government claims and the refusal of stakeholders to work with the Department of Health \u2013 are also missing from the publicly released version in June.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In one example, four of the five sub-recommendations relating to Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing reforms have been upgraded from \u201cpartial progress\u201d in December, to \u201cin place\u201d in July, while the sentence \u201cthe 2025-26 Budget did not include funding for further development of these initiatives\u201d was cut from its findings.<\/p>\n By the time the report was released the commissioners who wrote the original version had been removed from their positions by an act of parliament<\/a>, and an interim commissioner, appointed directly by Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt, had overseen its redrafting and public release.<\/p>\n Three senior mental health figures familiar with the report\u2019s delay refused to discuss the circumstances of its rewriting on the record, fearing reprisals from the government and further financial cuts to vital services.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cWe have essentially lost independent oversight of the royal commission,\u201d one source said.<\/p>\n Another accused the government of undermining the commission\u2019s ability to monitor the failing sector, including slashing its 2025-26 budget to 40 per cent below its forecast expenses<\/a>, cutting its staff from 54 to 27, and hobbling its independence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe royal commission\u2019s findings were not just about new services, but about improved system governance, outcomes, and culture,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have such a governance body be defunded and demoted before an election, and information withheld by bureaucrats until the minister\u2019s appointee is in control, shows that not much has actually changed on that front, if not getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n It follows revelations in July that a 33-page CFA report, which gave a blunt assessment of the shortcomings in the state\u2019s firefighting capability, was whitewashed after talks with the state government<\/a> and cut back to 18 pages.<\/p>\n The MHWC was established in 2022 to independently monitor and report annually on the Victorian government\u2019s progress of implementing the mental health royal commission\u2019s recommendations. It was headed by four commissioners, including two with lived experience.<\/p>\n Work on its latest report was led by Brebner during 2025 before being reviewed by the watchdog\u2019s full team of commissioners and the CEO.<\/p>\n The commission briefed the Department of Health about its findings in November 2025, and asked for a government response so it could be included in the document before its potential publication in December or January.<\/p>\n Related Article Two sources familiar with those discussions said Brebner and her team grew frustrated at the government\u2019s refusal to provide a response,and agitated to release the report without one, but were blocked by the then commission chair Maggie Toko.<\/p>\n On December 4, 2025, the government introduced to parliament a controversial bill to overhaul the commission\u2019s leadership and limit it\u2019s investigative remit – in contravention of the royal commission\u2019s recommendation – paving the way to replace the four independent commissioners<\/a> with a single commissioner.<\/p>\n A fortnight later, on December 16, the MHWC report was sent to staff and key stakeholders to brief them ahead of a possible January release, which was then repeatedly delayed.<\/p>\n Brebner, fellow commissioners and MHWC staff continued to push for the report\u2019s release up to April 27, when the legislative changes came into effect and their positions were eliminated. Toko was appointed interim Mental Health and Wellbeing Commissioner by Stitt.<\/p>\n Footnotes in the published report show that just one day later the Department of Health provided the MHWC with a raft of \u201cauthorised information\u201d, allowing for the document\u2019s redrafting.<\/p>\n Some of those familiar the original MHWC\u2019s original independent assessments said they were shocked at the extent of changes when the implementation status update was finally released on June 24.<\/p>\n A comparison of the documents shows while the original report assigned five possible status ratings for progress on each of the royal commission\u2019s 270 sub-recommendations, the published report cut that to just three.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n That included the removal of a category titled \u201climited evidence of progress available publicly\u201d, which had been assigned to 32 cases where no evidence of work being undertaken, other than press releases and other announcements, could be found.<\/p>\n Another rating category, \u201cto be assessed later\u201d, was also deleted. It had been given to 26 sub-recommendations in the original report, where the commissioners deemed new programs were too fresh to be assessed in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n The changes left three wider ratings remaining – Not Yet Commenced; Partial Progress; and In Place – and saw at least 75 grades from the original report improved in the one published June.<\/p>\n Transparency International Australia chief executive Clancy Moore said the commission had been established to hold government and service providers to account.<\/p>\n \u201cThe claims that the government re-wrote and delayed a critical report assessing the government\u2019s performance on mental health is a blow for transparency and accountability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder the legislation the commission is meant to act as an independent body. This means being free from government interference.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cGood government requires independent advice, scrutiny, and accountability. Yet the Labor government has long engaged in the politicisation of the public service, and independent bodies like the commission, which only weakens democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked why its assessments changed, the MHWC told The Age that its December 2025 version was \u201can early, incomplete draft\u201d that had \u201cgaps or inaccuracies\u201d because it had not been provided with departmental information, and was not approved for release at that stage.<\/p>\n It said the report was updated when the department\u2019s response was provided, and this information \u201cinformed, but did not determine\u201d its findings.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the halfway point of the 10-year mental health reform agenda, the commission sought to highlight both \u2013 the progress to date in delivering on recommendations since the royal commission, as well as to highlight the important work still ahead, with detail, accuracy and balance,\u201d Interim Commissioner Maggie Toko said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important that the commission\u2019s reporting provide the community and all stakeholders with an accurate and comprehensive view on the status of the implementation of the recommendations for mental health reform, that conveys the progress to date, and a sense of optimism and continued commitment towards the ongoing work in improving outcomes into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Health said it had been provided with a draft of the MHWC\u2019s report at the end of 2025, and provided \u201cfactual and technical feedback\u201d between December 2025 and May 2026 to ensure it had up-to-date information.<\/p>\n \u201cThe MHWC is an independent statutory authority \u2013 it is responsible for its own reports, findings and assessments, including decisions about content and publication dates,\u201d a department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. 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An Instagram post from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission on April 28, 2026 – the day an act of parliament eliminated the role of the commissioners, and the day the Department of Health provided new information to allow for the redrafting of their independent evaluation of the government\u2019s mental health system overhauls.<\/p>\n![\"Mental](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a3f2667a011bca5053afe93c7cf411ba16eba3e5.jpeg\")
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