Victorian children as young as 13 are being treated in adult mental health facilities because the system is inadequately resourced and managed, according to a damning new report.
The Department of Health and Human Services has taken a one-size-fits-all approach across the mental health sector and failed to respond to children's unique needs, Auditor-General Andrew Greaves says.
He analysed inpatient data from 2016 to 2018 and found thousands of young people admitted to adult mental health services, including 13-year-olds.
Patients were also found to frequently be held at inpatient facilities because their guardianship or housing arrangements change during or as a result of their admission.
One child was held more than eight months - when it was only clinically necessary for them to be held two weeks.
In 2017/18, 11,945 children and young people were treated, an 11.5 per cent increase on the year before.
"DHHS has never analysed the use of adult inpatient beds for children and adolescents and does not monitor the issue, despite it being clinically inappropriate, inconsistent with legislation, and a potential indicator of significant demand pressures," Mr Greaves says in his report, released Wednesday.
The report was scathing of the department's coordination of the sector, noting there is no strategic direction and monitoring is "reactive and crisis-driven, with limited focus on systemic issues."
It made 20 recommendations, which DHHS accepted, noting that their implementation will be informed by the outcomes of the royal commission into mental health.
That statewide inquiry into the entire mental health system will begin public hearings next month and its final report is not due until October 2020.
However, Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said the recommendations must be implemented immediately so youth can get good, early intervention and don't end up with unstable lives.
"It's simply not good enough that we have 13-year-old children in adult mental health facilities, it's not the best possible care for them and it's actually possibly putting them at risk," she told reporters.
A government spokesman said planning work is underway to carry out the recommendations.
"We've made record investments in our mental health system, but know there is so much more to do to give children, young people and all Victorians suffering mental illness the support they need," he said in a statement.
