Restrictive interventions

Chief Psychiatrist’s interim guideline

This guideline has been developed to assist designated mental health services to meet their legal obligations under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 and understand the Chief Psychiatrist’s expectations of best practice when using restrictive interventions.

It has information on:

legislative definitions of restrictive interventions under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022
legal requirements under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 that must be met before, during and after a restrictive intervention
contemporary understandings of clinical best practice for restrictive interventions
the rights of people receiving mental health treatment and care in Victoria.

Chief Psychiatrist's interim guideline for restrictive interventions

docx 461.08 KB | Updated: 13 September 2023

Chief Psychiatrist's interim guideline for restrictive interventions

pdf 433.34 KB | Updated: 13 September 2023

Chief Psychiatrist’s reporting directive

The Chief Psychiatrist has issued a reporting directive to assist designated mental health services to meet their obligations under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 to report the use of restrictive interventions.

The directive:

defines restrictive interventions
outlines the specific details about restrictive interventions that must be reported to the Chief Psychiatrist
outlines the process that must be followed to satisfactorily report restrictive interventions.

The directive also highlights new reporting requirements on the use of chemical restraint under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022.

Chief Psychiatrist’s reporting directive for restrictive interventions

docx 1.75 MB | Updated: 31 August 2023

Chief Psychiatrist’s reporting directive for restrictive interventions

pdf 938.47 KB | Updated: 31 August 2023

Reviewed 13 September 2023