Public Intoxication Reform General Service Response

⁠⁠⁠This is a Call for Funding Submission (CFS) for the delivery of the Public Intoxication Reform (PIR) General Service response in metropolitan Melbourne.

The offence of public drunkenness will be decriminalised in Victoria on 7 November 2023 to replace the criminal justice response with a health-based response to support people who are intoxicated in public.

The decision to decriminalise public drunkenness is the result of over three decades of work and activism by the Aboriginal community, the longstanding recommendation from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) and advocacy of the Day family in the wake of the tragic death in police custody of Aunty Tanya Day.

The Victorian Government appointed an Expert Reference Group of Decriminalising Public Drunkenness (ERG) following the death of Aunty Tanya Day and undertook extensive consultations across Victoria, including with Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs). The ERG delivered the ‘Seeing the Clear Light of Day’ report that included the recommendation of the establishment of a health-based model rather than a custodial or justice-led response to public drunkenness.

The Victorian Government committed to establishing a dedicated health-based service response to support people who are intoxicated in public, including:

• a dedicated Aboriginal Service response operating in metropolitan Melbourne and 10 regional and outer metropolitan locations;
• the General Service response operating in metropolitan Melbourne; and
• Centralised Services to provide coordination and dispatch function

There are a number of services being procured as part of the PIR, however this CFS is specific to the procurement of the General Services response.

Applicants can request a copy of the Draft PIR Services Framework by returning a signed and

completed Deed of Confidentiality form to the Department of Health by completing and submitting

‘P23575 - PIR - General Services – Applicant Request Form’ via email to dhquotation@health.vic.gov.au .