Annual report 2015–16
Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Health and Human Services annual report 2015–16 1
To receive this publication in an accessible format, email
Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
© State of Victoria, Australia (Department of Health and Human Services), October 2016.
With the exception of any images, photographs or branding (including, but not limited to the Victorian Coat ofArms, the Victorian Government logo or the Department of Health and Human Services logo), this work, Annual report 2015–16: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
The terms and conditions of this licence, including disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability are available at <creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode>.
You are free to reuse the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria, Australia (Department of Health and Human Services) as the author and/or owner of the work, indicate if anychanges have been made to the work and comply with the other licence terms.
Where the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used it refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous is retained when it is part of the title of a report, program or quotation.
ISSN 2205-5398 (print)
ISSN 2205-5401 (online)
Available at
Printed by Impact Digital, Brunswick on 100 per cent recycled, FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified and carbon neutral paper.(1606025)
Accountable officer’s declaration
Hon. Jill Hennessy MP
Minister for Health
Minister for Ambulance Services
Martin Foley MP
Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing
Minister for Mental Health
Jenny Mikakos MP
Minister for Families and Children
Minister for Youth Affairs
Hon. John Eren MP
Minister for Sport
Dear Ministers
In accordance with the Financial Management Act 1994, I am pleased to submit to you the
Department of Health and Human Services annual report for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.
Kym Peake
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
Contents
Accountable officer’s declaration
Secretary’s foreword
Introduction
The department’s ministers
Year in review
Performance reporting
Additional service delivery data
Finance and budgetary performance
Governance
People
Disclosures
Environmental sustainability report
Financial statements...... 129
Appendices...... 227
Secretary’s foreword
Department of Health and Human Services annual report 2015–16 1
The Department of Health and Human Services works to achieve the best health, wellbeing and safety for all Victorians so that they can lead a life they value.
We know that most people want to be connected totheir communities, and experience a good life – their health, safety and wellbeing rely on being able to participate fully in the community and economy and access services. Our purpose is to help them to get there.
Our efforts are guided by our four strategic directions of person-centred services and care, local solutions, earlier and more connected support, and advancing quality, safety and innovation.
To deliver on our strategic directions, during
2015–16 we:
set an ambitious, long-term vision for mental health and wellbeing, outlined in Victoria’s
10-year mental health plan. The plan recognises that nearly half of all Victorians (45 per cent) will experience mental illness in their lifetime, and places a focus on prevention and coordinated efforts to help Victorians achieve better health and wellbeing
led efforts to support Victorians with disability tohave the same opportunities as everyone else in our community, through the development of Victoria’s state disability plan and support for the transition to and roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
continued our focus on reforming Victoria’s ambulance system, supporting efforts todeliver improved response times and better support for paramedics, as part of Victoria’s ambulance action plan: improving services, saving lives
established a vision for a Victoria free from the avoidable burden of disease and injuryas part of the Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2015–2019
delivered the new $1 billion purpose-built Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, bringing together world-class cancer research, treatment, care and education
worked with health services to design Healthlinks: Chronic Care, a new funding approach to better integrate support for people with chronic disease in hospital settings
supported increased participation and leadership in sport for women, with investments in female-friendly facilities at community sports grounds and the implementation of the recommendations of the Women and Girls inSport Advisory Panel
focused on overcoming the unacceptable healthdisparity in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians, with an emphasis on self-determination and the social and cultural determinants of health
responded to the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry, including establishing the Latrobe Valley Health Zone to focus on improving health outcomes for the local community
began the work necessary to implement the 227recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence and overhaulthe family violence system
supported women and children at risk of family violence with increased housing options, as part of the government’s housing blitz
concentrated our efforts on shifting the focusofchild protection from crisis response toprevention and early intervention as part of the Roadmap for reform: strong families and safe children
increased support for children and families incrisis with the creation of an additional 148child protection practitioner positions anda$62 million investment in Targeted Care Packages to reduce the need for residential
out-of-home care placements
began the development and implementation ofanew client incident management system which will focus on the most serious incidents and their impact on clients, and strengthen processes, systems and workforce capability to prevent and effectively manage client incidents
supported the creation of a legal framework toenable the manufacture, supply and access tosafe and high-quality medicinal cannabis products in Victoria to allow patients to legally access medicinal cannabis in exceptional circumstances
supported new laws to give Victorians greater powers to set directives about their future medical treatment, including end-of-life preferences and wishes
established Better Care Victoria to drive innovation across the Victorian health system
strengthened our engagement and partnership with clinical leaders with the appointments of a new Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer.
We have also ensured we have the right structures and systems in place to allow us to harness the benefits of bringing health, human services and sport and recreation into the one department. Wehave been creating a workplace culture based on respect and integrity, including developing our Action plan to prevent bullying and inappropriate behaviour.
As we look ahead, during the next year we are moving into co-design and delivery mode to support the government’s ongoing reform agenda.
We will continue to respond to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, and advance our quality and safety agenda as we respond to the Review of Hospital Safety and Quality Assurance in Victoria, conducted by Dr Stephen Duckett. We will also support the new regional and metropolitan partnerships established by government to give communities greater say about what matters to them.
In all of this work, we will need to work closely withother government agencies, non-government organisations, advisory and industry groups, communities and clients. Critical to our success willbe a service orientation and an open, constructive and collaborative work culture thatallow the department and everyone in it toparticipate, adapt and learn.
I would like to thank our ministers, our departmental staff throughout the state, our community and sector partners for their support. The materials inthis annual report serve as evidence of their continued commitment and dedication to our shared purpose – how we respond to the complex and changing needs of Victorians to ensure they have the best health, wellbeing and safety possible.
Kym Peake
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Health and Human Services annual report 2015–16 1
Introduction
Department of Health and Human Services annual report 2015–16 1
The Department of Health and Human Services was established on 1 January 2015, bringing together the functions of health, human services and sport and recreation.
Vision
To achieve the best health, wellbeing and safety of all Victorians so that they can live a life they value.
Our values
Over the past 12 months many staff have been involved in elaborating on our values to describe what we stand for at the department; how we want to make decisions; and how we expect each other to behave.
Our values are:
We are respectful.
We have integrity.
We collaborate.
We care for people, families and communities.
We are accountable.
We are innovative.
Outcomes
The department’sfocus on outcomes for people who rely on our services and activities, and system-level results we are seeking from health and human services reforms.
The outcomes for people:
Victorians are healthy and well.
Victorians are safe and secure.
Victorians have the capabilities to participate.
Victorians are connected to culture and community.
The service system outcome:
Victorian health and human services are person centred and sustainable.
Strategic directions
The department has four strategic directions:
Person-centred services and care
Many factors influence a person’s ability toexperience a good life –family context, educational outcomes, housing, social support, work opportunities and workplaces, access totransport and recreational opportunities.
Person-centred services and care consider all the influences on a person’s health and wellbeing.
The department designs services and funding models around people and their families.
This means:
enabling people to look after themselves better
fostering meaningful relationships that help people improve their health, for example via peer support and community groups
enabling people to work collaboratively with professionals as equal partners in their care.
Person-centred care considers the whole person tounderstand their physical, cultural and social context.
Local solutions
The department involves people and communities in the design and planning of services, and we align our service efforts with other community activities. This means:
taking place-based and community-centred approaches
developing new service models that take into account existing services and infrastructure, cultural considerations and the long-term implications of our investment decisions
engaging collaboratively with evolving local partnerships to build relationships, share knowledge and data, and jointly plan local andcommunity actions.
Local solutions acknowledge that the government alone does not have the answers – we need to work with others to ensure effective outcomes.
Earlier and more-connected support
The department works to prevent health and wellbeing problems before they become too big, and we tailor service responses so they meet the needs of people and their families. This means:
getting in early to help people build resilience
making our services easier to navigate
breaking down the barriers within and across sectors.
Earlier and more-connected support also depends on better digital infrastructure to enable information sharing.
Advancing quality, safety and innovation
The department will monitor and improve the quality and safety of health and community services, and work with our partners to build evidence, share knowledge, scale effective practice and support practice development and change.
This means:
making sure the people who work in health and human services are qualified and have the right mix of skills
measuring quality, safety and client/patient experience and outcome data so we can intervene quickly when we identify poor performance
seeking improvements and innovations, evaluating what we do, and reducing unacceptable variations in care and outcomes.
This strategic direction affirms the department’s commitment to client/patient safety and improving the quality and effectiveness of our interventions.
Leadership Charter
The Leadership Charter outlines the behaviours the staff and stakeholders can expect of the executive leadership group and positions the department as agreat place to work. The Charter commits the executive to lead by example and ensure that their behaviours and the way they approach their work embodies the department’s values, for example by being accountable for their actions and outcomes, sharing information with staff when it should be shared, and seeking out and valuing other perspectives. The Charter is available atdhhs.vic.gov.au/publications/leadership-charter.
Purpose and functions
The department has responsibility for developing and delivering policies, programs and services that support and enhance the wellbeing of all Victorians.
Some of these activities include housing and community services and programs; public health services; public hospitals; health; mental health andaged care services; and sport and recreation inmetropolitan, rural and regional Victoria.
The department takes a broad view of the causes of ill health, the drivers of good health, the social and economic context in which people live, and the incidence and experience of vulnerability, placing people at the heart of policy-making, service design and delivery.
Portfolio responsibilities
Health
The health system provides all Victorians with public services to address their health needs. Itfocuses on holistic care that addresses health conditions at the local level. The department contributes to system leadership, policy and governance responsibility for the management ofthe public health system. This includes responsibility for funding, performance monitoring and accountability, strategic asset management and system planning.
Ambulance services
Victorians deserve the highest quality ambulance services and they expect timely responses to emergencies. Ambulance services provide emergency and non-emergency ambulance services to contribute to integrated and accessible health and community services for all Victorians.
Housing
Having a safe, stable and secure home is essentialfor long-term health and wellbeing. Arange of housing assistance is available to Victorians experiencing disadvantage, including long-term housing assistance in the form of public or community housing, private rental assistance andhome ownership and renovation assistance. The department also funds crisis and emergency accommodation for those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
Disability
The department works in partnership with peoplewith a disability, their families and carers toprovide support. One of the department’s key priorities is managing the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) andits interface with the health services system, child protection and housing. The NDIS is a profound change in the disability service delivery environment and Victoria will transition to the full scheme over three financial years from 2016–17 to2018–19.
Ageing
The Ageing portfolio addresses the increasing needs of Victoria’s ageing population, with a focus on the participation of seniors, wellbeing and health promotion, and appropriate high-quality services that enable older Victorians to remain independent for as long as possible.
Mental Health
Mental Health supports Victorians experiencing oraffected by mental health problems or substancemisuse, as well as their families and carers. This portfolio is responsible for mental health and drugs policy, planning, strategy and programs that deliver prevention, early intervention, treatment and support.
Families and Children
To ensure the safety and wellbeing of children andyoung people and families, the department funds a range of early intervention, statutory and support services. Support for vulnerable children and families is closely connected to other services to strengthen families and communities.
Youth
The department aims to improve social andeconomic inclusion for young people experiencingsocial and economic disadvantage, and reconnect them with community, educational and employment pathways.
Sport and Recreation
Through Sport and Recreation Victoria, the department provides strategic leadership to theVictorian sport and recreation industry. It promotes lifelong participation and increased diversity in sport and recreation, as well as strengthening the pathway for Victorian athletes.
The department manages the state government’s major sports facilities, investing into Victoria’s state community facilities to maintain Victoria’s reputation as the sporting capital of the nation.
Changes to the department
There have been no changes to the department since July 2015.
Department of Health and Human Services annual report 2015–16 1
The department’s ministers
Department of Health and Human Services annual report 2015–16 1
The Honourable Jill Hennessy MP
Minister for Health
Minister for Ambulance Services
The Honourable Jill Hennessy MP is the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services in the Andrews Labor Government, and is currently the Chair of the Council of Australian Governments Health Council.
She entered the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Altona District in 2010, and held a number of Shadow Ministerialroles before Labor was elected to government in 2014, including Public Transport, Anti-Corruption, Corrections, Crime Prevention and Women.