Page 900 - Week 03 - Thursday, 30 March 2006
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justice systems that this government is committed to. I thank members for their support of the legislation.
The government’s bill satisfies the government’s commitment to the first of six key initiatives arising out of the high-level interdepartmental committee recommendations that were handed down on 30 May last year. This committee was set up after the Chief Minister directed the chief executive of his department to oversee an examination of all aspects in relation to the care and custody of people with mental health issues who come in contact with the criminal justice system. Chaired by the Chief Minister’s Department, the committee was made up of representatives from the departments of health, disability and community services, justice and community safety and the Office for Children, Youth, and Family Support. Six key initiatives made up an improved management model for mental health patients who come in contact with the criminal justice system and drew on the best practices of other states and territories. Those initiatives were expressed as follows:
• clarification of the definitions that apply to forensic mental health offenders and alleged offenders, which is the purpose of this bill;
• a review of the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act 1994 by the Department of Justice and Community Safety and ACT Health. This is now under way and is something I will comment briefly on later;
• a common assessment process for forensic mental health offenders and alleged offenders through the ACT’s criminal justice system;
• the provision of facilities for the secure detention, treatment and care of offenders and alleged offenders, including a secure facility located at the Canberra Hospital for short and medium term care—planning for this facility is now under way;
• step-down options involving support packages and appropriate accommodation options; and
• widely available forensic mental health training for government and non-government workers who provide mental health services to these patients.
The bill applies the definition of “mental impairment” in the Criminal Code 2002 to criminal law matters, while definitions for “therapeutic matters” remain in the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act 1994. In essence, this will mean that the tribunal will no longer be asked to place a person into a category of mental illness or mental dysfunction but, rather, by application of a definition that contemplates a broader range of medical conditions than those currently recognised.
As the Chief Minister indicated when he introduced the bill, the Criminal Code definition of “mental impairment” is specifically designed for criminal proceedings. The rationale behind differentiating the definitions is that the current mental health act definitions were drafted for medical purposes and are principally about therapeutic treatment. Whether someone has a mental illness or a mental dysfunction dictates how and by whom they are managed under the mental health act.
The code defines “mental impairment” as including mental illness, which is “an underlying pathological infirmity of the mind, whether of long or short duration and whether permanent or temporary, but does not include a condition resulting from the
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