Key messages
- The Mental Health Tribunal is an independent statutory tribunal.
- The tribunal is an essential safeguard under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 to protect the rights and dignity of people with mental illness.
- The primary function of the Tribunal is to determine whether the criteria for compulsory mental health treatment as set out in the Act apply to a person.
- The Tribunal may make a Treatment Order for a person if all the criteria in the legislation apply to that person.
Role of the Mental Health Tribunal
The functions of the Mental Health Tribunal include hearing and determining applications in relation to:
- Treatment Orders
- revocation of Temporary Treatment Orders or Treatment Orders
- the transfer of a compulsory or security patient to another mental health service
- the orders of security patients, such as for revocation and refusals of a leave of absence
- orders authorising the use of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) in the treatment of adults who do not have capacity to give informed consent to ECT and any persons under 18 years of age
- neurosurgery for mental illness
- intensive monitored supervision orders.
Hearings at the Tribunal
The Tribunal will hold a hearing in the following circumstances:
- automatically if a person’s temporary treatment order is soon to expire, or a community treatment order has been varied to an inpatient treatment order by an authorised psychiatrist
- on application by the authorised psychiatrist such as for a further treatment order for a person who is already on a treatment order or electroconvulsive treatment (ECT))
- on application by the person involved (or their representative) such as applications for revocation of a treatment order or temporary treatment order
Members of the Mental Health Tribunal
The hearing at the Tribunal will include a legal member, a psychiatrist or registered medical practitioner member and a community member.
If the matter relates to ECT or neurosurgery the hearing must be held with a legal member, a psychiatrist member and a community member.
For more information see the Mental Health Tribunal .
Key changes from Mental Health Act 2014
These provisions remain largely unchanged from the Mental Health Act 2014.
A minor change has been made to allow for single member hearings by the Tribunal when considered unopposed adjournments and applications for leave to withdraw proceedings.
Reviewed 15 January 2025