Dr Ruth Vine

Dr Ruth Vine is Australia’s first Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health. Ruth provides policy advice on critical mental health issues impacting the Australian community due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and champions Commonwealth policy development and implementation activities to better integrate the Australian mental health system. Ruth is a consultant psychiatrist and has more than 25 years’ experience-most notably working for the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, and holding positions of Deputy Chief Psychiatrist, Chief Psychiatrist and Director of Mental Health. She has chaired the AHMAC National Mental Health Standing Committee, the National Mental Health Workforce Committee, and National Safety and Quality Committee. Previously, Ruth was the Executive Director of NorthWestern Mental Health, a division of Melbourne Health from 2013 to 2019. NorthWestern Mental Health is the largest mental health service in Victoria, covering a population of approximately 1.4 million people across a number of growth corridors.

Ruth is a member of the Board of Forensicare, the Board of Mind, and the Medical Practitioners Board (Victoria). Ruth holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy from Melbourne University, a Bachelor of Laws from La Trobe University, and is a Fellow of the Royal
Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.