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A children’s mental health unit has been closed and five of its staff stood down amid allegations of bullying and the use of force against vulnerable young patients.
The unit at a major Melbourne hospital has halted admissions to its inpatient unit – which treats children under 13 for severe mental health conditions – and has been referring families to another facility since the allegations emerged last Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the investigation, but who are not authorised to speak publicly, said allegations of bullying surfaced a week ago following an outside-of-work gathering between multiple staff. Claims that some staff members used force against young patients also emerged.
Although five staff members connected with the unit have been stood down pending an investigation, not all are alleged to have used force on patients.
A hospital spokesperson confirmed investigations were under way, but said it would not be appropriate to comment on the specific allegations or individuals involved.
The Department of Health and Safer Care Victoria have been advised of the allegations, and mandatory notifications have been made to the Commission for Children and Young People.
“We take these allegations seriously and acted quickly when these concerns were raised,” the hospital spokesperson said.
“Our priority is to ensure children and their families continue to have access to the mental health care they need while admissions to the unit are paused.”
A state government spokesperson said the allegations were “disturbing and completely unacceptable”.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe whether they’re at work or seeking care in our health services,” the spokesperson said.
The hospital’s specialist unit is an acute mental health service which caters for children up to 12 years old with severe or complex mental health conditions, who typically stay for two to four weeks, and are accompanied in the unit by a parent or caregiver throughout their treatment.
Because the unit is staffed by a small team and all require specialist skills, the standing down of five of its members means that it cannot continue to operate with its current staffing levels.
Children requiring urgent mental health care who present to the hospital will continue to be assessed by its clinicians, and will be supported to appropriate care pathways while admissions are paused.
Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt told parliament on Tuesday she had appointed a new chair to PYMHWS and had spoken to her about Geppert.
“I have made my expectations very clear to her about the way in which the CEO’s work arrangements ought to occur,” Stitt said.
“I am confident that the new chair has a very strong focus on the leadership requirements of the service and also of the clinical governance arrangements that are in place.”
Stitt said her department had been following up concerns raised by McGorry about the service.
But she rejected allegations the government had tampered with the independent report into how Victoria was progressing on mental health reforms.
Stitt said the initial version was an “early draft”, and between December 2025 and June 2026 the department had “provided factual and technical feedback” before its public release.
This characterisation has been rejected by three senior mental health figures familiar with the report’s delay but who refused to discuss the circumstances of its rewriting on the record, fearing reprisals from the government and further financial cuts to vital services.
Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said this masthead’s reports showed the government did not want scrutiny on a system taxpayers funded directly.
“Victorians pay a dedicated Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy because Labor told them every dollar was needed to rebuild a broken system. They have every right to expect complete transparency about whether that reform is actually happening,” she said.
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