Infant, Child and Adolescent System Transformation Program

Virtual Infant Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (VICAMHS) hub will ensure young people with complex needs in WA’s regions, particularly those aged 5-12 years, have better access to specialist mental health support, regardless of where they live.

The Aboriginal Mental Health Worker workforce expanded in May 2024 to support young Aboriginal people and families to engage with mental health services.

Digital Medical Records were rolled out across Perth Children’s Hospital in November 2023, as part of a state wide transition from paper based records to an Electronic Medical Record system.

$13.8 million will be invested over four years for the implementation and establishment of the Bunbury Acute Care Response Team in the South West.

The Bunbury Acute Care Response Team will provide mental health services for young people aged up to 18, ensuring local families can access the care they need.

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The funding will deliver free public access to Ngala's residential parenting service, which offers early mental health intervention and prevention support for the parents and baby in a residential setting.

The Bunbury Acute Care Response Team will provide mental health services for young people aged up to 18, ensuring local families can access the care they need.

New Acute Care and Response Teams commenced across the Perth metropolitan area and in the Great Southern.
These mobile teams provide urgent, short-term support to children and young people (0-17 years) in their homes, clinic, or other community settings.

The Mental Health Capability Framework will outline the skills and capabilities of Aboriginal health, allied health, lived experience, medical and nursing professions working in the public mental health sector.

It also describes career pathways to support professional and career development.

It is anticipated to be released in late-2025.

This funding enabled:

• Expansion of the ICA mental health workforce;

• Expansion of virtual support services;

• Development of new ICA mental health models to guide service delivery; and

• Initiatives to build, sustain, and support the ICA mental health workforce.

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This funding enabled:

• Establishment of three new Acute Care and Response Teams; and

• Continuation of virtual crisis support services for children and young people.

The Final Report of the Ministerial Taskforce into Public Mental Health Services for Infants, Children and Adolescents aged 0 – 18 years in Western Australia was released.

This funding enabled:

• Establishment of the Community ICAMHS Hub in the South West;

• Establishment of the first Acute Care and Response Team;

• Expansion of mental health treatment for young people with personality disorder related needs; and

• Recruitment of Aboriginal Mental Health Workers into ICA services.

Acute Care and Response Teams offer care to young people in their homes and communities or via phone or videocall. This means they don't have to travel to an Emergency Department to receive crisis care.

Acute Care and Response Teams are currently available across the metropolitan area and in the Great Southern region.

The Mental Health Commission is developing a person-centred, outcomes-focused approach to system and service evaluation, monitoring, and reporting.

Embedded new mental health governance structures to oversee reform of the ICA system.

Provided regional health professionals with virtual support to assist them in responding to young people presenting with mental health concerns and provided follow-up care for regional young people and families following a mental health related emergency service presentations in March 2023.

Expanded Crisis Connect in March 2023 to support young people and their families to remain at home while awaiting an appointment with a CAMHS team, through a $19.5 million investment.

Expanding the mental health workforce since July 2022. This included growing the Lived Experience (Peer), Aboriginal Mental Health Worker, medical, nursing, allied health, administration, and management workforces.

Resources were developed to help ensure safe and effective integration of Lived Experience (Peer) Workers across the sector.

To enable commencement of new and enhanced ICA services, staff received development opportunities. This includes education relating to vicarious trauma, infant mental health, and child development, and training in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy for Adolescents and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

In September 2024, $29.1 million was invested to establish a Crisis Care Unit within Banksia Hill.

The eight-bed unit will provide dedicated support to young people experiencing mental health crises.

In July 2023, a specialist neurodevelopmental and mental health team was embedded into Banskia Hill Detention Centre to better support young people in detention as well as those transitioning to the community.

In February 2023, the Child and Adolescent Forensic Service supports clinicians working with young people exiting detention.

In January 2025, a new Acute Care and Response Teams commenced across the Perth metropolitan area and in the Great Southern.

These mobile teams provide urgent, short-term support to children and young people (0-17 years) in their homes, clinic, or other community setting.

Treatment for young people with emerging personality disorder, mood, and anxiety disorders was enhanced. This was achieved by upskilling the Child and Adolescent Health Service mental health workforce. This included delivery of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and DBT-Adolescent Foundation and facilitator training, as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Additionally, staff who completed DBT-A facilitator training have commenced DBT-A groups in their Community CAMHS clinics.

New models of care were developed in March 2023 to guide service delivery.

In January 2025, the Medicare Kids Hub opened in Midland. The Kids Hub provides free mental health and wellbeing services for children under 12 years experiencing mild to moderate developmental, mental health, behavioural or emotional challenges, and their families.

The Hub includes a multidisciplinary team to deliver integrated mental health care through face-to-face clinics, telehealth and community outreach, as well as providing access to specialist services for those with more complex needs.

In July 2021 more than $1 million was invested to support new perinatal pilot services.

These services help to promote confidence and emotional wellbeing for new and experienced parents around the time of the birth of a new child.

Young people, families and significant others are engaged in the design implementation of services. This engagement will be critical in the evaluation of services.

In December 2022, a service guarantee was developed to outline what all children, families, and carers should expect to experience in all interactions with the public ICA mental health system.

These principles have been incorporated into mechanisms used to monitor the performance of services.