AUDITOR GENERAL EXPOSES FAILURE OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH REFORMS

A scathing new Auditor General's report has exposed the gross failure by the Mental Health Commission and the Cook Labor Government to deliver critical reforms to Western Australia's infant, child and adolescent mental health system.

The report examines progress on the 32 recommendations of the Ministerial Taskforce into Public Health Services for Infants, Children and Adolescents, established following the tragic death of 13-year-old Kate Savage in 2020.

Despite all 32 recommendations being accepted by Government in March 2022, the Auditor General found that four years later only one recommendation has been completed, 26 remain in progress and five have not commenced. Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said the findings were absolutely damning.

"Four years after these reforms were accepted as a transformational priority, only one recommendation has been completed,” she said.

"The Auditor General has found the Mental Health Commission has no credible plan or pathway to deliver the Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Transformation Program.

"Those are not Opposition words. They are the words of the Auditor General."

The report found the Mental Health Commission repeatedly changed governance arrangements overseeing the reforms, failed to establish clear accountability, excluded key stakeholders from oversight processes and originally omitted 12 recommendations from its implementation plan.

Ms Mettam said the findings raised serious questions about ministerial oversight.

"The Mental Health Commission has cycled through multiple governance structures, abandoned implementation plans and failed to adequately track progress, yet neither the current nor previous Minister appears to have held the Commission to account," she said.

"The Auditor General found the Commission could not effectively report internally or publicly on progress because of its own governance decisions.  West Australians deserve to know how this was allowed to happen."

The report also criticised the Commission for failing to adequately address workforce, infrastructure and funding challenges identified as critical to delivering reform.

Ms Mettam said the report was particularly concerning given the reforms were intended to prevent future tragedies.

"This is an absolute slap in the face to the family of Kate Savage, whose tragic death was the reason these reforms were commissioned in the first place,” she said.

"It is also cold comfort to the families of Hailee Hildebrandt and countless other young West Australians who depend on a mental health system that has been failed by a lack of leadership and accountability.

"The Auditor General has found the Mental Health Commission has no credible plan to deliver these reforms. Four years on, only one recommendation has been completed. "For families who were promised change, that is simply unacceptable."

Ms Mettam said the Government must immediately explain how it will respond to the Auditor General's findings and provide a clear, transparent roadmap for implementing all remaining recommendations.

Media contact: Graham Mason 0419 194 792