Police Minister Felix Ellis says he has not refused to meet retired police officers over a mental health pilot that was meant to begin this year but has yet to start.
The Retired Police Association of Tasmania (RPAT) said on Tuesday it had been unable to secure a meeting with Ellis, despite him promising one within a month in June.
Asked on Wednesday why he had not met the officers sooner, Ellis said there had been “no refusal”.
“We’ve been doing significant work there and have been working closely with the Department of Health on rolling that out,” he said.
“We clearly need to do more to keep them in the loop, though and I reached out … yesterday morning to offer a meeting to provide an update.”
The association wants the state government to fund 12 psychology sessions each for six retired officers during a 12-month trial.
Police Commissioner Donna Adams told a parliamentary committee in November that a 12-month trial would commence in 2026.
Ellis told another parliamentary committee last month work on the program was “ongoing”.
“As a result, I’m not in a position to provide a definitive commencement date today,” he said on June 4.
The lower house passed a motion in March 2025 calling on the government to fund ongoing mental health support for retired officers.
The pilot has since been expanded to include all current and retired first responders.
Asked on Wednesday whether the broader scope could take the focus away from those most in need, Ellis said many state service workers were exposed to trauma at work.
“People who attend awful car crashes, people who are treating people with significant injuries and a range of other people that are exposed to difficult things in the line of their work,” he said.
“These are the people that run towards the danger as others seek to get away.”
Ellis said the pilot would be co-designed with first responders and delivered through the Department of Health.
RPAT wellbeing officer John Mikulski said yesterday that some members were “almost falling off the edge” and could not get an appointment with a psychologist.
Health Minister Bridget Archer said invitations to join the co-design process would be sent out in the coming weeks.
