Department of Health

Rights

The Mental Health Act 2014 introduces various ways to uphold the rights of people with a mental illness, including statements of rights, supported decision making and the presumption that people have capacity to make decisions about their treatment and to give informed consent.

For people with more serious mental illness who may be subject to compulsory treatment, the Mental Health TribunalExternal Link is an independent statutory tribunal that protects and upholds people’s rights by determining whether compulsory mental health treatment criteria are met.

The tribunal also determines:

  • whether electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) can be performed on a compulsory patient if they are considered to not have capacity to give informed consent to ECT, or if they are under the age of 18
  • a variety of matters relating to security patients
  • transfers of treatment to other mental health services
  • applications to perform neurosurgery for mental illness.

Rights – statements of rights

Statements of rights set out a person’s rights when they are receiving services from a mental health service provider. A statement of rights must be given to the person at key points in their assessment and treatment.

Rights – how to support decision making

The supported decision-making model is primarily for people receiving compulsory treatment.

Consent to medical treatment – psychiatric

Everyone is presumed to have capacity to give informed consent to psychiatric treatment.

Research participation

The Guardianship and Administration Act governs ‘medical research procedures’ on people who cannot give consent.

Reviewed 28 May 2015

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