Page 3854 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
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Amendments 15 and 31 address what the ACAT must take into account when considering a mental health order and a forensic mental health order respectively. ACAT must take the views of the person responsible for the day-to-day care of the consumer into account. However, it is not considered that ACAT must take the wishes of the person responsible for day-to-day care into account in the same way they are required to consider their views; “wishes” being the word deleted by these amendments.
Amendments 27 and 28 amend section 41AA of the bill, which aims to ensure that a person detained under the act has a thorough psychiatric examination and a thorough physical examination and that a United Nations requirement is satisfied that the person is not detained unless the detention is supported by two qualified opinions.
It is recognised that a thorough psychiatric examination may be conducted at several points in the process leading to detention. These amendments aim to ensure that if an examination conducted in the process leading up to detention meets the requirements set out in the explanatory statement for “thorough” it need not be repeated.
Amendment 40 relates to new provisions in the bill which give rights of access to information important for their safety to people affected by the offending behaviour of a person with a mental illness or disorder, similar to those afforded to victims of crime. Section 48ZZF lists and limits who may have access to that information. This amendment includes on that list a court, if the court is dealing with a related matter.
Amendment 42 relates to new section 72 which provides a review by ACAT of a person’s detention in corrections custody when they have been referred by a court for immediate review by ACAT. If the person’s mental health state indicates a need for mental health care, the bill’s provisions do not prevent continued detention in corrections custody as it may be the only option immediately available which serves the interests of public safety.
However, national forensic mental health principles recommend that care be provided in a health environment in these circumstances. This amendment clarifies that ACAT will review the person’s detention in corrections custody monthly while it continues. The intent of the frequent review is to help ensure that detention in corrections custody does not continue any longer than necessary.
Finally, with respect to amendments 47, 48, 49 and 50, when a person is found not guilty by reason of mental impairment or not fit to plead and referred to ACAT, the court may set a nominated term which is the maximum time for which the person can remain under the oversight of ACAT as a result of the offence. These amendments provide that the court must consider, when setting a nominated term, whether there is another nominated term applying to the person and decide whether the new nominated term is to be served consecutively, partly consecutively, concurrently or partly concurrently with the other nominated term.
I thank members for their agreement to deal with these amendments today and also the scrutiny committee for alerting us to some of the amendments required.
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