Dr Ruth Vine

Dr Ruth Vine was Australia’s first Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health from 2020 to 2024. Ruth provided policy advice on critical mental health issues impacting the Australian community due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and informed Commonwealth policy development and implementation activities to better integrate the Australian mental health system.

Ruth is a consultant psychiatrist and has more than 30 years’ experience in the public mental health sector. Ruth has previously worked for the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, and has held positions of Deputy Chief Psychiatrist, Chief Psychiatrist and Director of Mental Health.

Ruth was the Executive Director of NorthWestern Mental Health, a division of Melbourne Health from 2013 to 2019. NorthWestern Mental Health was 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 Mental Health Tribunal 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 Psychiatry.