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August 24, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Two youth suicide clusters in Melbourne\u2019s east involving the deaths of 10 people, the youngest aged 13, have raised new concerns about Victoria\u2019s troubled mental health system.<\/p>\n Youth mental health services in the east were put on alert in response to rising teenage tragedies over nine months, but Victoria\u2019s health watchdogs have failed to launch a review to determine if there are any systemic issues or access issues at the heart of the cases.<\/p>\n A total of 10 young people, including at least six children under 16, died in September-October last year and May this year.<\/p>\n The mass tragedies are the latest revelations regarding Victoria\u2019s youth mental health system to emerge during an investigation by The Age, and follow the closure of a children\u2019s mental health service <\/a>at a major Melbourne hospital this month pending a bullying investigation into its staff. In parliament on Friday, opposition health spokesperson Georgie Crozier named the service as Austin Health\u2019s child inpatient unit.<\/p>\n Separately, the boss of Victoria\u2019s flagship youth mental health service resigned this month, a day after it was revealed she was leading the Parkville Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Service as a fly-in, fly-out CEO<\/a>, as reports mount of violence, drug use and patient deaths in its first year of operation.<\/p>\n Related Article The state coroner is awaiting briefs of evidence before deciding whether to group the teen death cases together for investigation, or examine each individually.<\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s Department of Health confirmed its youth mental health services provided post-suicide support to the area after being alerted to the rising deaths. But because it does not have records of the children receiving help at public hospitals before they died, neither the Chief Psychiatrist, Safer Care Victoria nor the Suicide Prevention and Response Office are reviewing the suitability or capacity of services in the area.<\/p>\n A mental health specialist working in Melbourne\u2019s east, who is not authorised to speak publicly, said most children and families seeking help via emergency department and phone triage lines did not receive admission to specialised public child and youth mental health services, and they feared lives were being lost as a result.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are definitely systemic issues,\u201d the senior clinician said. \u201cHow terrible that we weren\u2019t helping them, and they were in this trouble. Obviously, something isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n \u201cIn triage and ED, they reject the majority of kids that present. They reject them because they haven\u2019t got the capacity to see them. They are the kids we should be seeing, but a lot of them get turned away because there\u2019s no capacity for them to be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Major public hospital networks Eastern Health and Austin Health both operate child and youth mental health services in the city\u2019s east, where the clusters occurred.<\/p>\n A Coroners Court spokesperson confirmed the Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network advised it on October 31, 2025, of a potential cluster of deaths, involving people aged 13 to 22, in its service catchment area.<\/p>\n \u201cThe investigations into these deaths are in the early stages and once the coronial briefs are received the coroner will review the evidence to determine the next steps of the investigations and if the circumstances of the cases make it appropriate to conduct a cluster investigation,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n The coroner was later notified of the suspected suicides of a further four young people, aged 13 to 18, in Melbourne\u2019s east in May this year.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cCoroners are investigating these cases individually and are awaiting coronial briefs of evidence for the investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n A Department of Health spokesperson said the Coroners Court alerted it to suspected suicides in September 2025 and again in May 2026, prompting the Chief Psychiatrist to engage with Eastern Health to undertake post-suicide support activities with local services, including headspace and Victoria Police.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery suicide is one too many, and the loss of life to suicide has long-lasting and far-reaching impacts on loved ones and community members,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile these young people were not receiving care through a public mental health service at the time of their death, the Department of Health, the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist and local services have worked together to support the local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Youth mental health pioneer Professor Pat McGorry said the scale of the deaths and extreme young age of those involved was unusual and demanded investigation, particularly as they have coincided with a 50 per cent rise in the prevalence of mental ill health in young people in the same age group.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely concerned at the lack of transparency about the situation and the apparent lack of co-ordinated action to respond,\u201d McGorry said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the eastern region, as elsewhere across Victoria, the public mental health system has not been reformed or properly resourced to respond to this public health crisis, and it has been a low priority since the [mental health] royal commission, despite the level of unmet need.<\/p>\n \u201cThe result is that young people at great risk who present to emergency departments or triage lines are typically rejected in very large numbers. If this were occurring with any other potentially life-threatening condition, it would be regarded as a scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n Phillipa Thomas, chief executive of peak body Mental Health Victoria, said suicide clusters were complex and unusual occurrences and needed to be examined to determine if the events relate to each other and whether they could have been prevented.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cAt this stage it is unclear what, when, and if any contact was in place for each of these young people with mental health services prior to their deaths. Where it was, the coroner will consider the role of safety and quality for each individual. But its August \u2013 that\u2019s nearly a full year that\u2019s gone by,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m troubled by the possibility that these young people may have sought help and not received it. I\u2019m equally troubled by the possibility that they didn\u2019t seek help at all.\u201d<\/p>\n While she could not comment directly on the cases, Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists\u2019 Victorian spokesperson Dr Nardine Elzahaby said the state\u2019s youth mental health system was plagued by gaps.<\/p>\n She said acute public health services had become \u201cadult models retrofitted for young people\u201d which did not meet their needs, while services such as headspace did not cater for those with more severe illness who did not yet need, or could not get into, a specialist mental health service.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cThere is a gap. There is a missing middle of patients who require care that are not too unwell to meet youth area mental health criteria, but they are too unwell to be looked after by headspace,\u201d Elzahaby said.<\/p>\n \u201cDo young people have to rely on emergency departments to get child and youth suicide programs? ED is hardly ever the right place for young people, and it really impacts them.\u201d<\/p>\n An Eastern Health spokesperson said the families, friends and communities affected by the recent suicides were in their thoughts, and the service has an active role in co-ordinating post-suicide responses with local services, schools and other agencies to assist vulnerable young people who may be at increased risk.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition to providing specialist inpatient and community-based mental health services, Eastern Health works closely with local primary care providers, schools, community organisations and other partners to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people across the region,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 22 4636.<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. 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Concerns about Victoria\u2019s youth mental health services have increased following two suicide clusters in Melbourne\u2019s east.Aresna Villanueva<\/p>\n![\"Generic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786596258_547_510752f2aaab0ca3520f4ccc3cdd79af5c93a4cd429a12a21a5cbb30d31e8418.jpeg\")
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